Welcome!

Enrich Your Travels with Longitude

We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.

SIGN UP FOR

Longitude News

Get our monthly e-mail update

GET A

Catalog

BEST OF 2011

Wild Coast

John Gimlette

SEE ALL >

FOR THE HOLIDAYS

To the Arctic

Florian Schultz

SEE ALL >

OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

SEE ALL >

GLOBES

The Pioneer

Replogle

SEE ALL >

WALKING THE WORLD - SPAIN

Spain

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

  • E-MAIL
  • PRINT

Kids

Books for

Essential Reading

Item EXSPN64. Buy these 4 items as a set for $69 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

ADD SET
TO BOOKBAG
Ghosts of Spain

Ghosts of Spain

by Giles Tremlett

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 396 PAGES

Tremlett captures the Spanish character, history and modern politics in this masterful portrait, interweaving the story of his love for the country (where he has lived for 20 years) with interview, anecdote and observation. (SPN323, $18.00)

Homage to Catalonia

Homage to Catalonia

by George Orwell

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1987
  • PAPER
  • 234 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Orwell's portrait of the Barcelona uprising and the spirit of a city at war is a classic, an observant and heartfelt report from the streets. (SPN03, $14.00)

Eyewitness Guide Spain

Eyewitness Guide Spain

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

This superb, colorful guide covering all of Spain features bright photography, dozens of maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. (SPN05, $30.00)

Spain & Portugal Map

Spain & Portugal Map

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • 2011
  • MAP

A colorful, shaded relief map of the entire Iberian Peninsula at a scale of 1:1,000,000. With an index of principal place names. (SPN22, $11.95)

 
Andalucia Map 578

Andalucia Map 578


by Michelin Travel Publications

  • MAP

A travelers' map of Andalucia and the Costa del Sol at a scale of 1:400,000 with city plans of Seville, Malaga and Granada. (SPN107, $8.95)

Culture Smart! Spain

Culture Smart! Spain


by Marian Meaney

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

This concise, no-nonsense guide to local customs, etiquette and culture provides a short overview of the land and people along with practical travel advice. (SPN342, $9.95)

Eyewitness Guide Seville and Andalusia

Eyewitness Guide Seville and Andalusia


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 286 PAGES

This wonderfully organized and visually rich guide features excellent maps and essays on the culture, history and geography of the region. (SPN15, $23.00)

Fodor's Barcelona's 25 Best

Fodor's Barcelona's 25 Best


by Fodors

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 96 PAGES

This handy pocket guide includes an excellent map and essential information for a making the most of a short visit. (SPN136, $11.99)

Food and Wines of Spain

Food and Wines of Spain


by Penelope Casas

  • FOOD
  • 1982
  • HARD COVER
  • 457 PAGES

This classic collection of 400 recipes, interwoven with cultural commentary and culinary history, is a pleasure to read, but prepare to become hungry. (SPN100, $37.50)

Spain and the World Table


by Martha Rose Schulman | Culinary Institute of America

  • FOOD
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

For this superb new tribute to Spanish flavors, the Culinary Institue of America brought together a wide array of popular chefs from Spain and around the world, asking them for recipes that exemplify Spanish cuisine. Includes a map of culinary regions in Spain. (SPN496, $22.95)

A Traveller's History of Spain

A Traveller's History of Spain


by Juan Lalaguna

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A swift survey from prehistory through the Romans, Goths and Moors to the present. (SPN06, $14.95)

Barcelona

Barcelona


by Robert Hughes

  • HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 570 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

A Longitude favorite, this big, thoroughly enjoyable cultural history of the city touches on architecture, art, religion and literature from Roman outpost to the present. (SPN01, $21.00)

Spain, The Root and the Flower

Spain, The Root and the Flower


by John A. Crow

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 455 PAGES

Take this book with you to Spain: it's an absorbing, well-written account of Spanish cultural history from prehistory to the Romans, Jews, Moors, Golden Age and on to Franco and his legacy in modern Spain. (SPN13, $29.95)

The Basque History of the World

The Basque History of the World


by Mark Kurlansky

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Popular author Mark Kurlansky offers an engaging portrait of the seven provinces of Basque Land, discussing everything from language to culinary heritage and seafaring traditions. (SPN116, $16.00)

The Ornament of the World, How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain

The Ornament of the World, How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain


by Maria Rosa Menocal | Harold Bloom

  • RELIGION
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

A lively, illuminating portrait of the Andalucian Kingdom, its cultural achievements and religious tolerance from the eighth century to 1492. (SPN185, $15.99)

The Story of Spain, The Dramatic History of Europe's Most Fascinating Country

The Story of Spain, The Dramatic History of Europe's Most Fascinating Country


by Mark R. Williams

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Williams brings Spain to life through the tales of El Cid, Columbus, King Philip II, Cervantes, St. Theresa, Goya, Picasso and others from ancient times through the Golden Age to today. (SPN429, $22.95)

The Alhambra

The Alhambra


by Robert Irwin

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 213 PAGES

Irwin's brief, indispensable guide introduces the stunning Moorish palace and fortress complex, revealing its mysteries, myths and significance with wit and insight. (SPN226, $14.95)

The Arts in Spain, From Prehistory to Modernism

The Arts in Spain, From Prehistory to Modernism


by John Moffit

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

From the cave painting at Altimira through the Golden Age, to the works of Picasso and Miro, this book documents the course of art in Spain, with 150 illustrations. (SPN102, $19.95)

The Most Beautiful Villages of Spain


by Hugh Palmer

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2003
  • HARD COVER
  • 208 PAGES

This full color book of photographs is a portrait of the Spanish landscape, culture and people. (SPN494, $40.00)

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning


by Laurie Lee

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A new edition of Laurie Lee's gorgeous memoir of youthful adventures in Spain on the brink of civil war, second in his autobiographical trilogy. Arriving in Galicia July 1935, the British poet tramps from Vigo north through Valladolid and Segovia to Madrid, Toledo and Seville. supporting himself with not much more than his wits and a violin, he continues around the coast to Cadiz (which he did not much like) and Almunecar, the then-sleepy Andalusian village where he was holed up as the war broke out. (SPN454, $15.95)

Driving over Lemons, An Optimist in Andalucia

Driving over Lemons, An Optimist in Andalucia


by Chris Stewart

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Stewart's memoir about moving with his wife to a farm in Alpujarras is charming and insightful. Unlike many expatriates, Stewart manages to ground himself far enough into the community to make lasting friends -- as well as a home for his young daughter. (SPN135, $14.95)

Grammar Lessons

Grammar Lessons


by Michele Morano

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER
  • 184 PAGES

Morano, who lived in Oviedo in the early 1990s, reflects on the humor and trials of living in a new language in these 13 essays on travel in Spain and search for self. (SPN345, $22.50)

Iberia, Spanish Travels & Reflections

Iberia, Spanish Travels & Reflections


by James Michener

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 960 PAGES

In this best-selling travelogue, Michener presents a compulsively readable and well-observed account of his love affair with Spain and all things Spanish. It has achieved the status of a classic, rich in detail and insightful. (SPN16, $8.99)

Spanish Recognitions, The Roads to the Present

Spanish Recognitions, The Roads to the Present


by Mary Lee Settle

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 358 PAGES

A magical, meditative account of Spanish history, art, archaeology and travels by the noted writer. Settle (Turkish Reflections) conjures Cervantes, El Cid, the Moors, Visgoths, Romans, Lorca and Balboa as she writes of a road trip from Castile in central Spain to the southern coast. (SPN205, $15.95)

Don Quixote

Don Quixote


by Miguel de Cervantes | John Rutherford

  • LITERATURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 1072 PAGES

The most famous work in Spanish literature, rendered in a lively, modern translation. It is the picaresque tale of a romantic, mad gentleman who imagines himself a knight errant. (SPN23, $14.00)

Everything but the Squeal

Everything but the Squeal


by John Barlow

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES

Barlow, his wife (from Galicia but a vegetarian) and young son gallavant from roadhouse to fine dining establishments, villages and cities in this endearingly offhand, loving account of travels in honor of pork. A delightful, witty guide to the traditions, culinary and otherwise, of the region. (SPN368, $25.00)

Spain, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Spain, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by Peter R. Bush

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 242 PAGES

These 30 short stories form a who's who of contemporary Spanish literature, including writers from Galicia, Leon, the Basque Country, Madrid and Barcelona. (SPN173, $13.95)

The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind


by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

Set in the brooding atmosphere of post-WW II Barcelona, this gripping story-within-a-story has it all: murder, doomed love and a mysterious book which draws the young hero, Daniel Sempere, into the city's dangerous underworld. (SPN298, $16.00)

The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises


by Ernest Hemingway

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Hemingway's great novel, which encapsulates the angst of the post-WWI "lost generation," is the story of unmoored American and British expats travelling from Paris to Pamplona. (SPN33, $15.00)

More Recommendations

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.