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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXEUR760. Buy these 6 items as a set for $96 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Eyewitness Guide Germany

Eyewitness Guide Germany

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 608 PAGES

Featuring color photography, excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. (GER133, $30.00)

Fodor's Amsterdam's 25 Best

Fodor's Amsterdam's 25 Best

by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This slim guide to essential highlights includes an excellent map of the city center and can easily be slipped in your pocket. (NTH16, $11.99)

The German Way

The German Way

by Hyde Flippo

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 138 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

This clever A-to-Z guide to quirks, attitudes, behavior and customs is a terrific resource for travelers seeking insight into why the Germans, Austrians and Swiss do what they do. (GER12, $17.00)

A Time of Gifts

A Time of Gifts

by Patrick Leigh Fermor

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

Fermor effortlessly interweaves anecdote, history and culture in this exuberant account of a walk from Holland, up the Rhine and down the Danube, through Germany, Prague and Austria in 1933. Written not in the moment, but 40 years later, the accumulation of time and experience give the book particular poignancy. (CEU30, $16.95)

La Place de la Concorde Suisse

La Place de la Concorde Suisse

by John McPhee

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 150 PAGES

In the company of a Swiss patrol leader on a training mission, McPhee deploys his usual insight and wonderful prose on the phenomenon of the army of Switzerland. (SWZ14, $16.00)

Germany, Benelux, Austria Czech Republic Map

Germany, Benelux, Austria Czech Republic Map

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • 2007
  • MAP

This handy map shows road and river routes from Amsterdam and Berlin to Prague, Vienna, Munich and Salzburg at a scale of 1:1,000,000. (EUR100, $11.95)

 
Eyewitness Guide Amsterdam

Eyewitness Guide Amsterdam


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

A wonderful guide to Amsterdam, filled with detailed drawings, photographs and thumbnail sketches. Slim and attractive, it also includes detailed maps and cutaway drawings of landmarks. Includes The Hague, Rotterdam and Delft. (NTH01, $25.00)

Fodor's Milan's 25 Best

Fodor's Milan's 25 Best


by Fodor's Travel Publications

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A handy, shirt-pocket guide to Milan with a map and essential information on its highlights. (ITL608, $11.99)

Insight Guide Switzerland

Insight Guide Switzerland


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

This handsome guide gives a profusely illustrated overview of Switzerland, featuring concise essays by well-regarded authors on history, politics and culture, as well as hundreds of photos and maps, and some practical information. (SWZ15, $24.99)

Prost! The Story of German Beer

Prost! The Story of German Beer


by Horst D. Dornbusch

  • FOOD
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The Munich-based aficionado weaves history and culture with the marvels and mysteries of German beer in this brief, authoritative guide. (GER99, $14.95)

A Concise History of Germany

A Concise History of Germany


by Mary Fulbrook

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 277 PAGES

This essential short history of Germany -- a whirlwind survey in less than 300 pages -- explores the relationships between social, political and cultural factors in this land located in the center of Europe. (GER13, $28.99)

All Along the Rhine: Recipes, Wine and Lore from Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Holland

All Along the Rhine: Recipes, Wine and Lore from Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Holland


by Kay Shaw Nelson

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 211 PAGES

A tribute to the Rhine Valley, its history, culture and especially its food in 130 authentic recipes. (GER111, $14.95)

The Burgermeister's Daughter, Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town

The Burgermeister's Daughter, Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town


by Steven Ozment

  • HISTORY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Meticulously researched and absorbing, this narrative by a Harvard historian traces the legal battle of the daughter of a well-to-do family who was thrown out of her home and disinherited in 1525. (GER25, $13.99)

The European Union, A Very Short Introduction

The European Union, A Very Short Introduction


by John Pinder

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

This pocket primer covers the development of the EU, its history, policies, growth, governance and impact on world affairs. With 17 maps. (EUR231, $11.95)

The Habsburgs, Embodying Empire

The Habsburgs, Embodying Empire


by Andrew Wheatcroft

  • HISTORY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

The Habsburgs ruled over more diverse peoples and cultures than any other European dynasty since the Roman period. With skillful scholarship and engaging style, Wheatcroft reveals the history of this family of eccentric monarchs. (AST11, $17.00)

The Rhine, Culture and Landscape at the Heart of Europe

The Rhine, Culture and Landscape at the Heart of Europe


by Roland Recht

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2001
  • HARD COVER
  • 360 PAGES

This beautifully illustrated, oversized survey of the history, geography and culture of the Rhine shows cities, villages and sights along the river from its source in the Alps to the North Sea. (GER120, $75.00)

The Undutchables

The Undutchables


by Colin White

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 308 PAGES

A laugh-out-loud, irreverent guide to Dutch character and habits, including how to drink coffee and why you shouldn't even think about haggling over prices. (NTH12, $16.00)

Why Switzerland?

Why Switzerland?


by Jonathan Steinberg

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 300 PAGES

A masterly overview of the idiosyncrasies of Switzerland, its history, language, politics and identity as a naysayer at the center of Europe. (SWZ04, $37.99)

A Worldly Art

A Worldly Art


by Mariet Westermann

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

This appreciative analysis of Dutch art in its Golden Age (1585-1718) features 100 exemplary illustrations by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch, Frans Hals and other masters. (NTH46, $25.00)

Baroque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting

Baroque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting


by Rolf Toman

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 500 PAGES

This elaborately illustrated oversize book shows in spelnded color the spread of baroque and rococo painting, architecture and sculpture styles from Rome across Europe in the 17th century. (EUR204, $24.95)

The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral

The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral


by Robert A. Scott

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 294 PAGES

An enthusiast, Scott presents history, design, architecture and wonder of the medieval cathedral and the great Abbey churches. (EUR190, $21.95)

A Tramp Abroad

A Tramp Abroad


by Mark Twain | David Eggers | Kerry Driscoll

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

Written 11 years after Innocents Abroad, this is Twain's second foray into European travel. Filled with his characteristic wit and humorous observations, it documents his journeys through Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy. Now with an introduction by Dave Eggers. (EUR78, $14.95)

Killing Dragons, The Conquest of the Alps

Killing Dragons, The Conquest of the Alps


by Fergus Fleming

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

Fleming spins lively tales of man against nature in this entertaining history of the eccentrics, adventurers and publicity-hounds who sought to conquer the Alps, including Whymper and his first ascent of the Matterhorn (where four of the seven-man team perished). (ALP16, $14.00)

Scrambles Amongst the Alps: In the Years 1860-69

Scrambles Amongst the Alps: In the Years 1860-69


by Edward Whymper

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Edward Wymper's vivid account of Victorian-era mountaineering, a classic, captures the geography, beauty and allure of the Alps. (ALP02, $16.00)

The Improbable Voyage

The Improbable Voyage


by Tristan Jones

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 332 PAGES

Jones, an inveterate Welsh sailor, adventurer and storyteller, channels Eastern Europe circa 1985 in his tale of a tough voyage along the Rhine and Danube to the Black Sea. (EUR156, $16.50)

Measuring the World, A Novel

Measuring the World, A Novel


by Daniel Kehlmann | Carol Brown Janeway

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

Kehlman interweaves the lives and adventures of explorer Alexander Von Humboldt and mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss with wit and invention in this surprise bestselling novel of South American travel, science and ideas. (GER202, $16.00)

Stones from the River, A Novel

Stones from the River, A Novel


by Ursula Hegi

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 525 PAGES

Rich in details of daily life in Germany in the first half of the 20th century, this ambitious novel illuminates the impact of Nazism and complicity of townsfolk through the eyes of Trudi Montag, librarian, storyteller and testimony to difference (she's a Zwerg or dwarf). (GER213, $16.00)

The Blue Flower

The Blue Flower


by Penelope Fitzgerald

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 225 PAGES

Set in the Age of Goethe, this exquisitely written short novel is a fictional account of the life of the Romantic poet Novalis. It paints a vivid picture of German intellectual and mercantile life in the late 1700s. (GER21, $13.00)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

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.