Travel & Travel Writing

Published in honor of the 100th birthday of the National Park Service, this book is a gorgeous look at the Park Service’s history, with amazing photography and personal stories as varied as the parks themselves. Exploring parks from the Grand Canyon and Yosemite to stark battlegrounds and vibrant ocean life, The National Parks makes me want to start planning a road trip (or five) immediately! Also perfect for those who enjoy armchair travel.   —Rachel

In the first book by the Economist’s veteran Asia correspondent, Dominic Ziegler, the longtime journalist weaves two tales: one, the story of the greatest leader ever born in northern Asia, Temujin (or as he was later dubbed, Ghengis Khan); the other, of Ziegler’s own arduous journey down northern Asia’s Amur River. Ziegler’s ornate words build like the strokes of a paintbrush and draw the reader into a world mostly unknown to Westerners.  —Aric

As a history lover and a fan of the macabre, this book is incredibly exciting for me. It combines beautiful antique maps with the great disasters and mysteries of the human race. Places where the ground burns with fire constantly to those where bats black out the sky to the most popular suicide location in the world. This beautiful tome makes history so enticing.  —Ivy

Rice Noodle Fish is a visual and literary treat that will leave you hungry and planning a trip to Japan. Much more than a look at the country’s cuisine, it is also about the history and culture of Japan, and about the people the author meets on his travels—including chefs with fire in their eyes and tea masters of Kyoto. Readers will be impressed by the literary quality of his narrative and the copious amount of pictures, tips and bits of information sprinkled throughout the book.   —Ashley

The author of Turn Right at Macchu Picchu embarks on another eccentric adventure, this time to chart a map to Atlantis. The result is a delightful mix of history and travel writing, from the texts of Plato to the mystic island of Malta. Like the quests of the many Atlantologists he encounters, Adams’s search is inspired as much by skepticism as it is by fantasy—calling to that age-old synthesis of empiricism and imagination.

Meet Victoria Smith’s San Francisco. It might not be the San Francisco you’re used to. Or it might be more familiar than the city portrayed in so many other, less personal books. Smith fell in love with the city as soon as she moved there, alone, in 1994, and that love is reflected in every word, every neighborhood depiction, and every gorgeous, colorful photo. If you’re tired of tourist guides, this is the San Francisco book for you.

Whitelaw tackles the intriguing tales behind 50 classic flies all anglers recognize today. Including color illustrations and recipes for the original flies, the author guides you through their history and adds fascinating tidbits about fly-fishing itself. This book is great for fans of both fly-fishing and history. Sprinkled throughout are clever and thoughtful quotes about fly-fishing, inspiring enough to make you want to take that boat out on the water and make some casts yourself.

I love a good disaster book (who doesn’t?), and now I can add Last Man Off to that list. Matt Lewis was a scientific observer on a small fishing boat that went down in the freezing Antarctic waters, and his tale is one of survival and the heroism of the ordinary person. It’s a fast read but a good one—once the ship goes down, you won’t want to stop reading. 

Hitch a ride on the open road with America’s most beloved weirdo, John Waters. Carsick chronicles Waters’ coast-to-coast hitchhiking odyssey from Baltimore to San Francisco with all the strange and wonderful sights and sounds in between. Even the most mundane roadside truck stops are transformed into provocative tableaus when filtered through Waters’ charismatic and irreverent lens. Every bit as outrageous as a John Waters’ hitchhiking adventure should be.

American Elizabeth Bard’s previous book, the delightful Lunch in Paris, chronicled her love story with her French husband. Picnic in Provence tells their next chapter, which includes an unexpected move to a tiny village in Provence, a baby, and a business (artisanal ice cream!). Through it all, readers get a poignant, not-overly-romanticized look at life in rural France. It is a delicious read—not only because Bard includes recipes in each chapter, but also because she captures the vibrancy and simplicity of Provençal food and life.