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Order an essential package, and we'll ship any additional items for free. We offer a mix of guidebooks, maps, field guides, novels and books on art, architecture, history, nature and culture.

Essential Reading

Item EXGBR497. Buy these 4 items as a set for $78 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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The Story of England

The Story of England

by Christopher Hibbert

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Beautifully illustrated with color pictures, chronological charts, royal genealogies and maps, this popular history of English politics, economics and culture from the Neolithic age to the 1990s is an excellent traveler's companion. (GBR02, $19.95)

Londoners, The Days and Nights of London Now As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Have Left It, and Long for It

Londoners, The Days and Nights of London Now As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Have Left It, and Long for It

by Craig Taylor

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 448 PAGES

Drawing on the unforgettable stories of nearly 100 Londoners, Taylor provides a rich and vivid kaleidoscopic view of modern day London through the diverse voices of the city's citizens who, regardless of whether they love or hate it, capture the heart and soul of one of the world's greatest cities. (GRB69, $29.99)

Eyewitness Guide London

Eyewitness Guide London

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

This superb guide to London features color photography, dozens of excellent neighborhood maps and a district-by-district synopsis of the city's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (GBR34, $25.00)

London Map

London Map

by Borch Maps

  • 2009
  • MAP

A colorful and detailed laminated city map with a variety of useful inset maps. (GBR114, $9.95)

 
City Secrets London

City Secrets London


by Robert Kahn

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 250 PAGES

A connoisseur's guide to the city and its attractions, with personal recommendations by artists, designers, architects and personalities who have made their home in London. (GBR327, $19.95)

Fodor's London's 25 Best

Fodor's London's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

This slim guide to London (with handy full-color maps) has everything you need to know for a short visit to the city, including recommended sightseeing, restaurants, hotels and shops. (GBR08, $12.99)

Food Lovers' London


by Jenny Linford

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 311 PAGES

London's specialty food shops, restaurants and neighborhoods are covered in glorious detail in Jenny Linford's illustrated handbook. (GBR593, $16.95)

Insight Guide London

Insight Guide London


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A guide to the city with hundreds of color photographs and excellent local maps. (GBR367, $19.99)

Time Out London Walks, 30 Walks by London Writers

Time Out London Walks, 30 Walks by London Writers


by Time Out

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A personable guide to a wide variety of London excursions.The handy guide is chock full of color photographs, illustrations, practical information and good maps. (GBR595, $19.95)

A Traveller's History of London

A Traveller's History of London


by Richard Tames

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

The story of London, from the Romans to Tony Blair, tailored to the traveler. (GBR232, $14.95)

Johnson's Life of London, The People Who Made the City That Made the World

Johnson's Life of London, The People Who Made the City That Made the World


by Boris Johnson

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 336 PAGES

London Mayor Boris Johnson's public persona in Britain is akin to a floppy-haired public school boy who has stumbled by accident on to the levers of power. In print this persona can stray sometimes to the wrong side of parody as Johnson offers this otherwise entertaining guide to the famous figures who have made London great. In garrulous prose Johnson offers his views on such luminaries as Winston Churchill, the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. (GRB62, $27.95)

London, A History

London, A History


by A.N. Wilson

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

A brief, evocative meditation on the rich and varied history of England's capital city by the prolific British writer, critic and historian. Wilson examines London through several lenses, using humor and insight to discuss art, architecture, politics and culture. (GBR480, $14.00)

London, The Biography

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)

The Age of Shakespeare

The Age of Shakespeare


by Francois Laroque

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia, an excellent introduction to Elizabethan England, presents Shakespeare, his life, times and legacy in concise essays and well-chosen illustrations. (GBR11, $12.95)

Watching the English

Watching the English


by Kate Fox

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

Fox's clever guide to conversation, behavior, quirks, habits and foibles of the English, wildly popular back home in Britain. (GBR927, $17.95)

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages


by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. (MED07, $15.95)

The Theatre, A Concise History

The Theatre, A Concise History


by Phyllis Hartnoll | Enoch Brater

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A fully illustrated survey of the theater from the days of the ancient Greeks to today, part of the "World of Art" series. (GEN213, $21.95)

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey


by Richard Jenkyns | Mary Beard

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

In a highly original pocket book, classicist and cultural historian Richard Jenkyns looks afresh at the celebrated church complex -- national cathedral, coronation church, royal mausoleum, burial place of poets, resting place of the great and of the Unknown Warrior, former home of parliament, place of Princess Diana's funeral. (GBR810, $14.95)

The Age of Shakespeare

The Age of Shakespeare


by Frank Kermode

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 214 PAGES

A remarkably concise, elegant overview of the world of Shakespeare in the Modern Library Chronicles series by the eminent British critic and scholar. (GBR522, $14.00)

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel


by Jerome Jerome | Jeremy Lewis

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 361 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Written in 1889, "Three Men in a Boat" (to say nothing of the dog!) is a laugh-out-loud account of a man-powered voyage along the River Thames, full of detail on life and lore. A Longitude favorite. (GBR28, $12.00)

84 Charing Cross Road


by Helene Hanff

  • LITERATURE
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 97 PAGES

This charming novel of bibliophilia tells of a love triangle between a New York writer, the owner of a London bookstore and the books he sells. (GBR231, $13.00)

Capital

Capital


by John Lanchester

  • LITERATURE
  • 2013
  • PAPER
  • 537 PAGES

Lanchester (Fragrant Harbor, Dept to Pleasure) sets this latest novel on a single street in London in 2008, at the height of the financial meltdown, interweaving the tales of longtime residents, recent immigrants and the newly rich. (GRB75, $15.95)

Case Histories


by Kate Atkinson

  • MYSTERY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

In this debut of this devislishly clever series, both a terrific whodunit and family saga, private detective Jackson Brodie --ex-cop, ex-husband and weekend dad -- takes on three cases involving past crimes that occurred in and around London. (GRB79, $15.00)

The Body in the Library

The Body in the Library


by Agatha Christie

  • MYSTERY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

In this Agatha Christie classic, a stylish blonde is found murdered at Grossington Hall and Miss Marple must put her keen observation skills to work to solve the crime. (GBR186, $12.99)

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, All 4 Novels and 56 Short Stories


by Arthur Conan Doyle

  • LITERATURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 1122 PAGES

This paperback volume manages to collect every Sherlock Holmes story that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ever wrote, including "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and his three other short novels concerning the legendary detective. (GBR157, $13.90)

The Heat of the Day


by Elizabeth Bowen

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

The suspenseful tale of life in London during the bombing raids of World War II. (GBR378, $16.00)

The Ministry of Fear

The Ministry of Fear


by Graham Greene

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

A thriller set in London during the Blitz by the master of atmosphere and ambiguity. (GBR571, $15.00)

The Time Machine


by H. G. Wells

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 104 PAGES

When a Victorian scientist propels himself into the year 802,701 AD, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment and peace. But he soon realizes that these beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture -- now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. Not long after he figures out why, he discovers his machine itself has vanished… (GBR, $9.00)

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