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Czech Republic and Poland

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Books for

Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXCEU75. Buy these 6 items as a set for $115 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Rough Guide Czech Republic

Rough Guide Czech Republic

by Rob Humphreys

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 464 PAGES

A comprehensive, practical guide for the traveler to the sites and attractions throughout the Czech and Slovak republics. With helpful local maps, and a good survey of the region's culture and history. (CZH25, $21.99)

Eyewitness Guide Poland

Eyewitness Guide Poland

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

An informative, visual guide to the history, culture and attractions of Poland. (PLD21, $25.00)

The Coasts of Bohemia, A Czech History

The Coasts of Bohemia, A Czech History

by Derek Sayer

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES

A political and cultural history of the Czech people, this intriguing book places the historically important Bohemia and Moravia regions at the center of European events. The author draws on literature, the arts, culture and politics to evoke Czech history, society and identity. (CZH10, $37.50)

Kingdom of Auschwitz

Kingdom of Auschwitz

by Otto Friedrich

  • HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

Otto Friedrich's slim book is an intensely personal account of the infamous Auschwitz death camp. He covers the entire history of Auschwitz in short chapters punctuated with eyewitness accounts and testimonies. (PLD04, $11.00)

Prague, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Prague, A Traveler's Literary Companion

by Paul Wilson

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This anthology of 24 vivid stories by Czech writers, contemporary and well-known, brings the city, history history, spirit and people to life and includes a helpful map for the traveler. (CZH08, $14.95)

Central Europe Map

Central Europe Map

by Freytag & Berndt

  • 2010
  • MAP

This colorful regional European map, like the sister map Europe Grand Tour (EUR185), covers from Paris and Amsterdam to Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Rome and Dubrovnik. (EUR12, $14.95)

 
Fodor's Prague's 25 Best

Fodor's Prague's 25 Best


by Fodor's Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES
  • COMING IN MARCH

This pocket-size booklet includes an outstanding map of the city as well as a brief overview of its museums, grand buildings and other attractions. We also carry Fodor's Budapest's 25 Best. (Item HGR61, $11.95) (CZH02, $11.99)

Lonely Planet Central Europe

Lonely Planet Central Europe


by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 662 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

With dozens of maps, color photographs and sections on history and culture, this practical guide introduces Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and their neighbors. (EUR94, $29.99)

Lonely Planet Czech Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Czech Phrasebook


by Lonely Planet

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A palm-sized guide to pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary. (CZH50, $8.99)

A History of Slovakia, The Struggle for Survival

A History of Slovakia, The Struggle for Survival


by Stanislav K. Kirschbaum

  • HISTORY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 350 PAGES

A historian from Bratislava traces his nation's roots from the first arrival on the Danubian Plain to Slovakia's declaration of independence in 1993. A particularly solid discussion of the Communist period and the nation's relationship with the Czechs and Hungary. (EUR93, $20.00)

Bury Me Standing

Bury Me Standing


by Isabel Fonseca

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 322 PAGES

This marvelous portrait of the Roma, also known as the Gypsies, offers insight into their music, foods, religions and folk traditions, and also examines their influential but complex relationship with Eastern Europe. (EUR09, $14.95)

Heart of Europe, The Past in Poland's Present

Heart of Europe, The Past in Poland's Present


by Norman Davies

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 483 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

A history of Poland in reverse chronology from the Solidarity Movement to early civilization, condensed from the author's definitive three-volume history. (PLD06, $25.99)

Images Gone with Time: Photographic Reflections of Slovak Folk Life, 1950-1965


by Igor Grossman | Martin Slivka

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • HARD COVER
  • 152 PAGES

A handsome collection of 125 black-and-white photographs of everyday life in the mountain villages of Slovakia. (EUR92, $41.00)

Open Letters, Selected Writings: 1965 - 1990

Open Letters, Selected Writings: 1965 - 1990


by Vaclav Havel | Paul Wilson

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 405 PAGES

This inspired anthology of writings by the Czech poet-president Vaclav Havel collects 25 essays, letters and speeches written between 1965 and 1990, including those that directly influenced the Polish Solidarity movement. (CZH06, $15.95)

Prague in Black and Gold, Scenes from Life in a European City

Prague in Black and Gold, Scenes from Life in a European City


by Peter Demetz

  • HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Both a history and accessible guide to the neighborhoods and architecture of the city. (CZH09, $17.95)

The Haunted Land, Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism

The Haunted Land, Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism


by Tina Rosenberg

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 437 PAGES

In this groundbreaking book, a journalist reports on how the newly democratized people of East Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have confronted the horrors of their former governments. (EUR54, $17.95)

The Magic Lantern, The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague

The Magic Lantern, The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague


by Timothy Garton Ash

  • HISTORY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 167 PAGES

With a chapter each on Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague, this eyewitness account by an astute journalist and historian shows these vibrant cities during a time of great change. (GER36, $15.00)

Baroque and Rococo Art

Baroque and Rococo Art


by Germain Bazin

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1985
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

An excellent illustrated survey of Baroque and Rococo art and architecture, this volume in the acclaimed "World of Art" series is a good companion to the golden age of Middle Europe. (EUR53, $21.95)

On Foot to the Golden Horn

On Foot to the Golden Horn


by Jason Goodwin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 278 PAGES

Goodwin interweaves history, incident and reflection in this excellent portrait of Central Europe. With chapters on Cracow, Slovakia, Budapest, Transylvania, Brasov and Bulgaria. (EUR81, $17.00)

Poland

Poland


by James Michener

  • LITERATURE
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 616 PAGES

In his epic style, Michener presents the sweep of Polish history from the earliest days to 1983 in this massively researched novel. An excellent choice for the airplane. (PLD02, $7.99)

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting


by Milan Kundera

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

Kundera strings together loosely related short stories to form an original and entertaining look at Czech culture. (CZH17, $14.99)

The Complete Stories

The Complete Stories


by Franz Kafka

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 486 PAGES

All of Kafka's stories, including The Metamorphosis, A Hunger Artist, and In The Penal Colony. (CZH47, $17.00)

The Doll


by Boleslaw Prus | David Welsh | Darius Tolczyk | Anna Zaranko

  • LITERATURE
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 702 PAGES

An 1890 landmark of Polish realist fiction, set among the middle classes in Warsaw in the late 19th century. Richly plotted, the book is wonderfully evocative of old Warsaw, and also a consideration of the value of revolution. (PLD32, $19.95)

The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War

The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War


by Jaroslav Hasek | Cecil Parrott

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 752 PAGES

The deeply funny story of a hapless Czech soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army, dismissed for incompetence only to be pressed into service by the Russians in World War I, then captured by his own troops. (CZH11, $16.00)

The Radetzky March

The Radetzky March


by Joseph Roth | Joachim Neugroschel

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 331 PAGES

Magnificently set against the backdrop of the twilight of the Habsburg empire, Roth's family saga takes in the sweep of history and empire in Central Europe. The richly textured novel opens at the battle of Solferino, when young Lieutenant Trotta saves the life of the Emperor. (AST17, $16.95)

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.