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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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  • PRINT

Get the featured set of Essential Reading, our top picks of what to read, and get free shipping on anything else you order.

Essential Reading

Item EXUSM37. Buy these 4 items as a set for $68 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Voices on the River

Voices on the River

by Walter Havighurst

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Havinghurst relates the colorful tale of famous steamboats and men who piloted them in this classic collection of tales of the Mississippi. (USM160, $16.95)

The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation

The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation

by Stephen Ambrose | Douglas Brinkley

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 272 PAGES

This illustrated popular history -- and travelogue -- tells the story of the great river from the time of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. (USM110, $40.00)

Life on the Mississippi

Life on the Mississippi

by Mark Twain

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 388 PAGES

Twains return to the days of his youth spent on the Mississippi in this classic. Full of historical information, anecdotes, character sketches and fond memories, it's at once a romantic history of a mighty river and an autobiographical account of Twain's early steamboat days. (USS05, $9.95)

USA, Central Map

by Map Art Maps

  • MAP

A map of the central United States. (USM47, $5.99)

 
Moon Handbook St. Louis

Moon Handbook St. Louis


by Brooke S. Foster

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 250 PAGES

A no-nonsense practical guide in the Moon series, jam-packed not only with travel necessities (hotels, restaurants, sights), but also with a good overview of history, flora and fauna and geology. (USM133, $17.95)

Davenport, Jewel of the Mississippi


by David Collins

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This slim book in the Images of America series documents in archival photographs the history of the port city from frontier days through its boom, turn-of-the-century challenges, up to he 1950s. (USM113, $21.99)

Frontiers, A Short History of the American West

Frontiers, A Short History of the American West


by Robert V. Hine | John Mack Faragher

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

A grand survey of the colorful history of the American West, from the first contacts between Native Americans and Europeans to the beginning of the twenty-first century. (USW531, $30.00)

Hannibal Missouri, A Brief History


by Ken Marks

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 199 PAGES

Tracing this history of Mark Twain's hometown from hamlet to bustling river port. (USM157, $19.99)

Hannibal, Missouri, Bluff City Memories


by Steve Chou

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A volume in the illustrated Images of America series. (USM165, $21.99)

Making Hay

Making Hay


by Verlyn Klinkenborg

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

The author rhapsodizes on agrarian life in the Midwest as he travels from Iowa to Minnesota to Montana. And make no mistake: the title isn't a metaphor or a pun -- it's the main subject of the book. (USA17, $12.95)

Steamboats on the Western Rivers, An Economic and Technological History

Steamboats on the Western Rivers, An Economic and Technological History


by Louis Hunter

  • HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 704 PAGES

The classic and definitive steambaot history, first published in 1949. (USM75, $24.95)

The Mississippi Steamboat Era in Historic Photographs, Natchez to New Orleans, 1870-1920

The Mississippi Steamboat Era in Historic Photographs, Natchez to New Orleans, 1870-1920


by Joan Gandy | Thomas Gandy

  • HISTORY
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

An excellent collection of early steamboat photos. Images include steamboat exteriors, interiors, passengers, crew and river scenes. (USS184, $19.95)

Views on the Mississippi, The Photographs of Henry Peter Bosse

Views on the Mississippi, The Photographs of Henry Peter Bosse


by Mark Neuzil | Henry Peter Bosse

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

The first comprehensive collection of photographs by the foremost nineteenth-century photographer of the Mississippi River. Henry Peter Bosse's blue cyanotype prints are a beautiful introduction to steamboat era in the Midwest. (USM43, $29.95)

Wilderness and the American Mind

Wilderness and the American Mind


by Roderick Nash

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 413 PAGES

A classic essay on changing American attitudes toward wilderness and the environment, including an enlightening discussion on western expansion. With chapters on Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Alaska and wilderness preservation. (USW97, $18.00)

A-Rafting on the Mississip'

A-Rafting on the Mississip'


by Charles Edward Russell

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

Charles Edward Russell, a Pulitzer Prize winner and cofounder of the NAACP, details 70 years on the Upper Mississippi in this entertaining account of the golden era of lumber rafting (USM44, $18.95)

Explorers of the Mississippi

Explorers of the Mississippi


by Tim Severin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

From conquistadors to fur traders and 19th-century gentlemen explorers, Severin follows the routes and tells the stories of the adventurers who have traveled before him. (USM161, $19.95)

Mark Twain On Travel

Mark Twain On Travel


by Mark Twain | Terry Mort

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2007
  • PAPER

A journalist, wanderer, opinionated and marvelously entertaining, Mark Twain wrote five well-received travel books over his long career. Editor Terry Mort handpicks choice selections for this satisfying anthology, organized geographically. (TVL77, $15.95)

Mark Twain, An Illustrated Biography

Mark Twain, An Illustrated Biography


by Geoffrey C. Ward | Dayton Duncan | Ken Burns

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • HARD COVER
  • 269 PAGES

This illustrated companion to the PBS series follows the arc of Twain's celebrated career. (USA440, $40.00)

Mississippi Solo: A River Quest

Mississippi Solo: A River Quest


by Eddy L. Harris

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 250 PAGES

From Minnesota to New Orleans, Harris travels the length of the Mississippi in a canoe, facing shotgun-wielding bigots, wild dogs and tumultuous waves, ultimately emerging with an unforgettable and engaging American memoir. (USS384, $16.99)

Mostly Mississippi, A Very Damp Adventure

Mostly Mississippi, A Very Damp Adventure


by Harold Speakman

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 386 PAGES

A classic American travelogue, first published in 1924, this light-hearted account traces the adventures of a young couple and their journey on a 20-foot houseboat from the headwaters in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. (USM159, $17.95)

Old Times on the Upper Mississippi, Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863

Old Times on the Upper Mississippi, Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863


by George Byron Merrick

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 328 PAGES

First published in 1909, these are memories and anecdotes drawn from nine years working through the ranks from cabin boy to pilot on steamboats in the Upper Mississippi. (USM42, $16.95)

River Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America

River Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America


by William Least Heat-Moon

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 506 PAGES

William Heat-Moon and a small crew travel westward across the rivers of America in a dual-outward boat dubbed "River-Horse." (USM117, $16.00)

River Journey

River Journey


by Clarence Jonk

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 223 PAGES

Jonk cobbles together a makeshift boat and sails from Minneapolis to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where he gets caught in the ice this small travel classic. A marvelous account of both youthfiul adventure and life during the depression. (USM162, $14.95)

Shantyboat: A River Way of Life


by Harlan Hubbard

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1977
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

Hubbard and his wife built a 24-foot houseboat and lived on it for six years, eventually drifting downriver to New Orleans. (USS383, $22.00)

The River Queen

The River Queen


by Mary Morris

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 270 PAGES

An engaging, meditative account of travels aboard a houseboat on the upper Mississippi (the journey ends in Paris Landing, Tennessee). (USM115, $18.00)

William Clark and the Shaping of the West

William Clark and the Shaping of the West


by Landon Y. Jones

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

Jones captures the drama and significance of the life of Brigadier General William Clark in this vivid tale of the man and the ruthless, often lawless, expansion of the American frontier. (USW437, $19.95)

Delta Wedding / The Ponder Heart

Delta Wedding / The Ponder Heart


by Eudora Welty

  • LITERATURE
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 408 PAGES

A double-bill including Delta Wedding, Welty's delightful comedy of manners, which affectionately sends up an extended southern clan, and The Ponder Heart, a comic novella about a wealthy family's attempts to prevent a hapless son and heir from giving away the family fortune. (USA482, $22.00)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer


by Mark Twain

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES
  • FAMILY

This Pengun Classics edition of Twain's story of Missouri river-rat Tom Sawyer is introduced by noted Twain scholar Seelye, who considers Twain's impact on American literature. (USM183, $8.00)

The Antelope Wife


by Louise Erdrich

  • LITERATURE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Erdrich's tale of urban Indians in Minneapolis is a graceful, multigenerational meditation on Ojibwa history and culture. (USM52, $13.99)

The Emigrants

The Emigrants


by Vilhelm Moberg | Gustaf Lannestock

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 366 PAGES

The author, Vilhelm Moberg, one of Swedens' great 20th century writers, captures the daily lives of Swedish pioneers in early America in this first of four novels about a Swedish couple who make a new life in Minnesota. (SWE14, $19.95)

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn


by Mark Twain

  • LITERATURE
  • 1991
  • HARD COVER
  • 559 PAGES

A handsome Everyman's Edition of Twain's classics. (USS509, $25.00)

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America


by Jon Dunn

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 576 PAGES

From Alaska to Baja California, Nova Scotia and Florida, this guide is the veteran's choice for birding anywhere in the United States. Tabbed for easy access, the color range maps in this sixth edition are outstanding. (FG09, $27.95)

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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.