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Alfred Lansing

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Every Day in Tuscany, Seasons of an Italian Life

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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

National Geographic Traveler editor George Stone's discerning library of classic travel books, chosen in conjunction with writers, editors -- and Longitude.

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Confederates in the Attic

by Tony Horwitz

HISTORY
1999
PAPER
406 PAGES

Subtitled "Dispatched from the Unfinished Civil War," this book reveals the strange world of the re-enactors, unreconstructed confederates and others whose ongoing interest and involvement in the War Between the States provide an intriguing cultural portrait of the southern and mid-Atlantic states. (USS35, $16.00)

Coming into the Country

by John McPhee

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1976
PAPER
438 PAGES
BEST SELLER
FAVORITE

A superb introduction to the state, McPhee's lyrical portrait blends history, issues and interesting facts, including sketches of frontier life and some unforgettable Alaskan characters. (ALA04, $18.00)

Bad Land, An American Romance

by Jonathan Raban

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1997
PAPER
416 PAGES

Raban captures the spirit of rural America -- and the optimism of homesteaders on the Montana Prairie -- in this lovely tale weaving history, anecdote and travel. Winner of the National Book Award. (USW408, $15.95)

The Good Rain

by Timothy Egan

NATURAL HISTORY
1991
PAPER
254 PAGES

A wonderfully readablet portrait of the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle journalist travels along the Columbia River in the footsteps of 1853 visionary Theodore Winthrop, focusing on the history, people and natural resources. (PNW11, $15.95)

The Lost Continent, Travels in Small Town America

by Bill Bryson

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1990
PAPER
314 PAGES

Heading out from his native Des Moines, Bryson makes his way through 38 of these United States, tossing off hilarious observations of the American character and roadscapes. Forgive Bryson's cheap shots at fat people and "hicks," he's an acerbic, witty guide to the country with an irrepressible sense of the absurd. (USW180, $14.99)

Blue Highways, A Journey into America

by William Least Heat Moon

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1999
PAPER
429 PAGES

On the road with Ghost Dancing (his van), William Least Heat-Moon criss-crosses the country on its backroads, discovering some pretty wonderful personalities en route in this portrait of a multi-faceted eccentric America. (USA31, $15.99)

Desert Solitaire

by Edward Abbey

NATURAL HISTORY
1990
PAPER
303 PAGES
FAVORITE

One of the great works on the value of the desert, eloquent and laugh-out-loud funny. Although Abbey writes specifically about his experiences as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah, his message is universal. (DES02, $14.95)

Travels with Charley

by John Steinbeck

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2012
PAPER
240 PAGES

On the road in a van with a poodle, Steinbeck sets out to discover America on a jaunt from Maine to California. Fiftieth anniversary edtion. (USA32, $16.00)

Roughing It

by Mark Twain

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2004
PAPER
592 PAGES

Twain's classic work on the American West, written as he was abandoning the peripatetic life and settling down in the 1870s. Funny, irreverent, acutely observed this is vintage Twain, covering his travels in California, Nevada and Hawaii. With all 304-first edition illustrations, specially prepared maps, facsimile manuscript pages and commentary. (HWI14, $16.00)

The Innocents Abroad

by Mark Twain

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2003
PAPER
523 PAGES

Mark Twain's witty and classic account of his 1867 grand tour of Europe. (MDE08, $14.95)

Road Fever, A High Speed Travelogue

by Tim Cahill

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1992
PAPER
278 PAGES

An exhiliarating ride along with Cahill from the southernmost tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in only 23 days. (SAM17, $14.95)

In Trouble Again

by Redmond O'Hanlon

EXPLORATION
1990
PAPER
272 PAGES
FAVORITE

As funny as he is insightful, O'Hanlon starts his comic masterpiece of a journey between the Orinoco and the Amazon with a litany of the insects, protozoa, snakes and predators that can do you harm. (AMZ04, $13.95)

The Panama Hat Trail

by Tom Miller

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2001
PAPER
288 PAGES
FAVORITE

An entertaining and insightful social history of Ecuador -- as told through its hat-making history. It's a classic example of travel writing, and one of the best things written on Ecuador. (EDR15, $14.00)

The Old Patagonian Express

by Paul Theroux

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1997
PAPER
404 PAGES

Combining history, anecdote and acutely observed detail on people and place, Theroux begins his journey on a Boston subway car and works his way south via rail, plane and truck to the Patagonian railroad in this enthralling narrative. (PAT08, $15.95)

In Patagonia

by Bruce Chatwin

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1989
PAPER
204 PAGES
FAVORITE

A masterpiece of travel, history and adventure, this award-winning book captures the spirit of the land, history, wildlife and people of Patagonia. There's no travel writer as engaging, insightful and just plain wonderful as Bruce Chatwin. (PAT01, $15.00)

The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris

by Edmund White

LITERATURE
2008
PAPER
144 PAGES

The gifted novelist reveals his favorite haunts in this glittering portrait of Paris and its pleasures, taking in neighborhoods, bookshops and boutiques, monuments and palaces, eateries and, naturally, the history behind it all. (FRN259, $15.00)

Brazilian Adventure

by Peter Fleming

EXPLORATION
1999
PAPER
384 PAGES

A classic and very entertaining account of a 3,000-mile quest through the Amazon in search of a missing English colonel, first published in 1933. (AMZ55, $16.95)

In Tuscany

by Bob Krist | Frances Mayes

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
2000
HARD COVER
269 PAGES

An edition of Maye's warm, anecdotal account of life on her now-restored Tuscan estate, much enhanced by Bob Krist's color photographs. (ITL348, $35.00)

Bella Tuscany, The Sweet Life in Italy

by Frances Mayes

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2000
PAPER
286 PAGES

In this sequel to "Under the Tuscan Sun," best-selling author Frances Mayes goes out in search of Italian Life in the small town of Cortona. (ITL224, $15.00)

Under the Tuscan Sun

by Frances Mayes

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1997
PAPER
288 PAGES

In this best-selling memoir of buying, renovating and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Mayes reveals the sensual pleasures found in rural Italy. (ITL85, $15.00)

London, The Biography

by Peter Ackroyd

HISTORY
2003
PAPER
864 PAGES

A big thematic history of London from Celtic settlement to Roman outpost and world power, much focused on the life of the city. A popular biographer and novelist, Ackroyd leavens the centuries with anecdote, personality and great affection. (GBR248, $22.00)

Bury Me Standing

by Isabel Fonseca

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1996
PAPER
322 PAGES

This marvelous portrait of the Roma, also known as the Gypsies, offers insight into their music, foods, religions and folk traditions, and also examines their influential but complex relationship with Eastern Europe. (EUR09, $16.00)

Balkan Ghosts, A Journey through History

by Robert D. Kaplan

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2005
PAPER
307 PAGES

Kaplan interweaves the history, art and culture of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece with his travels in this portrait of the region. (BLK02, $17.00)

Turkish Reflections, A Biography of a Place

by Mary Lee Settle

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1991
PAPER
253 PAGES

Settle's captivating travelogue is a richly detailed portrait of contemporary Turkey, its people, monasteries, myths, archaeological treasures and living traditions. Exemplary. (TKY08, $16.99)

Danube

by Claudio Magris

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
2008
PAPER
416 PAGES

Mixing history, personalities and literature, Magris traces the course of the Danube from its source in the heart of the Austro-Hungarian empire through the Balkans to the Black Sea in this anything but conventional travelogue, first published in 1986. (EUR58, $17.00)

A Moveable Feast

by Ernest Hemingway

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1996
PAPER
211 PAGES

A treasure for anyone interested in Parisian cafe society and its luminaries circa 1925. Hemingway includes sharp portraits of Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ford Maddox Ford and others who idled on their way to greatness. (FRN26, $15.00)

Two Towns in Provence

by M. F. K. Fisher

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1983
PAPER
208 PAGES
FAVORITE

Celebrated food writer M.F.K. Fisher contrasts village life in Aix-en-Provence with bustling Marseilles, evoking these two favorite places with anecdote and loving description. (FRN27, $18.95)

The Colossus of Maroussi

by Henry Miller

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2010
PAPER
223 PAGES
FAVORITE

Miller captures the spirit and warmth of the resilient Greek people in this inspired tale of a wartime journey from Athens to Crete, Corfu and Delphi with his friend Lawrence Durrell. (GRE05, $12.95)

Homage to Catalonia

by George Orwell

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1987
PAPER
234 PAGES
FAVORITE

Orwell's portrait of the Barcelona uprising and the spirit of a city at war is a classic, an observant and heartfelt report from the streets. (SPN03, $14.95)

Sea and Sardinia

by D.H. Lawrence

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1999
PAPER
211 PAGES

A marvelous account of a trip to Sardinia, evoking both the charms and travails of the then-remote island, and the personality of the author. It's a pleasingly exaggerated, accessible portrait of life on the island, circa 1921. (ITL349, $16.00)

Honeymoon in Purdah, An Iranian Journey

by Alison Wearing

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2001
PAPER
336 PAGES

A delightfully insane jaunt through contemporary Iran. The author dives into the personalities and charm of the Iranian people in this entertaining, insightful account. (IRN24, $19.00)

An Unexpected Light, Travels in Afghanistan

by Jason Elliot

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2011
PAPER
512 PAGES

A vividly reported account of travels in Afghanistan. (CAS74, $18.00)

Sahara Unveiled, A Journey across the Desert

by William Langewiesche

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1997
PAPER
302 PAGES

Traveling across the Sahara from Algiers to Dakar, Langeweische has written an uncommonly good memoir of the desert, with meditations on its history, inhabitants and allure. (NAF05, $16.00)

In An Antique Land

by Amitav Ghosh

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1994
PAPER
393 PAGES

In this heady book, the author-historian recreates the life of a slave who lived along the ancient Nile. Not exactly historical fiction, this book artfully interweaves personal history, travel writing and philosophical meditation. (EGY18, $18.00)

Motoring with Mohammed, Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea

by Eric Hansen

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1992
PAPER
240 PAGES
FAVORITE

Shipwrecked en route from the Maldives, rescued with his buddies by Eritrean goat smugglers, and an accidental tourist in Sana'a, Hansen's misadventures make a terrific story. Even better, he provides a rich portrait of a little-known region. (ARB11, $16.00)

Lords of the Atlas

by Gavin Maxwell

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2005
PAPER
316 PAGES
HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Set in the medieval city of Marrakech and the majestic kasbahs of the High Atlas mountains, this rousing history vividly portrays life in French colonial Morocco. Maxwell (Ring of Bright Water) follows the fate of the despotic Glaoui clan from 1893 to independence. (MRC35, $33.95)

Arabian Sands

by Wilfred Thesiger

EXPLORATION
2007
PAPER
400 PAGES
FAVORITE

The last of the great British traveler-explorers, Thesiger (1910-2003) journeyed among the nomadic camel-breeding peoples of Southern Arabia in the late 1940s, falling in love with the desert and ways of life of the Bedouin. This eloquent book is his tribute to them. (ARB15, $16.00)

West with the Night

by Beryl Markham | Sara Wheeler

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
2013
PAPER
294 PAGES
BEST SELLER
FAVORITE

Beryl Markham evokes the landscapes, people and wildlife of East Africa in engrossing detail in this classic memoir of amazing adventures as a bush pilot in 1930s Kenya. A Longitude favorite. This new edition includes an introduction by the daring Sara Wheeler. If you haven't read this book, whether or not you are ghoing on Safari, you are in for a treat. (EAF10, $16.00)

Out of Africa

by Isak Dinesen

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1985
PAPER
466 PAGES
FAVORITE

The perennially best-selling tale of a naive young woman who leaves Denmark for East Africa, Dinesen's (AKA Karen Blixen) autobiography draws us into life on a struggling coffee plantation. It's a moving story inspired by a love for Kenya and its people. Includes the novella Shadows on the Grass. (EAF22, $15.00)

The Valleys of the Assassins, and Other Persian Travels

by Freya Stark

EXPLORATION
2001
PAPER
292 PAGES

A remarkable account of adventures in remote Persia by the intrepid Freya Stark, originally published in 1934. Her expedition discovered the site of Lammassar, the second of the great fortresses to be discovered in the remote Alamut Valley (MDE53, $15.00)

South Southeast

by Steve McCurry

ART & ARCHITECTURE
2001
HARD COVER
160 PAGES

A remarkable portfolio of striking photographs taken in and around Afghanistan, Burma, India, Pakistan and other sites in South and Southeast Asia over a long career. Saturated with color, light and evocative of daily life. (ASA34, $65.00)

In Siberia

by Colin Thubron

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2001
PAPER
304 PAGES
FAVORITE

Thubron captures the beauty, personality, contradictions and harsh nature of this huge land in this classic account of a 15,000-mile, cross-continental odyssey from the Yenisei to Baikal, Khabarovsk and Magadan. (SIB14, $14.99)

The River at the Center of the World

by Simon Winchester

EXPLORATION
2004
PAPER
410 PAGES
FAVORITE

Winchester writes about the character of the Yangtze and the people and places along its banks with easy grace in this absorbing portrait of the great river flowing through the heart of China. (CHN31, $17.00)

Hong Kong

by Jan Morris

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
1997
PAPER
384 PAGES
FAVORITE

A wonderful portrait of Hong Kong by one of our favorite travel writers. Morris enumerates the many personal pleasures of the city, deftly interweaving reportage, history and culture. (HKG02, $17.00)

Video Night in Kathmandu, and Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East

by Pico Iyer

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1989
PAPER
376 PAGES

Iyer brings enormous wit and humor to these classic essays on travel to places including Bali, Hong Kong and Bangkok. (ASA02, $14.95)

Iron and Silk

by Mark Salzman

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1990
PAPER
211 PAGES

Salzman gets himself to Changsha in the mid-1980s on the pretext of teaching English to Chinese doctors. His real mission, however, is to become a kung fu master. In this wonderfully readable travelogue he conveys a sense of contemporary life. (CHN52, $15.00)

The Roads to Sata, A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan

by Alan Booth

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1997
PAPER
281 PAGES

A revealing, humorous account of the author's 2,000-mile walk north to south from Hokkaido to Kyushu by a wonderfully eccentric British expatriate. Booth is a disarming writer, chronicling his encounters along the byways of rural Japan with farmers, misfits, tramps and others who crossed his path. (JPN11, $16.00)

Running in the Family

by Michael Ondaatje

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1993
PAPER
207 PAGES

Award-winning author Ondaatje returns to his native Sri Lanka in this hypnotic travelogue. His lovingly traced family memoirs are interspersed with poetry and ruminations on the island's post-colonial history. (SRL04, $15.00)

The Snow Leopard

by Peter Matthiessen

EXPLORATION
2008
PAPER
368 PAGES
FAVORITE

The most perceptive, acutely observed and personal of all his books, Matthiessen's account of a five-week journey through Nepal with naturalist George Schaller combines their quest for the elusive cat with a moving introduction to Buddhism and the people and culture of the Himalayas. (NPL03, $16.00)

Seven Years in Tibet

by Heinrich Harrer

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
2009
PAPER
352 PAGES

First published in 1953, this is the riveting account of a young Austrian adventurer and mountaineer who became tutor to the Dalai Lama. (TBT02, $14.95)

30 Days in Sydney, A Wildly Distorted Account

by Peter Carey

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2008
PAPER
256 PAGES

An impressionistic account of Carey's native city, the result of his return visit (with a tape recorder) after an absence of 17 years. (AUS123, $13.00)

In a Sunburned Country

by Bill Bryson

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2001
PAPER
335 PAGES
FAVORITE

The intrepid, ever-resourceful Bryson revels in Australia's eccentric characters, dangerous flora and fauna, and other oddities in this wildly funny, effortlessly informative travelogue. (AUS83, $15.99)

The Edge of Paradise, America in Micronesia

by P. K. Kluge

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
1993
PAPER
244 PAGES

The insightful, personal memoir of a Peace Corps volunteer in the American possessions in the Mariana, Caroline and Marshall Islands of Micronesia in 1967, including Truk and Ponape. (PAC33, $21.00)

Stranger in the Forest

by Eric Hansen

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2000
PAPER
288 PAGES
FAVORITE

Hansen's absorbing account of a trek across Sarawak in the company of the nomadic Penan is an entertaining portrait of a little-visited world and vanishing way of life. (BRN16, $16.00)

The Songlines

by Bruce Chatwin

CULTURAL PORTRAIT
2012
PAPER
320 PAGES
FAVORITE

Rory Stewart provides the introduction to this 25th anniversary edition of Bruce Chatwin's celebrated travelogue, which is as much about its gifted author -- and the meaning of travel -- as about the Aboriginal people and their ways of life. Chatwin transforms a journey through the Outback into an exhilarating, semi-fictional meditation on our place in the world. (AUS01, $16.00)

Tracks, A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

by Robyn Davidson

EXPLORATION
1995
PAPER
256 PAGES

The true-life story of a woman's trek across the Australian outback -- an adventurous tale shot through with a feel for the landscape and empathy for the Aborigines she meets along the way. (AUS15, $15.95)

A House in Bali

by Colin McPhee

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2000
PAPER
213 PAGES

A warm tribute to the people, culture and, especially, the music of Bali of the 1930s. It's a literary classic, originally published in 1944. (BAL15, $20.00)

This Cold Heaven

by Gretel Ehrlich

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2003
PAPER
400 PAGES
FAVORITE

Ehrlich spent seven seasons in Greenland, mostly alone, traveling by boat, helicopter, plane and dogsled. This exhilarating book reflects her insight, knowledge and deep appreciation of the people and barren landscapes of the north. (ARC107, $18.95)

Terra Incognita, Travels in Antarctica

by Sara Wheeler

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
1999
PAPER
384 PAGES

A fine portrait of modern Antarctic scientists (and cooks and truck drivers), Wheeler's book weaves stories of modern adventure with commentary on the heroic age of exploration. A thoroughly enjoyable, anecdotal tribute. (ANT45, $15.00)

Arctic Dreams

by Barry Lopez

NATURAL HISTORY
2001
PAPER
417 PAGES
FAVORITE

A dazzling meditation on the Arctic, breathtaking in scope. Lopez draws on his travels throughout the North, including Baffin Island, the Chukchi and Bering seas, Alaska, the Yukon and Greenland, interweaving natural history, accounts of early exploration, anecdote and lore into an indelible portrait of place. (ARC11, $16.00)

Also Recommended

Slowly Down the Ganges

by Eric Newby

TRAVEL NARRATIVE
2011
PAPER
384 PAGES

In 1963, the author and his wife set out an a 1,200-mile voyage down the Ganges River. The title could apply as easily to the ruminative attitude Newby takes towards his journey as to the many mishaps which bedevil the quest. (IDA179, $18.95)

Madagascar, The Eighth Continent

by Peter Tyson

NATURAL HISTORY
2013
PAPER
375 PAGES

Peter Tyson tags along with several researchers, interweaving an account of their work with travelogue, history and ecology for this far-ranging, journalistic report on the cultural and natural history of Madagascar. (MAD22, $19.99)

More Recommendations

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Enrich Your Travels with Longitude

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GET A

Catalog

In the Kitchen

Gran Cocina Latina, The Food of Latin America

SEE ALL >

Antarctica

Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing

SEE ALL >

Our Favorites

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

SEE ALL >

Tuscany

Every Day in Tuscany, Seasons of an Italian Life

SEE ALL >

Around the World in 80 Travel Books

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

by Tony Horwitz

by John McPhee

by Jonathan Raban

by Timothy Egan

by Bill Bryson

by William Least Heat Moon

by Edward Abbey

by John Steinbeck

by Mark Twain

by Mark Twain

by Tim Cahill

by Redmond O'Hanlon

by Tom Miller

by Paul Theroux

by Bruce Chatwin

by Edmund White

by Peter Fleming

by Bob Krist | Frances Mayes

by Frances Mayes

by Frances Mayes

by Peter Ackroyd

by Isabel Fonseca

by Robert D. Kaplan

by Mary Lee Settle

by Claudio Magris

by Ernest Hemingway

by M. F. K. Fisher

by Henry Miller

by George Orwell

by D.H. Lawrence

by Alison Wearing

by Jason Elliot

by William Langewiesche

by Amitav Ghosh

by Eric Hansen

by Gavin Maxwell

by Wilfred Thesiger

by Beryl Markham | Sara Wheeler

by Isak Dinesen

by Freya Stark

by Steve McCurry

by Colin Thubron

by Simon Winchester

by Jan Morris

by Pico Iyer

by Mark Salzman

by Alan Booth

by Michael Ondaatje

by Peter Matthiessen

by Heinrich Harrer

by Peter Carey

by Bill Bryson

by P. K. Kluge

by Eric Hansen

by Bruce Chatwin

by Robyn Davidson

by Colin McPhee

by Gretel Ehrlich