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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 EXCAL64. Buy these 5 items as a set for $73 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Moon Handbook Coastal California

by Kim Weir

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 550 PAGES

A practical guide to the Californian coast by veteran Moon Handbook writer Kim Weir, good features information on food, accommodations and attractions. (CAL189, $19.95)

Travelers' Tales San Francisco

Travelers' Tales San Francisco

by James O'Reilly | Larry Habegger | Sean O'Reilly

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 496 PAGES

Experience San Francisco from the inside out with this engaging, insightful and entertaining selection of mostly contemporary eyewitness reports -- a terrific literary profile of a dynamic city. (SFO15, $18.95)

Napa, the Story of an American Eden

Napa, the Story of an American Eden

by James Conway

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 560 PAGES

Conway expertly combines history, personal anecdote, wine criticism and social commentary into a definitive portrait of a place, overflowing not only with cabernets and chardonnays, but also with genuine connoisseurs, scores of dilettantes, feuds, scandals and plenty of money. (USW169, $16.95)

Assembling California

Assembling California

by John McPhee

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Another fine book on geology and natural history from John McPhee, this time in the company of Eldridge Moores, on travels throughout California. (USW187, $16.00)

San Francisco Bay Map

by Great Pacific Map Company

  • MAP

A map of the San Francisco Bay area, including Oakland, San Jose, Napa, Sonoma and Point Reyes, at a scale of 1:145,000. (CAL194, $5.95)

 

Point Reyes National Seashore


by Tom Harrison Maps

  • MAP

A colorful, topographic map of Point Reyes National Seashore, at a scale of 1:48,000. (CAL58, $9.95)

Compass Guide Coastal California

Compass Guide Coastal California


by John Doerper | Galen Rowell

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 397 PAGES

This compact guide is an excellent overview of coastal California, with particular emphasis on history, nature and visitor attractions. (CAL38, $21.00)

Exploring Point Reyes: A Guide to Point Reyes National Seashore

Exploring Point Reyes: A Guide to Point Reyes National Seashore


by Phil Arnot | Elvira Monroe

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A compact introduction to Point Reyes National Seashore, with natural history, geography and plenty of information on trails and hiking. Written by an avid hiker in the region, it is illustrated with maps and photographs. (CAL57, $10.95)

Fodor's San Francisco's 25 Best

Fodor's San Francisco's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

A shirt-pocket guide to San Francisco, this slim book includes an excellent map of the center of the city and essential information on its highlights. (USW185, $12.99)

The Napa & Sonoma Book, A Complete Guide

The Napa & Sonoma Book, A Complete Guide


by Melink, Peg | Tim Fish

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

An excellent, locally produced guidebook mixing history, culture and anecdote with up-to-date practical information, including detail on wineries, restaurant recommendations and accommodations. (CAL195, $19.95)

The Accidental Connoisseur, An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World

The Accidental Connoisseur, An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World


by Lawrence Osborne

  • FOOD
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 262 PAGES

With a winning wit and not a drop of pretense, Osborne sets out to discover what's what with wine, traveling through Sonoma and Napa, France, Italy and other European wine meccas, 11 adventures in all. He meets plenty of interesting characters along the way, revealing much about the pleasures of wine (and travel!). (TVL31, $15.00)

A Crack in the Edge of the World, America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906

A Crack in the Edge of the World, America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906


by Simon Winchester

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

Geologist, master storyteller, traveler and journalist, Simon Winchester succeeds again in this fast-paced, utterly fascinating account of the great 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco. (CAL193, $15.99)

Rush for Riches, Gold Fever and the Making of California

Rush for Riches, Gold Fever and the Making of California


by J. S. Holliday

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

An illustrated, oversize history of the California Gold Rush and its effects by a noted expert, covering the 1830's through the 1890's and packed with more than 200 illustrations and archival photographs. (USW190, $39.95)

A Tale of Two Valleys

A Tale of Two Valleys


by Alan Deutschman

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

In this intimate portrait of Napa and Sonoma -- and the often acrimonious cultural divide between the two -- journalist Alan Deutschman combines sketches of people and places with interview and commentary. He captures the bohemian cool of Sonoma and the oh-so-affluent Napa wine estates (and pretensions). (CAL196, $16.00)

Fifth Chinese Daughter

Fifth Chinese Daughter


by Jade Snow Wong

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 246 PAGES

First published in 1945, Jade Snow Wong's memoir is a simply told, moving story of family life in pre-WWII San Francisco Chinatown. (SFO08, $14.95)

Highway 99, A Literary Journey Through California's Great Central Valley


by Stan Yogi

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

An excellent anthology of literature about the vast swathe of California that lies between San Francisco and L.A, including contemporary pieces, along with the writing of John Muir, John Steinbeck and William Saroyan. (CAL92, $18.95)

Mendocino and Other Stories


by Ann Packer

  • LITERATURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

These ten memorable slice-of-life stories, which originally appeared in the New Yorker and Ploughshares magazines, are set primarily in northern California and recount the lives of ordinary people in unusual situations. (CAL192, $13.95)

Natural State, A Literary Anthology of California Nature Writing


by Steven Gilbar

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

Divided by ecological region, this book is a literary tour of California's unrivaled natural diversity, featuring essays and excerpts by such great writers as Barry Lopez, Gretel Ehrlich and John McPhee. Gary Snyder provided the afterword. (CAL101, $26.95)

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Slouching Towards Bethlehem


by Joan Didion

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 238 PAGES

A classic collection of essays on the 60s cultural climate, first published in 1968. In the acclaimed title essay, Didion vividly describes the landscape, mood and culture of 60s San Francisco. (SFO11, $15.00)

The Silverado Squatters

The Silverado Squatters


by Robert Louis Stevenson

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 184 PAGES

A classic account of Calistoga and the Napa Valley, where they were already growing wine in 1880. On a rather untraditional honeymoon, Stevenson and his new wife settled for nine months in the bunkhouse of an abandoned silver mine and met numerous local characters, all vividly described in this treasure of a book. (CAL01, $16.95)

My First Summer in the Sierra

My First Summer in the Sierra


by John Muir

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 353 PAGES

Muir's original account of a summer in Yosemite and surrounding High Sierras, based on his youthful notebooks of the summer of 1869. (CAL47, $13.00)

A Natural History of Western Trees

A Natural History of Western Trees


by Donald Culross Peattie

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 751 PAGES

Not exactly a field guide, Peattie's book is scattered with anecdotes and information on aboriginal use, folk names, and economic value of each species. He offers rich full-length portraits of his favorite trees, and the original wood engravings of the 1950 classic are also included. (USW191, $21.00)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California

National Audubon Society Field Guide to California


by Peter Alden

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 448 PAGES

A compact, easy-to-use guide to 1,000 of California's trees, wildflowers, mammals, insects, birds and other flora and fauna. (CAL07, $19.95)

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America


by David Sibley

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 474 PAGES

A compact, geographically specific version of the Sibley Guide with all-new range maps, the same glorious illustrations and expanded, extremely valuable descriptions of each bird. (USW418, $19.95)

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.