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Wild Coast

John Gimlette

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Florian Schultz

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Barry Lopez

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Replogle

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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Get the featured set of Essential Reading, our top picks of what to read, and get free shipping on anything else you order.

Essential Reading

Item EXVNZ7. Buy these 5 items as a set for $79 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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In Trouble Again

In Trouble Again

by Redmond O'Hanlon

  • EXPLORATION
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

As funny as he is insightful, O'Hanlon starts his comic masterpiece of a journey between the Orinoco and the Amazon with a litany of the insects, protozoa, snakes and predators that can do you harm. (AMZ04, $13.95)

Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice

Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice

by Mark Plotkin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 328 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

In this marvelous book, Plotkin recounts his work documenting the use of medicinal plants among remote tribes in the Northwest Amazon of Suriname, Venezuela, Guyana and French Guiana. A portrait of people and their environment, a tale of adventure and, most of all, a moving example of science in the service of preservation. (AMZ15, $16.00)

Tropical Nature

Tropical Nature

by Adrian Forsyth | Ken Miyata

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 248 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER
  • FAVORITE

A lucid portrait of the tropics as seen by two uncommonly observant and thoughtful field biologists. Its 17 marvelous essays introduce the habitats, ecology, plants and animals of the Central and South American rainforest. (GPS13, $16.00)

Lonely Planet Venezuela

Lonely Planet Venezuela

by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

A concise, practical travel guide in the popular series. (VNZ03, $25.99)

Venezuela Map

Venezuela Map

by ITMB

  • 2010
  • MAP

A colorful map of Venezuela and the lower Caribbean at a scale of 1:1,200,000. (VNZ02, $12.95)

 
Jungle Travel and Survival

Jungle Travel and Survival


by John Walden, M.D.

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 198 PAGES

Medical doctor and frequent Amazon-traveler Walden provides useful advice on avoiding malaria, parasites, poisonous and dangerous animals, dehydration and much more in this compact guide. (AMZ73, $18.95)

Forgotten Continent

Forgotten Continent


by Michael Reid

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

Economist editor Reid draws on his years in the cities, presidential palaces and shantytowns of Central and South America in this portrait of a region rich in oil, farmland and culture, and its prospects in the face of globalization. (SAM123, $22.00)

Liberators, Latin America's Struggle for Independence 1810-1830

Liberators, Latin America's Struggle for Independence 1810-1830


by Robert Harvey

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 561 PAGES

Focused on the heroism and derring-do of seven legendary men, Harvey tells the story of Simon Bolivar, General Jose de San Martin and other greats in the fight for independence. (SAM35, $18.95)

Yanomami, The Fierce Controversy and What We Might Learn from It


by Robert Borofsky

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 397 PAGES

A study of the controversy surrounding anthropological studies of the Yanomami. (SAM67, $25.95)

Edge of the Jungle

Edge of the Jungle


by William Beebe

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 303 PAGES

A collection of 12 essays on the Amazon and its ecology and wildlife. A scientist-explorer with the soul of a poet, Beebe wrote dozens of books about his adventures in tropical America and Guyana. (AMZ75, $17.95)

Papillon


by Henri Charriere

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 560 PAGES

Charriere recounts in heart-stopping detail his escape from the notorious French penal colony Devil's Island in this modern classic, originally published in 1968 in the New Yorker (and made into a memorable film). (SAM83, $15.99)

The Creature in the Map, A Journey to El Dorado


by Charles Nicholl

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

Nicholl uncovers fascinating facts about the original, ill-fated 16th-century voyage of Sir Walter Ralegh while describing his own experiences on the Orinoco river of today in this meeditative account of a quest for the golden city of El Dorado. (VNZ05, $22.50)

The Lost Steps

The Lost Steps


by Alejo Carpentier | Harriet Onis

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 278 PAGES

A hallucinatory novel of a young urban musicologist's journey to a fictional city in the Amazon basin. For those with an appreciation for demanding literature, this is a celebrated masterpiece. (AMZ18, $18.50)

The Lost World

The Lost World


by Arthur Conan Doyle

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

Inspired by the magnificent landscapes surrounding the Orinoco River, Conan Doyle's classic follows an intrepid scientist into the Amazon Basin in search of prehistoric creatures. (VNZ04, $10.00)

The Mighty Orinoco

The Mighty Orinoco


by Jules Verne

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

Appearing for the first time in English, this 1898 novel from science fiction pioneer Jules Verne features a harrowing trip up the uncharted Orinoco, full of encounters with dangerous creatures, fearsome Indians, and infectious diseases. (VNZ07, $19.95)

A Neotropical Companion

A Neotropical Companion


by John Kricher | Mark Plotkin

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 536 PAGES

From plants and animals to birds and bugs, it's all here in this wonderfully written overview of the ecology, habitats, plants and animals of Central and South America. (GPS11, $35.00)

Birds of Tropical America

Birds of Tropical America


by Steven Hilty

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

Hilty serves up essays on how to find and better appreciate the dizzying variety of birds, their habits and habitats, diversity and distribution. (CAM39, $25.00)

The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon

The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon


by Michael Goulding | Ronaldo Barthem | Efrem Ferreira

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 254 PAGES

This beautiful, profusely illustrated atlas of the river includes its major tributaries and 150 full-color maps. Goulding (Floods of Fortune) and Brazilian biologists Barthem and Ferreira provide the accompanying text. (AMZ82, $39.95)

A Guide to the Birds of Venezuela

A Guide to the Birds of Venezuela


by Steven Hilty | Guy Tudor | J.A. Gwynne

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 929 PAGES

The classic South American bird guide, revised and expanded by Steve Hilty. A bit hefty for a field guide at just over 4 pounds, but still an essential reference to over 1,400 bird species. Travelers in the Brazilian Amazon will find it especially useful. (FG13, $65.00)

Amazon Insects - A Photo Guide

Amazon Insects - A Photo Guide


by James L. Castner

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Spectacular, weird and commonly encountered bugs, butterflies, katydids, leafhoppers, ants, bees, spiders and other insects of the Amazon basin. Geared for the traveler, with 200 color photographs. (AMZ63, $20.00)

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, A Field Guide

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, A Field Guide


by L.H. Emmons

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 298 PAGES

Compact enough to slip into your daypack, this field guide to the mammals of the New World tropics features 29 color plates of more than 200 species. (GPS12, $42.50)

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.