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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Essential Reading

Item EXCAL51. Buy these 4 items as a set for $71 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Eyewitness Guide California

Eyewitness Guide California

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 660 PAGES

A literate, visually rich guide to the Golden State, featuring color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of California's attractions with a particular focus on San Francisco and Los Angeles. (USW146, $30.00)

Assembling California

Assembling California

by John McPhee

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Another fine book on geology and natural history from John McPhee, this time in the company of Eldridge Moores, on travels throughout California. (USW187, $16.00)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California

by Peter Alden

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A compact, easy-to-use guide to 1,000 of California's trees, wildflowers, mammals, insects, birds and other flora and fauna. (CAL07, $19.95)

California Map

by Borch Maps

  • 2008
  • MAP

A laminated, folded map of California, shown at a scale of 1:1,100,000. (CAL55, $9.95)

 
Compass Guide Coastal California

Compass Guide Coastal California


by John Doerper | Galen Rowell

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 397 PAGES

This compact guide is an excellent overview of coastal California, with particular emphasis on history, nature and visitor attractions. (CAL38, $21.00)

The Tahoe Sierra, A Natural History Guide to 112 Hikes in Northern Sierra

The Tahoe Sierra, A Natural History Guide to 112 Hikes in Northern Sierra


by Jeffrey P. Schaffer

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 402 PAGES

A guide to trails and hikes in the Tahoe Sierra region. (CAL96, $19.95)

The Measure of Her Powers, An M.F.K. Fisher Reader

The Measure of Her Powers, An M.F.K. Fisher Reader


by M. F. K. Fisher

  • FOOD
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

A fat, judicious selection of M.F.K. Fisher's writings, which spanned a lifetime and chronicled adventures (culinary and otherwise) in France, Switzerland and Italy, on shipboard and in her native California. (CUL01, $21.95)

California Fault, Searching for the Spirit of a State Along the San Andreas


by Thurston Clarke

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 417 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

A good natured portrait of the Golden State. (CAL33, $12.95)

California the Beautiful

California the Beautiful


by Galen Rowell

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 159 PAGES

Rowell's exquisite photographs are accompanied by excerpts from Joan Didion, M.F.K. Fisher, Jack London, William Saroyan and many other luminaries in this celebration of the nature and spirit of California. (CAL277, $19.95)

California, A History

California, A History


by Kevin Starr

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

A lively short history in the excellent Modern Library Chronicles series, written by a renowned historian. (CAL204, $14.95)

California, America's High-stakes Experiment


by Peter Schrag

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 328 PAGES

Schrag analyzes the drastic political ups and downs California has faced over the past decades, including issues such as immigration and globalization. (CAL201, $24.95)

Empire Express, Building the First Transcontinental Railroad

Empire Express, Building the First Transcontinental Railroad


by David Haward Bain

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 816 PAGES

A magisterial history of the railroad that connected the East to the West -- and radically changed the face of America. It is quite a tale, featuring greed, corruption, disaster and many memorable characters. (USW135, $30.00)

Rush for Riches, Gold Fever and the Making of California

Rush for Riches, Gold Fever and the Making of California


by J. S. Holliday

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

An illustrated, oversize history of the California Gold Rush and its effects by a noted expert, covering the 1830's through the 1890's and packed with more than 200 illustrations and archival photographs. (USW190, $39.95)

Farewell to Manzanar

Farewell to Manzanar


by Jeanne W. Houston | James D. Houston

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1981
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

The best-selling memoir of life in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. (CAL93, $6.99)

Angle of Repose

Angle of Repose


by Wallace Stegner

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 592 PAGES

A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of one man's search for his grandparents' story. It beautifully weaves the history of the American West and a glimpse of their life in California, Colorado and Idaho. (USW301, $16.00)

Highway 99, A Literary Journey Through California's Great Central Valley


by Stan Yogi

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

An excellent anthology of literature about the vast swathe of California that lies between San Francisco and L.A, including contemporary pieces, along with the writing of John Muir, John Steinbeck and William Saroyan. (CAL92, $18.95)

Natural State, A Literary Anthology of California Nature Writing


by Steven Gilbar

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

Divided by ecological region, this book is a literary tour of California's unrivaled natural diversity, featuring essays and excerpts by such great writers as Barry Lopez, Gretel Ehrlich and John McPhee. Gary Snyder provided the afterword. (CAL101, $26.95)

The Literature of California, Vol. 1

The Literature of California, Vol. 1


by Jack Hicks | Al Young | James D. Houston | Maxine Hong Kingston

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 653 PAGES

A best-of anthology of California writing, pre-1945. (CAL102, $29.95)

An Island Called California, An Ecological Introduction to Its Natural Communities

An Island Called California, An Ecological Introduction to Its Natural Communities


by Elna S. Bakker

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 484 PAGES

An introduction to the ecology and wildlife of the Golden State, this volume is filled with photographs illustrating a variety plants, animals and geological features found throughout the deserts, forests and coastline of California. (CAL11, $25.95)

Oaks of California


by Bruce Pavlik | Pamela Muick | Sharon Johnson

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

A natural history of the oak in California. (CAL63, $22.95)

Coastal Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest

Coastal Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest


by Elizabeth Horn

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 179 PAGES

A handy photo-identification guide to 200 species from British Columbia south to northern California, divided by habitats and plant family. (PNW15, $14.00)

More Recommendations

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.