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In the Kitchen

Gran Cocina Latina, The Food of Latin America

Maricel E. Presilla

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Antarctica

Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing

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Our Favorites

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

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Tuscany

Every Day in Tuscany, Seasons of an Italian Life

Frances Mayes

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Outside Adventure Canon

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

The essential books for the well-read explorer as chosen by Brad Weiner and the editors at Outside.

Arabian Sands

Arabian Sands

by Wilfred Thesiger

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The last of the great British traveler-explorers, Thesiger (1910-2003) journeyed among the nomadic camel-breeding peoples of Southern Arabia in the late 1940s, falling in love with the desert and ways of life of the Bedouin. This eloquent book is his tribute to them. (ARB15, $16.00)

Wind, Sand and Stars

Wind, Sand and Stars

by Antoine de Saint Exupery

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1967
  • PAPER
  • 229 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

St. Exupery's luminous account of flying early postal routes over South America, Europe and the deserts of North Africa in the 1930s includes the classic tale of his crash in the Libyan desert. (DES11, $13.95)

Touching the Void

Touching the Void

by Joe Simpson

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 218 PAGES

The harrowing tale of a climb gone badly wrong and Simpson's near miraculous survival in the Andes. (AND37, $14.99)

In Patagonia

In Patagonia

by Bruce Chatwin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 204 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A masterpiece of travel, history and adventure, this award-winning book captures the spirit of the land, history, wildlife and people of Patagonia. There's no travel writer as engaging, insightful and just plain wonderful as Bruce Chatwin. (PAT01, $15.00)

Arctic Dreams

Arctic Dreams

by Barry Lopez

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 417 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A dazzling meditation on the Arctic, breathtaking in scope. Lopez draws on his travels throughout the North, including Baffin Island, the Chukchi and Bering seas, Alaska, the Yukon and Greenland, interweaving natural history, accounts of early exploration, anecdote and lore into an indelible portrait of place. (ARC11, $16.00)

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

by Eric Newby

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 255 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Newby wrote a string of memorable books about his adventures, often on a bicycle, but sometimes by foot or train, usually with his wife. This classic is a superb example of the misguided lark: a comically ill-prepared jaunt in the Naristan mountains of northeastern Afghanistan. "People like it," he explained, "when things go wrong." (CAS32, $14.99)

Tracks, A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

Tracks, A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

by Robyn Davidson

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

The true-life story of a woman's trek across the Australian outback -- an adventurous tale shot through with a feel for the landscape and empathy for the Aborigines she meets along the way. (AUS15, $15.95)

The Long Way

by William Rodarmor | Bernard Moitessier

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

The daring adventures of a long-distance French sailor and the first Golden Globe race, where he skipped past the finish line -- continuing on his mostly merry way for another three months. He loved to sail. (WLD35, $16.50)

Running the Amazon

Running the Amazon

by Joe Kane

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 278 PAGES

A best-selling account of a 4,000-mile expedition from the high Andes to the Atlantic by foot, raft and kayak -- an expedition only four of the ten participants finished. (AMZ13, $14.95)

Young Men & Fire

Young Men & Fire

by Norman MacLean

  • HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 301 PAGES

A lyrical and finely wrought story of the famous Mann Gulch, Montana firestorm, which took the lives of 13 of the elite Smokejumpers of the U.S. Forest Service in August 1949. (USW95, $16.00)

Great Plains

Great Plains

by Ian Frazier

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 292 PAGES

A marvelously digressive, wide-ranging account of 25,000 miles worth of travels criss-crossing throughout the Great Plains, combining first-rate reportage and history. (USW172, $16.00)

The Worst Journey in the World

The Worst Journey in the World

by Apsley Cherry-Garrard

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 573 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Cherry-Garrard's epic midwinter jaunt to an emperor penguin rookery is just a warm-up for the main event: Scott's doomed last expedition. (ANT23, $18.00)

My Journey to Lhasa

My Journey to Lhasa

by Alexandra David-Neel

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 317 PAGES

Dressed as a humble pilgrim and traveling under the cover of night, the indomitable 55-year-old David-Neel and her young companion climbed mountains and tricked soldiers to ultimately reach Tibet's forbidden capital. Originally published in 1923, her account stands as a riveting portrait of early 20th-century Tibet. (TBT26, $14.99)

Alive, The Story of the Andes Survivors

by Piers Paul Read

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

The gripping tale of survival against all odds: a plane crashes in the Andes, all passengers presumed dead. Read tells the story of terrible hardship, bravery and horror with admirable restraint. (AND38, $7.99)

The Perfect Storm, A True Story of Men Against the Sea

by Sebastian Junger

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A gripping, now-famous blow-by-blow account of a 1991 disaster at sea. Junger reconstructs the final hours of six men aboard a 72-foot swordfish boat in the North Atlantic, battling against a torrential storm. (OCE06, $15.95)

A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

by Bill Bryson

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 276 PAGES

The entertaining account of Bryon's hike up the Appalachian trail, combining biting satire with a certain warmth. A fond memoir and a very entertaining read. (USE01, $15.99)

West with the Night

West with the Night

by Beryl Markham | Sara Wheeler

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2013
  • PAPER
  • 294 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Beryl Markham evokes the landscapes, people and wildlife of East Africa in engrossing detail in this classic memoir of amazing adventures as a bush pilot in 1930s Kenya. A Longitude favorite. This new edition includes an introduction by the daring Sara Wheeler. If you haven't read this book, whether or not you are going on Safari, you are in for a treat. (EAF10, $16.00)

The Snow Leopard

The Snow Leopard

by Peter Matthiessen

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The most perceptive, acutely observed and personal of all his books, Matthiessen's account of a five-week journey through Nepal with naturalist George Schaller combines their quest for the elusive cat with a moving introduction to Buddhism and the people and culture of the Himalayas. (NPL03, $16.00)

Desert Solitaire

Desert Solitaire

by Edward Abbey

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 303 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

One of the great works on the value of the desert, eloquent and laugh-out-loud funny. Although Abbey writes specifically about his experiences as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah, his message is universal. (DES02, $14.95)

Endurance, An Epic of Polar Adventure

Endurance, An Epic of Polar Adventure

by Frank Worsley | Patrick O'Brian

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A 1931 memoir by the captain of the Endurance, the companion to Shackleton's Boat Journey. (ANT73, $15.95)

Sailing Alone Around the World

Sailing Alone Around the World

by Joshua Slocum

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A born storyteller and American hero, Slocum recounts his many adventures aboard the 36-foot wooden sloop Spray on the first-ever solo circumnavigation of the globe. (EXP03, $14.00)

Into the Wild

Into the Wild

by Jon Krakauer

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Krakauer leaves no stone unturned in this gripping account of his investigation into the real life story of a young man searching for experience, wilderness and self, who meets his end in the wilds north of Mt. McKinley. (ALA52, $14.95)

Coming into the Country

Coming into the Country

by John McPhee

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1976
  • PAPER
  • 438 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER
  • FAVORITE

A superb introduction to the state, McPhee's lyrical portrait blends history, issues and interesting facts, including sketches of frontier life and some unforgettable Alaskan characters. (ALA04, $18.00)

Annapurna, The Epic Account of a Himalayan Conquest and its Harrowing Aftermath

Annapurna, The Epic Account of a Himalayan Conquest and its Harrowing Aftermath

by Maurice Herzog

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Conrad Anker provides a new foreword for this 60th-anniversary edition of Maurice Herzog's classic, dictated from his hospital bed in Paris. French minister of youth and sport in the 1960s and former mayor of Chamonix, Herzog recovered nicely (he's 103 in 2012). (HML07, $16.95)

 

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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.