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Catalog

FATHER'S DAY

City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas

Roger Crowley

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PROVENCE & THE COTE D'AZUR

A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France

Georgeanne Brennan

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OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

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PENGUIN CLASSICS

The Log from the Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

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China, Yangtze River & Hong Kong

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Books for

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 DRAFT. Buy these 5 items as a set for $70 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Understanding China

Understanding China

by John Bryan Starr

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

The Yale professor brings us up to date in this third edition of his succinct and refreshingly forthright best-selling guide to China's economy, history and politics. (CHN196, $17.95)

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

by Jan Morris

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

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

Wild Swans, Three Daughters of China

Wild Swans, Three Daughters of China

by Jung Chang

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 524 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

In this riveting tale of three generations spanning the end of Old China, Mao's regime and the Japanese occupation, Chang chronicles the enormous changes in China since 1929. (CHN04, $16.99)

China Adventure Map

China Adventure Map

by National Geographic

  • 2011
  • MAP

A double-sided, full-color map of China, at a useful scale of 1:4,375,000, which shows roads and cities. Printed on tear- and water-reistant paper. (CHN06, $11.95)

Central China Map

Central China Map

by MapLink

  • 2006
  • MAP

This detailed map shows the most visited sites in China from Beijing and Shanghai to Chengdu, Chongqing and the Three Gorges to Xi'an and Lanzhou at a scale of 1:2,000.000. (CHN431, $9.95)

 
Yangzi River Map

Yangzi River Map


by Richard Perry Hayman

  • 2003
  • MAP

Double-sided, this full-color map guide features photos and 10 maps showing the Yangzi from the Himalayas to the East China Sea. (CHN177, $14.95)

Culture Smart! China

Culture Smart! China


by Kathy Flower

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

Take along this handy guide to local customs, etiquette and culture. (CHN434, $9.95)

Fodor's Hong Kong's 25 Best

Fodor's Hong Kong's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A handy shirt-pocket guide and map. (HKG09, $11.99)

Three Gorges of the Yangtze River

Three Gorges of the Yangtze River


by Raynor Shaw | Judy Bonavia

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 248 PAGES

Compact, illustrated and up-to-date, this Odyssey Guide focuses on the most popular 120-mile cruise from Chongqing to Wuhan. (CHN368, $22.95)

The Chinese Kitchen

The Chinese Kitchen


by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

  • FOOD
  • 1999
  • HARD COVER
  • 452 PAGES

An authoritative compendium of Chinese recipes and food-oriented cultural practices. Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's cookbook doubles as an introduction to China itself. (CHN134, $39.95)

China, A New History

China, A New History


by John Fairbank | Merle Goldman

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 546 PAGES

A sweeping history of China from the Paleolithic to Tiananmen, revised with a new chapter by Merle Goldman. A standard for history buffs. (CHN11, $26.50)

China, A Photographic Journey Through the Middle Kingdom

China, A Photographic Journey Through the Middle Kingdom


by Gu Guo

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 243 PAGES

This sweet miniature edition of the oversized original includes the same 243 dramatic color photos and 12 panoramic foldout pages, showing China's monuments and landscapes. (CHN627, $17.50)

Postcards from Tomorrow Square

Postcards from Tomorrow Square


by James Fallows

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Ranging from politics to society and business, these richly observed, candid essays capture the complexity, tumult and promise of modern China. A correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, where these essays first appeared, Fallows moved with his wife to China in 2006. (CHN559, $15.00)

The Great Wall, China Against the World, 1000 BC - 2000 AD

The Great Wall, China Against the World, 1000 BC - 2000 AD


by Julia Lovell

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 412 PAGES

The Who, Why and Wherefore of the Great Wall, this marvelous history demolishes myths (no, the wall is not a continuous structure of great antiquity, as much of it was built in the 1600s) with fresh insight and wit. (CHN308, $15.00)

The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China

The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China


by William Lindesay

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 32 PAGES

Lindesay augments colorful illustrations and photographs with detailed captions in this concise visual overview of the extraordinary tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, First Emperor of China. (CHN126, $12.95)

The Great Wall, From Beginning to End

The Great Wall, From Beginning to End


by Michael Yamashita | William Lindesay

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

Lindesay's informative text accompanies 160 photographs by Yamashita, who spent a year photographing along the 4,000-mile expanse. (CHN451, $29.95)

The River at the Center of the World

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, $16.00)

China Road

China Road


by Rob Gifford

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

NPR's Gifford writes with warmth and affection of his encounters with truckers, small farmers and regular folk along fabled Route 312 from Shanghai to the border of Kazakhstan. (CHN433, $17.00)

Country Driving

Country Driving


by Peter Hessler

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

Opening with an eventful 7,000-mile road trip across northern China, Peter Hessler (River Town, Oracle Bones) shows the absurdity, humor and hope of China in this latest portrait of a nation catapulted into the modern world. (CHN600, $15.99)

Daughter of the River, An Autobiography

Daughter of the River, An Autobiography


by Hong Ying

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Ying traces the arc of her life from struggles during the Great Famine through Tiananmen Square in this inspiring tale of coming of age in Chongqing on the banks of the Yangtze. (CHN240, $14.00)

Dreaming in Chinese, Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language

Dreaming in Chinese, Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language


by Deborah Fallows

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

A linguist, living in Shanghai and Beijing with her journalist-husband James (Postcards from Tomorrow Square) the exuberant Deborah Fallows illuminates the Chinese worldview through language in playful, anecdotal essays, documenting her own missteps and growing understanding with self-deprecating humor. (CHN648, $13.00)

Lost on Planet China

Lost on Planet China


by J. Maarten Troost

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Lost on Planet China finds the irrepressible J. Maarten Troost dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai; eating Yak in Tibet; deciphering restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as Cattle Penis with Garlic); and visiting with Chairman Mao (still dead, very orange). He's not just funny, he's a guide to mixed-up modern China. (CHN496, $14.95)

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong


by Jonathan Spence

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

Yale Sinologist, writer and historian Spence tracks the life of the Chinese ruler from his provincial upbringing through his powerful rule. (CHN66, $14.00)

Mr. China, A Memoir

Mr. China, A Memoir


by Tim Clissold

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 262 PAGES

An excellent portrait of contemporary China. Clissold writes with humor and insight in this entertaining account of his encounters with the Chinese and the Chinese way of doing business. (CHN306, $14.99)

River Town, Two Years on the Yangtze

River Town, Two Years on the Yangtze


by Peter Hessler

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

Hessler's compelling, personal story of life as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fuling, where foreigners are a curiosity, explores the culture, traditions and ideas of an isolated world. (CHN125, $14.99)

A Single Pebble

A Single Pebble


by John Hersey

  • LITERATURE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 181 PAGES

A haunting novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winner. Hersey writes, with deceptive simplicity, of an American engineer looking for a dam site on the Yangtze. Think Hemingway on the Yangtze. (CHN03, $14.00)

China, A Traveler's Literary Companion

China, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by Kirk Denton

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 231 PAGES

An introduction both to China's finest modern writers and its diverse cultures, concerns and landscapes, organized geographically. (CHN520, $14.95)

Death of a Red Heroine

Death of a Red Heroine


by Xiaolong Qui

  • MYSTERY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 464 PAGES

Marvelously evocative of Shanghai and tremendously informative about China's transition towards a market economy in the 1990s, Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police must find the murderer of a National Model Worker in this award-winning debut. The series continues with A Loyal Character Dancer (CHN412). (CHN374, $14.95)

Empress Orchid

Empress Orchid


by Anchee Min

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 346 PAGES

In this novel of the glorious, decadent last days of 19th-Century Imperial China, Min (Red Azalea, Becoming Madame Mao) combines her tale of a young girl from the provinces who marries an emperor -- and then improbably becomes the Last Empress -- with a lovingly re-created portrait of life in the Forbidden City. (CHN267, $14.00)

Waiting

Waiting


by Ha Jin

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 308 PAGES

A spare, haunting story of a military doctor who tries for 18 years to divorce his peasant wife so he can marry a more sophisticated nurse at his hospital. Greatly evocative of quotidian life in China during the Cultural Revolution and after. (CHN80, $15.00)

Chinese Wildlife

Chinese Wildlife


by Martin Walters

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

This compact introduction to birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and plants found from the Tibetan plateau to the deserts, tropical forests and mountains includes 200 color photographs. (CHN440, $26.99)

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.