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FATHER'S DAY

City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas

Roger Crowley

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PROVENCE & THE COTE D'AZUR

A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France

Georgeanne Brennan

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OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

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PENGUIN CLASSICS

The Log from the Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

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SMITHSONIAN JOURNEYS

Portrait of Britain

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 EXGBR466. Buy these 4 items as a set for $95 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Eyewitness Guide Great Britain

Eyewitness Guide Great Britain

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

With 1,400 photos, maps and excellent introductory chapters, this guide is both a general introduction to Great Britain and a region-by-region look at its attractions. (GBR01, $30.00)

The British Isles, A History of Four Nations

The British Isles, A History of Four Nations

by Hugh Kearney

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 324 PAGES

The Celts, Romans, Vikings, Normans and modern immigrants all make an appearance in Kearney's elegant and revisionist history of not just the English but also of the Scots, Welsh and Irish. (GBR88, $39.99)

Stonehenge

Stonehenge

by Rosemary Hill

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 224 PAGES

Hill captures the enduring mystery and allure of Stonehenge in this witty meditation on the myth and meaning of the most famous prehistoric site in all Europe. (GBR795, $19.95)

Great Britain Map

Great Britain Map

by Ordnance Survey

  • MAP

A homegrown, excellent map at a scale of 1:625,000. (GBR06, $14.95)

 
Eyewitness Guide London

Eyewitness Guide London


by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

This superb guide to London features color photography, dozens of excellent neighborhood maps and a district-by-district synopsis of the city's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (GBR34, $25.00)

Fodor's London's 25 Best

Fodor's London's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

This slim guide to London (with handy full-color maps) has everything you need to know for a short visit to the city, including recommended sightseeing, restaurants, hotels and shops. (GBR08, $12.99)

1066, The Year of the Conquest

1066, The Year of the Conquest


by David Howarth

  • HISTORY
  • 1981
  • PAPER
  • 207 PAGES

A crack medievalist and storyteller, Howarth brings to life the momentous events of 1066 in rich, anecdotal history -- a classic portrait of the Norman invasion and conquest of England. (GBR115, $14.00)

A Traveller's History of England


by Christopher Daniell

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Historian and archeologist Daniell delivers a comprehensive history of the region since the time of the hunter-gatherers in this compact volume, taking you through the Romans, Saxons, Vikings, Normans, and Medieval monarchs to the Reformation, Renaissance, the world wars, and the modern state of things. (GBR38, $14.95)

Notes from a Small Island

Notes from a Small Island


by Bill Bryson

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 324 PAGES

A farewell walking tour of England by an American expatriate who has decided to return home after two decades. Like all of Bryson's books, it's full of rich conversations, humorous anecdotes and amusing interactions. (GBR16, $14.99)

The Age of Shakespeare

The Age of Shakespeare


by Francois Laroque

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia, an excellent introduction to Elizabethan England, presents Shakespeare, his life, times and legacy in concise essays and well-chosen illustrations. (GBR11, $12.95)

The Mother Tongue, English and How it Got That Way

The Mother Tongue, English and How it Got That Way


by Bill Bryson

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 270 PAGES

An indispensable guide to the language that divides us, this book is an informative linguistic history that showcases Bryson's wry wit. (GBR15, $14.99)

The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History

The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History


by Colin McEvedy

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 112 PAGES

McEvedy deftly sketches the culture, history and society of Medieval Europe in this slim historical atlas. (EUR240, $15.00)

The Story of England

The Story of England


by Christopher Hibbert

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Beautifully illustrated with color pictures, chronological charts, royal genealogies and maps, this popular history of English politics, economics and culture from the Neolithic age to the 1990s is an excellent traveler's companion. (GBR02, $19.95)

Watching the English

Watching the English


by Kate Fox

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

Fox's clever guide to conversation, behavior, quirks, habits and foibles of the English, wildly popular back home in Britain. (GBR927, $17.95)

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages


by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. (MED07, $15.95)

A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides

A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides


by Samuel Johnson | James Boswell

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1984
  • PAPER
  • 429 PAGES

Written when Johnson was 63 and Boswell 32 in 1773 (when they had been friends for ten years), these travel journals were the result of a three-month trip to Scotland. Johnson observed Scotland, and Boswell observed Johnson. (SCT07, $18.00)

A Writer's House in Wales

A Writer's House in Wales


by Jan Morris

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

In this extended essay, Morris uses her much-loved 18th-century house as a point of departure for a meditation on Welsh identity. (GBR325, $20.00)

In Search of England

In Search of England


by H.V. Morton | James Morris

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 274 PAGES

The much-beloved, enduring account of Morton's ramblings through the English countryside in the early days of the motorcar. Morton charmingly mixes a deep appreciation of the art, culture and history of the place with his own keen observations. (GBR368, $16.00)

In Search of London


by H.V. Morton

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

An enduring portrait of the city and especially of its history, originally published a half-century ago. As in all of his travel books, Morton charmingly mixes a deep appreciation of the art, culture and, especially, the history of a place with his own keen observations. (GBR269, $18.50)

Kingdom by the Sea

Kingdom by the Sea


by Paul Theroux

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 361 PAGES

This time, the prolific writer recounts a coastal journey around the British Isles in 1982, displaying his occasional ill temper alongside his celebrated ability to combine social history with a good old-fashioned traveler's tale. (GBR09, $14.95)

Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots


by Antonia Fraser

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 613 PAGES

This richly readable biography, the story of a legend who was loved even en route to her death, illuminates Mary's age as well as the figure herself. (SCT01, $20.00)

Seamanship, A Voyage Along the Wild Coasts of the British Isles

Seamanship, A Voyage Along the Wild Coasts of the British Isles


by Adam Nicolson

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

Nicolson offers an engrossing account of a coastal voyage from Cornwall, along the western coast of Ireland, out to the Faeroes and to Orkney in this brief hymn to the sea. (GBR561, $13.95)

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel


by Jerome Jerome | Jeremy Lewis

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 361 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Written in 1889, "Three Men in a Boat" (to say nothing of the dog!) is a laugh-out-loud account of a man-powered voyage along the River Thames, full of detail on life and lore. A Longitude favorite. (GBR28, $12.00)

Angry Island, Hunting the English

Angry Island, Hunting the English


by A. Gill

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

A comic manual to the English by a splendidly irreverent London critic. Gill includes scathing chapters on voice, humor, drink, animals, garden, sport and class. (GBR715, $14.00)

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.