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Essential Reading

Item EXASA100. Buy these 5 items as a set for $92 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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In Praise of Shadows

In Praise of Shadows

by Junichiro Tanizaki

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 73 PAGES

An earthy meditation on traditional Japanese art, architecture and design, this essay by the great Japanese novelist, first published in 1933, offers tremendous insight into Japanese aesthetics. Most illuminating. (JPN19, $16.00)

Culture Smart! Japan

Culture Smart! Japan

by Paul Norbury

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

A concise, no-nonsense guide to local customs, etiquette and culture, this is a helpful travel tool for visitors to Japan. (JPN269, $9.95)

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)

The Inland Sea

The Inland Sea

by Donald Richie

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 255 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Richie's masterpiece, more than a travel account, is a beautiful reflection on all things Japanese by one of its most acute observers. (JPN13, $16.95)

Birds of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia

Birds of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia

by Mark Brazil

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 520 PAGES

Brazil's comprehensive guide, featuring 234 color plates, includes Japan, Taiwan and the islands along with the adjacent areas of Asia from Kamchatka to Korea. (JPN332, $39.95)

 
Hong Kong Map

Hong Kong Map


by Nelles

  • MAP

A detailed, colorful folded map of Hong Kong, scale 1:22,500. (HKG15, $13.95)

Japan Map

Japan Map


by Periplus Maps

  • 2009
  • MAP

This convenient map covers the island nation at a scale of 1:2,000,000, with insets of the major cities. (JPN06, $8.95)

Kyoto Map

Kyoto Map


by Periplus Maps

  • 2003
  • MAP

This convenient map includes detailed information on Old Kyoto. It shows different sections of Kyoto and surrounding areas at a variety of scales, ranging from 1:12,000 to 1:500,000. (JPN27, $8.95)

Taiwan and Taipei Map

Taiwan and Taipei Map


by ITMB

  • 2000
  • MAP

A full color travelers map with the city of Taipei on one side and all of Taiwan on the other at a scale of 1:386,000. (TWN03, $12.95)

Culture Smart! Hong Kong


by Clare Vickers

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

A concise, well-illustrated and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture. (HKG24, $9.95)

Exploring Kyoto

Exploring Kyoto


by Judith Clancy

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 233 PAGES

Featuring 30 well-crafted walking tours of neighborhoods, gardens and sanctuaries. (JPN26, $16.95)

A Traveller's History of Japan

A Traveller's History of Japan


by Richard Tames

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A lively and concise narrative history of Japan and its transformation from Shinto, Shogun and Samurai traditions to 20th-century powerhouse. (JPN09, $14.95)

Embracing Defeat, Japan in the Wake of WWII

Embracing Defeat, Japan in the Wake of WWII


by John W. Dower

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 676 PAGES

A social and political history of the postwar years in Japan. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, it's an eye-opening account by a leading scholar of Japanese-American relations at MIT. (JPN54, $19.95)

Hiroshima

Hiroshima


by John Hersey

  • HISTORY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 152 PAGES

Never sensational, this 1946 classic by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Hersey puts a human face on the unthinkable. Hersey explores the tragedy through interviews with residents, scientists and politicians. (JPN20, $7.95)

Japan Rising, The Resurgence of Japanese Power and Purpose


by Kenneth B. Pyle

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 420 PAGES

Pyle (The Making of Modern Japan) effectively traces the rocky history of Japan as an economic and military power in this portrait of the island nation. (JPN296, $29.95)

Kyoto, A Cultural History

Kyoto, A Cultural History


by John Dougill

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A rich portrait and guide to the gardens, monasteries, art, history and culture of Kyoto, once Japan's capital, founded 1,200-years ago. (JPN178, $19.99)

Oracle Bones

Oracle Bones


by Peter Hessler

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

In this fine portrait of tumult and tradition, Hessler (River Town) finds clues to modern China's realities in the personal stories of peasants, scholars, day laborers and activists. (CHN316, $15.99)

Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens


by Gunter Nitschke

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 240 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

In keeping with the aesthetics of a Japanese garden, Gunter Nitschke has produced a simple but elegant tribute with this collection of photographs. (JPN270, $14.99)

The Art and Culture of Japan

The Art and Culture of Japan


by Nelly Delay

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES

Lavishly illustrated, this handy pocket encyclopedia introduces the art, architecture and culture of Japan. With 165 archival and modern illustrations and a section of original documents. (JPN51, $12.95)

Golden Boy, Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood

Golden Boy, Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood


by Martin Booth

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 337 PAGES

Booth writes with warmth of his youthful rambles in this sharp-eyed, affectionate memoir of coming of age in colonial Hong Kong. The book is a portrait of place, of a lost time, and most especially of his friends and family. (HKG23, $15.00)

The Battle for Okinawa


by Yahara, Hirochimi

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 245 PAGES

First published in Japan in 1973, this enthralling personal account of the last great battle of WWII is from the viewpoint of the the senior staff officer of the Japanese 32nd Army. (JPN222, $19.95)

Untangling My Chopsticks, A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto

Untangling My Chopsticks, A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto


by Victoria Abbott Riccardi

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

In this beguiling memoir, Riccardi writes with verve of cultural encounters, bewilderment and discovery in Kyoto. If you've ever parted the drapes of a Japanese restaurant to face a room full of people and blank stares, you'll really appreciate the book. With 25 recipes for traditional and less traditional Japanese dishes. (JPN135, $19.00)

Japan, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Japan, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by Jeffrey Angles

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This geographically-organized anthology introduces both Japan and its best contemporary writers. (JPN187, $14.95)

Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha

Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha


by Dorothy Gilman

  • MYSTERY
  • 1988
  • PAPER

Grandma Pollifax, the CIA agent, is at it again, hot on the trail of jewel thieves, drug dealers and murderers in the city of Hong Kong. Part of the popular series, this mystery is great fun. (HKG17, $6.99)

Orphan of Asia

Orphan of Asia


by Zhuoliu Wu

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 247 PAGES

Wu's autobiographical tale shows a young man coming of age in Taiwan, torn between the worlds of Japan, Taiwan and mainland China. (TWN07, $22.95)

Three-Legged Horse

Three-Legged Horse


by Cheng Ch'Ing-Wen

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

These twelve tales vividly evoke traditional and modern Taiwan. The first English translations of work by Cheng, well-known in Taiwan. (TWN05, $26.00)

Wild Asia, Spirit of a Continent

Wild Asia, Spirit of a Continent


by Mark Brazil | Art Wolfe

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2000
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

Organized by bioregion, this lavishly illustrated survey covers plants, animals, habitats and landscapes from the Himalayas to India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and the Russian Far East. (ASA33, $49.95)

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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.