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Ten travel books I'd recommend to anyone

somtam2000

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mahout
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When I'm travelling on longish trips I read a lot -- not always about the countries I'm travelling in. So here's some of my favourite titles that I just grabbed off he shelves -- one I'm reading now (the Malay Archipelago) and others I've read many times!

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Set in Africa's Congo during the colonial period, this was a (very) rough base for the hit Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now. The book is far far far better than the movie! Ideally read on the bank of a river.
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
I was a very late one to Capote and while I've read this now a couple of times, my first reading was in a single very long sitting, at a streetside pho stall in Saigon. Towards the end of the day a cyclo driver joined me and waxed lyrical about who he loved the book -- and the movie.
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

River of Time by John Swain
While I've read many books on the Indochinese conflict, this, and perhaps Ravens by Christopher Robbins are two of the very best. Swain does an incredible job of capturing war-era Phnom Penh. Fascinating and heartbreaking.
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Before Kampuchea: Preludes to Tragedy by Milton Osborne
I've mentioned this in another thread -- it delivers a fascinating insight into the period before and after the Khmer Rouge period. You'll struggle not to think -- wow, I wish I was there in the 50's!
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Krakatoa by Simon Winchester
While the erruption of the volcano is the focal point of the novel, this is just a great rollicking travel tale with a fabulous insight to colonial-period Indonesia.
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher J. Koch
Still on Indonesia, and also made into a movie, this is a vital bit of reading if you want to get a bit of an insight into some of Indonesia's most tumultuous years.
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
While de Botton has his share of detractors, I really loved this book and have read and reread it numerous times. his talk of appreciating the colours of the places you travel in, in particular, is excellent. Fascinating yet not too hard on the brain.
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Shadow of the Sun by Rysard Kapuscinski
A man sadly no longer with us, Kapuscinski was the Polish foriegn correspondent for the entire world and while he wrote a bunch of books, this is his best. A grade travel experiences through Africa. Read it in Africa, Asia or at home!
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Carpet Wars by Christopher Kremmer
Kremmer traces the ongoing issues through central Asia and the Middle East through the travails and experiences of carper merchants. Sounds dry and boring but you couldn't be further off the mark -- one of my absolute favourites.
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

What I'm reading now:
The Malay Archipelago by Alferd Russel Wallace
Peer only to Charles Darwin for the knowledge he garnered from the world around him, Wallace's experiences in 19th century SE Asia are simply fascinating. Bali really has changed a lot!
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

#1 Posted: 3/7/2009 - 08:15

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mahout
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The Ravens - if you are going to Laos, this is a good read on the Secret War.

#2 Posted: 3/7/2009 - 12:59

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christay2009

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I just picked up Heart of Darkness for 99p and The Ravens for a staggering £9.00 second hand! [i think it is out of print in the UK as i can only find second hand copies]

On my fairly recent trip i read Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee in one day of idling. A good read, although it is far from a light-hearted holiday read. I also finally got round to reading Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell. For me, this is a must read. I have just finished reading Burmise Days also by Orwell. It is, what seems like, a good glimpse into colonial era Burma and another good read.

#3 Posted: 12/12/2009 - 22:25
Mike_V

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http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/results

#4 Posted: 13/12/2009 - 18:18
Mike_V

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Oops,

What I meant to post was the Heart of Darkness is available on Project Gutenberg.

#5 Posted: 13/12/2009 - 18:19
Archmichael

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Two personal favorites (in addition to some noted above):

"Travels with a Tangerine" by Tim Mackintosh-Smith (Mackintosh-Smith set out to replicate the travels of Ibn Battutah of Tangier, who left in 1325 to make a pilgrimage to Mecca and did not return for almost 30 years).

"Bitter Lemons" by Lawrence Durrell (about Durrell's time in Cyprus in the early 1950's).

#6 Posted: 13/2/2010 - 12:17