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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 EXSEA258. Buy these 5 items as a set for $80 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Fodor's Bangkok's 25 Best

Fodor's Bangkok's 25 Best

by Sylvie Franquet | Anthony Sattin

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This slim guide to Bangkok includes an excellent pullout map of the center of the city along with essential information on its highlights. (TLD40, $11.99)

Ancient Luang Prabang

Ancient Luang Prabang

by Denise Heywood

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES
  • CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE
    • >

An illustrated guide to the sacred art, traditional architecture and colonial legacy of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, capital of the Kingdom of Laos. With 300 color photographs. (LAO24, $30.00)

A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia

A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia

by J.M. Barwise | Nicholas J. White

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES
  • COMING IN MARCH

A compact history of the region, including the Khmer and the various ancient kingdoms that produced Borobudur, Angkor and other architectural marvels. (SEA36, $14.95)

The Gods Drink Whiskey

The Gods Drink Whiskey

by Stephen T. Asma

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Asma writes with verve and wit in this eye-opening account of his yearlong stint teaching at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh. His account is both an overview of Theravada Buddhism and a down-to-earth portrait of contemporary Cambodia. (CBD46, $14.99)

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Map

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Map

by Nelles

  • 2010
  • MAP

A convenient, double-sided map of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam at a scale of 1:1,500,000, with city maps of Hanoi, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh City, Luang Prabang, and Phnom Penh. (SEA75, $13.95)

 
Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Map

Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Map


by Periplus Maps

  • 2006
  • MAP

With detailed city maps of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, a Northern Thailand regional map and map of the Golden Triangle. (TLD65, $9.00)

Angkor Map

Angkor Map


by Dawn Rooney

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER

A site plan and pocket guide to the city of Angkor at a scale of 1:40,000. (CBD16, $12.95)

Footprint Cambodia Handbook

Footprint Cambodia Handbook


by Andrew Spooner

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

A compact, practical guide packed with history, sightseeing information and essential travel details. (SEA23, $24.95)

Insight Compact Guide Laos

Insight Compact Guide Laos


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 96 PAGES

A slim illustrated guide. (LAO15, $7.95)

Odyssey Guide Angkor

Odyssey Guide Angkor


by Dawn Rooney

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

The sixth edition of Rooney's indispensable guide to Khmer culture and history. Includes monuments, temple plans, color photographs and practical information about Siem Reap. (CBD05, $27.95)

A History of Cambodia

A History of Cambodia


by David Chandler

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 312 PAGES

An excellent, scholarly history from early civilization through the rise of Angkor, French colonial period, Vietnamization of Cambodia, Khmer Rouge and Coup de Force of 1997. (CBD27, $38.00)

Shooting at the Moon, The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos

Shooting at the Moon, The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos


by Roger Warner

  • HISTORY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 436 PAGES

Soldiers, diplomats, Hmong villagers and CIA strategists are all depicted fully in this engrossing, well-reported history of the secret war in Laos. (LAO05, $24.95)

The Civilization of Angkor

The Civilization of Angkor


by Charles Higham

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 207 PAGES
  • OUT OF PRINT

A concise history of the origins, development and rise of the kingdom of Angkor by a leading archaeologist. It's an up-to-date, accessible overview of the civilization from prehistory through the fall of Angkor in 1431. (CBD26, $24.95)

The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future

The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future


by Milton Osborne

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A cultural history of the great river from prehistory to European exploration, colonial tensions and modern challenges. It's an engaging introduction to the history of Southeast Asia. (SEA28, $16.00)

What the Buddha Taught

What the Buddha Taught


by Walpola Sri Rahula

  • RELIGION
  • 1972
  • PAPER
  • 151 PAGES

A classic account of Theravada Buddhism by a respected monk and scholar from Sri Lanka. Provides translations from original texts with explanations for Western readers. A good foundation for any visitor to Southeast Asia. (SEA41, $14.95)

Angkor Cities and Temples

Angkor Cities and Temples


by Claude Jacques | Michael Freeman

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2000
  • HARD COVER
  • 319 PAGES
  • COMING IN MARCH

One of the nicest books of its kind, this is a gorgeous, oversized portrait of the monuments, temples and exquisite sculptures of Angkor. Claude Jacques, who directed much of the site excavation, writes with authority about individual temples, inscriptions and Khmer culture. (CBD18, $80.00)

Art & Architecture of Cambodia

Art & Architecture of Cambodia


by Helen Ibbitson Jessup

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Jessup includes not just Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei but also lesser-known recent discoveries in the surrounding jungle in this illustrated overview in the World of Art series. (CBD41, $16.95)

Arts of Southeast Asia

Arts of Southeast Asia


by Fiona Kerlogue

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

A handsome guide to the art, architecture, textiles and crafts of Southeast Asia. (SEA45, $16.95)

A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam


by Norman Lewis

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 358 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

A classic account of travels and adventure during the last years of French Indochina, strong on atmosphere and including wonderfully detailed descriptions of local cultures and archaeological treasures. First published in 1951. (SEA40, $33.95)

Bangkok Days

Bangkok Days


by Lawrence Osborne

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 288 PAGES

Osborne (The Naked Tourist) went to Bangkok seeking cheap dentistry, and found himself wanting to stay. With affectionate and observant prose, he describes his adventures and misadventures in the exotic city - including his failed career as a gigolo. (TLD90, $25.00)

First They Killed My Father, A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers

First They Killed My Father, A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers


by Loung Ung

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

An eye-opening eyewitness account of the atrocities suffered by millions of Cambodians from the perspective of a young girl who survived the reign of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. (CBD13, $13.99)

Golden Bones, An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America

Golden Bones, An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America


by Sichan Siv

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Siv shows determination and hope in this gripping memoir of his family and idyllic childhood in Pochentong, terrors of the Khmer Rouge and escape to freedom in America. (CBD62, $14.99)

The River's Tale, A Year on the Mekong

The River's Tale, A Year on the Mekong


by Edward Gargan

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A personal, probing chronicle of a 3,000 mile journey on the river from its source in China through Tibet, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. (SEA33, $15.95)

Bangkok 8, A Novel

Bangkok 8, A Novel


by John Burdett

  • MYSTERY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 318 PAGES

Burdett explores the criminal underworld of Bangkok -- and mysterious deaths by snakebite. (TLD72, $14.95)

Collected Short Stories, Volume 4

Collected Short Stories, Volume 4


by W. Somerset Maugham

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 464 PAGES

Maugham can evoke turn-of-the-century colonial Asia like no other. This collection of stories features many set in Malaysia. Borneo and other southeast Asian locales, including the well-known tale "The Letter." (SEA01, $18.00)

Curse of the Pogo Stick

Curse of the Pogo Stick


by Colin Cotterill

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

A pogo stick brings a curse on a Hmong village (which our hero, the septuagenarian national coroner Dr. Siri is improbably asked to remove) in this thrilling fifth quirky mystery set in Laos. (LAO18, $14.00)

The Coroner's Lunch

The Coroner's Lunch


by Colin Cotterill

  • MYSTERY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

The first in Colin Cotterill's wonderful Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery series follows the septuagenarian national coroner of Laos as he navigates both the criminal underworld of communist Laos and the spiritual world of his ancestors. (LAO21, $13.00)

Birds of Southeast Asia

Birds of Southeast Asia


by Craig Robson

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

This authoritative, masterfully illustrated guide, featuring 140 color plates covering 1,270 species throughout the region, also includes Malaysia, Burma, Borneo and Indonesia. (SEA49, $35.00)

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.