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Been Here a Thousand Years

Been Here a Thousand Years


by Mariolina Venezia | Marina Harss

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES
  • NEW

Venezia deftly weaves the creation of modern Italy, Garibaldi, Mussolini and the tumultuous recent history of the nation into this compact novel of five generations of the Falcone women -- and the rhythm of daily life in an ancient Basilicata hill town near the coastline of Puglia. (ITA24, $15.00)

A Comrade Lost and Found, A Beijing Story

A Comrade Lost and Found, A Beijing Story


by Jan Wong

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES
  • NEW

Jan Wong (Red China Blues) returns to Beijing, with her husband and reluctant teenage sons in tow, on a mission to find a classmate she wronged decades ago at Beijing University. (CHN547, $14.95)

A Course Called Ireland

A Course Called Ireland


by Tom Coyne

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES
  • NEW

Not just a quest to play every seaside course in the Emerald Isle (60 by the time he got to Ulster), Tom Coyne's entertaining portrait of Ireland, its people, pubs and quirks illuminates "Uncommon Acts of Irish Hospitality." (IRE251, $16.00)

Darwin in Galapagos, Footsteps to a New World

Darwin in Galapagos, Footsteps to a New World


by Greg Estes | Thalia Grant

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 416 PAGES
  • NEW

The duo retrace the five-week visit by Darwin to the Galapagos, both reaching new conclusions about where he went and what he did and tracking other changes in the archipelago over the last 175 years. Greg has been a guide since the 1980s and Thalia is the daughter of finch researcher Peter Grant. (GPS92, $29.95)

Dreaming in Hindi, Coming Awake in Another Language

Dreaming in Hindi, Coming Awake in Another Language


by Katherine Russell Rich

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES
  • NEW

Rich skewers the hilarity and challenges of taking on not just a new language but also a new culture in this spirited tale of life in Udaipur. (IDA565, $14.95)

Empires of the Silk Road

Empires of the Silk Road


by Christopher I. Beckwith

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 504 PAGES
  • NEW

Beckwith rescues Central Asia from the periphery of world affairs with flair and scholarship, showing the sweep of empire, trade and cultural life over the millennia. (CAS171, $16.95)

Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America, The Passerines

Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America, The Passerines


by Robert Ridgely | Guy Tudor

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 736 PAGES
  • NEW

Drawn from The Birds of South America, this field guide features Tudor's magnificent color plates, illustrating 1,500 species of songbirds, new color range maps and a succinct overview of habitat, distribution and abundance. (SAM140, $49.95)

Four Seasons in Rome

Four Seasons in Rome


by Anthony Doerr

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES
  • NEW

Doerr captures the romance and challenge of living abroad in this lyrical memoir, invitingly subtitled "On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World." (ITL840, $14.00)

Galapagos, Both Sides of the Coin

Galapagos, Both Sides of the Coin


by Pete Oxford | Graham Watkins

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES
  • NEW

Heads or tales, this ingenious book is a winner. Galapagos naturalist and colleague Pete Oxford collaborated with Graham Watkins, director of the Charles Darwin Research Station, for this tribute to the Galapagos and its wildlife. On one side, it features a parade of Galapagos birds, mammals, reptiles and landscapes in full color and, on the other, an illustrated, no-hold-barred human history of the islands and up-to-date survey of conservation. (GPS93, $35.00)

Galapagos, Exploring Darwin's Tapestry

Galapagos, Exploring Darwin's Tapestry


by John Hess

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 188 PAGES
  • NEW

Professor Hess pulls off the rare trick of being both scientifically accurate and inviting in this illustrated coffee-table primer on Galapagos, its geology, evolution and magnificent wildlife. (GPS91, $49.95)

Galapagos, Preserving Darwin's Legacy

Galapagos, Preserving Darwin's Legacy


by Tui De Roy

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES
  • NEW

Tui de Roy corralled researchers and friends for this stunning survey of the natural history, ecology and conservation of the Galapagos. With 450 breathtaking color photographs and chapters by Jack Grove (fishes), Peter and Rosemary Grant (finches), Dennis Geist (geology) and many other scientists. (GPS90, $49.95)

The Greek Poets, Homer to the Present

The Greek Poets, Homer to the Present


by Peter Constantine

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 704 PAGES
  • NEW

From the epics of Homer to beloved Cavafy, from the romances, hymns and bawdy rhymes of Byzantium to the innovative voices of a resurgent 20th century, this anthology brings together the diverse strands of the Greek poetic tradition in one handsome volume. (GRE393, $39.95)

The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton, and Antarctic Photography

The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton, and Antarctic Photography


by David Hempleman-Adams | Emma Stuart | Sophie Gordon

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES
  • NEW

One hundred years ago, during the reign of King George V, it's hard to imagine the stir surrounding these two great expeditions, caused in part by these captivating and haunting images, presented here along with essays, maps, paintings and other ephemera from the Royal Collection. Polar explorer David Hempleman-Adams provides the evocative captions, giving depth and context. (ANT298, $47.50)

Historical Atlas of the American West

Historical Atlas of the American West


by Derek Hayes

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 280 PAGES
  • NEW

This spectacular atlas presents a sweeping history of the American West through 600 color maps, posters and other striking archival material, expertly annotated and beautifully presented by geographer and historian Hayes. (USW606, $39.95)

How I Learned Geography

How I Learned Geography


by Uri Shulevitz

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 28 PAGES
  • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8)
  • NEW

A 2009 Caldecott Honor Book (his fourth), Uri Shulevitz's wise, beautifully drawn tale is also his most personal. "We traveled far, far east," he writes, "to another country, where summers were hot and winters cold, to a city of houses made of clay, straw, and camel dung, surrounded by dusty steppes, burned by the sun. In this story, drawing on his childhood memories of World War II, Shulevitz shows how a map, and imagination, took a little boy far away from the hungry and misery of exile in Kazakhstan. Dedicated to the memory of his father (who brought back the map one day from the market, rather than a crust of bread). (GEN506, $16.95)

How to Cook a Tapir

How to Cook a Tapir


by Joan Fry

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 294 PAGES
  • NEW

A young newlywed in Belize in the 1960s, Fry weaves heartfelt stories of her time in the jungle with affectionate portraits of the people, her own coming of age -- and, yes, recipes (rice and beans, pumpkin soup, gumbo and, as promised, tapir) in this earthy memoir. (BLZ22, $24.95)

La Bella Lingua

La Bella Lingua


by Dianne Hales

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES
  • NEW

Inebriated with the sounds of Italian, lovesick for its phrases and enamored of its earthy idioms, Hales, "a sensible woman of sturdy Polish stock," dives into the Italian of the piazza, literature, movies and streets in this charming memoir. (ITA26, $15.00)

The Lost City of Z

The Lost City of Z


by David Grann

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES
  • NEW

In this riveting, real-life adventure, New Yorker writer and middle-aged Brooklynite Grann sets out into the wild to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century" -- the fate of British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett, who disappeared in the Amazon in 1925. (AMZ117, $15.95)

Moby-Duck

Moby-Duck


by Donovan Hohn

  • SCIENCE
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 416 PAGES
  • NEW

Hohn's accidental odyssey into the fate of many thousand rubber ducks takes him into the world of oceanography, tides and currents, Arctic research and the shadowy realms of manufacture in China. It's a high adventure, harebrained perhaps, but compelling, especially for those of us who have spent time at sea; Hohn experiences some truly terrible weather. (OCE176, $27.95)

Modern Japan


by Christopher Goto-Jones

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 150 PAGES
  • NEW

One in the A Very Short Introduction series by notable authors on big subjects. (JPN399, $11.95)

Murderers in Mausoleums

Murderers in Mausoleums


by Jeffrey Tayler

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 306 PAGES
  • NEW

Tayler's riveting account of a three-month, 7,000-mile odyssey from Moscow to Beijing, through mighty Kazakhstan, across the Silk Road to Kashgar, Urumqi and onto Beijing, illuminates the red-hot geopolitics of Central Asia. (CAS168, $24.00)

New Zealand Wildlife

New Zealand Wildlife


by Julian Fitter

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES
  • NEW

Julian Fitter's splendid introduction to the nature and wildlife of New Zealand features succinct chapters on geography and geology, history, habitats and wildlife, along with hundreds of color photographs. (NZL97, $25.99)

Off the Tourist Trail

Off the Tourist Trail


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 336 PAGES
  • NEW

This inspiring roundup of favorite places by the experts at Eyewitness Travel zeroes in on lesser-known, little-visited alternatives, including ancient and historic cities, festivals, national parks and other marvels around the world. (TVL472, $40.00)

Polar Obsession

Polar Obsession


by Paul Nicklen

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES
  • NEW

Born and raised on Baffin Island, Nicklen has ice in his blood. The National Geographic photographer, wildlife biologist and naturalist presents up-close portraits of the creatures of the high latitudes in 150 dazzling photographs of swimming bears, cavorting seals, penguins, dueling narwhals and all manner of polar life. (ANT305, $50.00)

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet


by Reif Larsen

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES
  • NEW

This brilliant, boundary-leaping debut novel by Reif Larson turns 12-year-old genius map-maker T.S. Spivet's attempts to understand the ways of the world into a road novel l like no other. Festooned with diagrams, maps, drawings and rather remarkable marginalia, the book traces the journey of Spivet from his home on a Montana ranch to the halls of the Smithsonian Institution (he won an award). We found it helpful to note that Larsen thanks Lois Hetland, "my seventh grade teacher, for teaching me (almost) everything I know." His novel captures the exhilaration of adolescence. (USA374, $16.00)

Shangri-la: A Practical Guide to the Himalayan Dream

Shangri-la: A Practical Guide to the Himalayan Dream


by Michael Buckley

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 191 PAGES
  • NEW

With marvelous chapters on James Hilton's book and the many meanings and myths surrounding Shangri-La, Buckley's practical guide covers the contenders for this mythical Himalayan paradise in Southwest China, Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. With many maps and color photographs. (HML84, $25.99)

The Sibley Guide to Trees

The Sibley Guide to Trees


by David Allen Sibley

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2009
  • FLEXI-BOUND
  • 426 PAGES
  • NEW

Sibley turns his attention from birds to the trees where they live in this superb field guide to 668 species of native and commonly planted trees north of the Rio Grande. Bark, leaves, twigs, fruit, flowers and silhouettes are all meticulously illustrated. (NAT176, $39.95)

Slow, Life in a Tuscan Town

Slow, Life in a Tuscan Town


by Dougla Gayeton

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • NEW

A marvelous example of the art of the book and a terrific portrait of place. Gayeton introduces the butchers, bakers, farmers and ordinary folk of Pistoia, a village outside Florence, in this collection of engaging tales and artfully annotated duotone portraits (some presented with the artist's handwritten flourishes inscribed on an overlaying acetate sheet). (ITA108, $50.00)

The Snow Tourist, A Search for the World's Purest, Deepest Snowfall

The Snow Tourist, A Search for the World's Purest, Deepest Snowfall


by Charlie English

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES
  • NEW

Combining on-the-slopes experience with off-trail research, English follows in the footsteps of the Romantic poets across the Alps, learns how to build igloos with the Inuit on Baffin Island, examines snow-patches in the Cairngorms to detect signs of global warming, and tests his mettle on some of the most perilous peaks on Earth. (CON54, $15.95)

Spartacus Road, A Journey Through Ancient Italy

Spartacus Road, A Journey Through Ancient Italy


by Peter Stothard

  • HISTORY
  • 2012
  • HARD COVER
  • 368 PAGES
  • NEW

Stohard retraces the 2,000-mile journey of the rebel gladiator and his army from Rome to Pompei, Sorrento and in this tale of travel, myth and the great slave revolt in the first century B.C. (ITA201, $26.95)

The Thing Itself, On the Search for Authenticity

The Thing Itself, On the Search for Authenticity


by Richard Todd

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES
  • NEW

A marvelous writer, Richard Todd ponders the absurd, valuable and ineffable allure of the real, the centerpiece of this collection six charmingly off kilter essays on travel. Thoroughly enjoyable and surprising, the well-crafted essays are deceptively provocative and wise. (TVL470, $16.00)

Travels to the Edge

Travels to the Edge


by Art Wolfe

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES
  • NEW

Journey with photographer Wolfe on this globe-trotting visual odyssey from the tip of South America to Antarctica, Madagascar, Bhutan, Mongolia, New Zealand and back to Baja California, the American Southwest and Katmai National Park in 130 photographs. (PHT29, $24.95)

Twenty West: The Great Road Across America

Twenty West: The Great Road Across America


by Mac Nelson

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 366 PAGES
  • NEW

Neslon traces the route, history, and geography of Route 20, reflecting on the diverse history, landscape, geography, politics, culture, and other idiosyncratic people and places that he encountered during his journeys along Americaa's longest road, 3,300 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, to Newport, Oregon. (USA360, $25.00)

Unfamiliar Fishes

Unfamiliar Fishes


by Sarah Vowell

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2021
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES
  • NEW

Tracking the Americanization of Hawaii from the arrival of the first missionaries in 1820 to the annexation in 1898 (Queen Liliuokalani was in Washington lobbying to save her nation during the McKinley inauguration), Vowell shows the complex interplay of god, business and tradition with her usual acerbic wit (and research). (HWI248, $25.95)

When in Rome, Everyday Life in the Early Roman Empire

When in Rome, Everyday Life in the Early Roman Empire


by Paul Chrystal

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 112 PAGES
  • NEW

Expertly selected, this pocket anthology shows Rome -- and the Roman Empire -- though the eyes of contemporary writers. (ITA208, $14.95)

Wildwood

Wildwood


by Roger Deakin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 390 PAGES
  • NEW

A traveler's tale and a splendid work of natural history, Roger Deakin's glorious meditation on wood takes in his forest ramblings not just all over Great Britain but also to Central European beech woods, walnut groves in Languedoc, the wild fruit forests of Kazakhstan and Australia's river red gum forest wetlands. (NAT192, $26.95)

World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites


by UNESCO Publishing

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 856 PAGES
  • NEW

How many have you visited? This beautifully illustrated compendium includes color photographs, a map and succinct description of each of the 911 archaeological sites, monuments, cities or parks inscribed by UNESCO from 1978 to 1911. (CON53, $29.95)

 

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.