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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 EXCHN367. Buy these 4 items as a set for $70 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Odyssey Guide The Silk Road, Xi'an to Kashgar

Odyssey Guide The Silk Road, Xi'an to Kashgar

by Judy Bonavia

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

With its photographs, maps, essays and lively sidebars on people, literature, food, religion, nature and customs, this is a terrific guide. (CAS13, $24.95)

K2, Triumph and Tragedy

K2, Triumph and Tragedy

by Jim Curran

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1997
  • PAPER

This is a tense account of disaster on the world's second highest mountain in 1986. The author was on the mountain when 13 climbers in 9 different expeditions died. (PKN05, $15.00)

Foreign Devils on the Silk Road

Foreign Devils on the Silk Road

by Peter Hopkirk

  • HISTORY
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 252 PAGES

Hopkirk's rousing tale of Sven Hedin and other larger-than-life archaeological raiders of the early 20th century captures the excitement of discovery -- and the glories of the Silk Road. (CAS22, $24.95)

Northwest China Map

Northwest China Map

by MapLink

  • 2002
  • MAP

This bird's-eye map takes in the region from Dunhuang west across the Taklamakan to Almaty, Bishkek and the Pamirs. With shaded relief, archaeological sites, roads, tracks and paths, railroads and trade routes. (CHN202, $9.95)

 
Altitude Illness: Prevention and Treatment, How to Stay Healthy at Altitude

Altitude Illness: Prevention and Treatment, How to Stay Healthy at Altitude


by Stephen Bezruchka

  • REFERENCE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

Bezruchka, a mountaineer and M.D., includes case studies, frequently asked questions and simple methods of diagnosis and treatment in this indispensable pocket guide. (REF02, $8.95)

Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook


by Justin Jon Rudelson

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 239 PAGES

A handy pocket phrasebook, which focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler on the Silk Road. (CAS38, $8.99)

Religions of the Silk Road

Religions of the Silk Road


by Richard C. Foltz

  • RELIGION
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 186 PAGES

A scholarly survey of cultural traditions, and especially religions, along the trade routes through China and Central Asia from antiquity to the 15th century. (CAS52, $26.00)

The Forbidden City, Center of Imperial China

The Forbidden City, Center of Imperial China


by Gilles Beguin | Dominique Morel

  • HISTORY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

This slim volume is packed with maps, archival photographs and illustrations. With a useful chronology and a carefully chosen selection of writings over the ages, it's an indispensable guide to the Forbidden City and the history of Imperial China. (CHN32, $15.95)

The Great Game

The Great Game


by Peter Hopkirk

  • HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 565 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Hopkirk's spellbinding account of the great struggle for European supremacy in Central Asia takes us over the high mountain passes and through the scorching deserts and caravan towns of the Silk Road, capturing the glamour, intrigue, treachery and adventure of the time. (CAS09, $18.00)

The Silk Road, Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia

The Silk Road, Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia


by Frances Wood

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 270 PAGES

Wood draws on hundreds of archival photographs, manuscripts and paintings from the British Library in telling this lively story of the art, culture and history of diverse trade routes. With chapters on jade and silk, trade during the Han Dynasty, Dunhuang, the Great Game, explorers and the Silk Road today. (ASA36, $28.95)

War at the Top of the World, The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet

War at the Top of the World, The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet


by Eric Margolis

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

An overview of geography, religion and politics of the High Himalayas, and its strategic value to Pakistan, India and China. Updated throughout in this second edition, with a new chapter on the Taliban. (PKN09, $30.95)

World Religions: Eastern Traditions

World Religions: Eastern Traditions


by Willard G. Oxtoby

  • RELIGION
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 515 PAGES

A clear and insightful introduction to Eastern religions by a team of scholars, covering Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist and East Asian traditions. Scholarly, but still rewarding for the general reader. (ASA07, $79.95)

Along the Silk Road

Along the Silk Road


by Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A nicely illustrated collection of essays on the art, culture and music of the Silk Road with contributions by art historian ten Grotenhuis (who edited the volume), Yo-Yo Ma and others associated with the Silk Road Project. (CAS78, $24.95)

The Mummies of Urumchi

The Mummies of Urumchi


by Elizabeth Wayland Barber

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

An overview of the culture of ancient people of the Silk Road based on the extraordinarily well preserved Caucasoid mummies unearthed in Urumchi in the Tarim Basin of Central Asia. (CAS34, $19.95)

The Silk Road, Art and History

The Silk Road, Art and History


by Jonathan Tucker | Antonia Tozer

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 384 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

Tucker, a specialist in Asian Art, interweaves history, exploration, culture, art, archaeology and literature in this richly illustrated celebration of the ancient Silk Road from Xi'an to Rome. Organized geographically and brimming with maps, it's an essential reference to the complex geography, art and history of the region. (CAS98, $65.00)

Among the Mountains, Travels through Asia

Among the Mountains, Travels through Asia


by Wilfred Thesiger

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 174 PAGES

A classic account of intrepid British explorer Wilfred Thesiger's travels through the mountain ranges of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Karakorams, the Hindu Kush, and Ladakh. (ASA28, $17.99)

Life Along the Silk Road

Life Along the Silk Road


by Susan Whitfield

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 253 PAGES

With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten diverse individuals on the ancient Silk Road, including four tales set in Dunhuang. With a superb 15-page history of Central Asia. (CAS44, $24.95)

My Life as an Explorer

My Life as an Explorer


by Sven Hedin | Anthony Brandt

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 546 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

One of the great adventure books of all time (it's on National Geographic's list of the 100 greatest, My Life as an Explorer chronicles the extraordinary feats of the indomitable Swede Sven Hedin (1865-1952) across Asia. (CAS06, $16.00)

News from Tartary

News from Tartary


by Peter Fleming

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Fleming's rousing account of a 3,500-mile jaunt from Peking to Sinkiang and on to India, a classic of imperial British wit and style. (CAS46, $18.95)

Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2, the World's Most Feared Mountain


by Jennifer Jordan

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 300 PAGES

The stories of five women who made it to the top of K2 from 1986 to 1995, told in order of their summits: Wanda Rutkiewicz, Liliane Barrard, Julie Tullis, Chantal Mauduit and Alison Hargreaves. (HML68, $24.95)

Mountain Light, In Search of the Dynamic Landscape

Mountain Light, In Search of the Dynamic Landscape


by Galen Rowell

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

The 25th anniverary edition of Rowell's landmark book, featuring 80 spectacular images, divided according to visual content. Each chapter illustrates a theme or technique, supplemented by a short personal essay. (PHT06, $29.95)

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India and Nepal

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India and Nepal


by Bikram Grewal

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A slim pocket guide to 252 of the most conspicuous birds of India and Nepal. (IDA46, $15.95)

Concise Flowers of the Himalaya

Concise Flowers of the Himalaya


by Oleg Polunin | Adam Stainton

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

A condensed version of the classic Flowers of the Himalayas featuring the same 700 color photographs and 315 line drawings but with shorter descriptive information. (HML17, $25.00)

Photographic Guide to Birds of the Himalayas

Photographic Guide to Birds of the Himalayas


by Bikram Grewal

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A pocket guide to 250 birds found from the foothills up to high elevations ranging from the Hindu Kush and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalayas. With brief descriptive information, maps and 260 full-color illustrations. (HML31, $15.95)

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.