Travel Books
recommended by travel writers
Last updated: November 19, 2024
The best books on Southeast Asian Travel Literature, recommended by Cat Barton
The Bureau Chief for the Agence France Presse in Dhaka discusses South East Asian travel literature. Particularly interesting on Cambodia. Further recommended reading from Graham Greene and James Fenton
Books about Travelling in the Muslim World, recommended by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
Author and Arabist Tim Mackintosh-Smith tells us about the rich tradition in Islam of travelling to gain knowledge, and directs us towards some of those, both Western and Arab, who’ve inspired with their tales of life on the road.
The Best Hiking Memoirs, recommended by Gail Simmons
Accounts of journeys on foot capture the imagination; partly this is a function of the satisfaction of following a linear journey from start to finish, and partly it is a quality inherent to walking itself—a freeing of the mind. Gail Simmons, who follows an old English pilgrimage route in her book Between the Chalk and the Sea, selects five hiking memoirs that celebrate the liberation that comes from putting one foot after another.
The best books on Abandoned Places, recommended by Cal Flyn
Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn selects five of the best books on abandoned places, including a cultural history of ruins, an account of natural recovery in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, plus two unsettling works of science fiction. Her own book, Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape, is out now.
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Hong Kong
by Jan Morris -
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Hong Kong Noir: Fifteen true tales from the dark side of the city
by Feng Chi-shun -
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Hotel China
by the Hong Kong Writers Circle -
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The Heritage Hiker’s Guide to Hong Kong
by Pete Spurrier -
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Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong
by Gordon Mathews
The best books on Hong Kong, recommended by Jason Ng
The best books on Hong Kong, recommended by Jason Ng
In 2014 Hong Kong’s ‘Umbrella Protests’ made news around the world. But will continuing protests in Hong Kong lead to advances in democracy or crackdowns by Beijing? Jason Ng, lawyer and author of Umbrellas in Bloom, chooses five of the best books for understanding China’s ‘foster child’ city.
The best books on Americans Abroad, recommended by Charles Glass
The much-travelled writer and broadcaster Charles Glass tells us about misunderstandings and misadventures of Americans in foreign lands.
The best books on Wild Places, recommended by Robert Macfarlane
Robert Macfarlane, author of an acclaimed trilogy of books about landscape and human thought tells us about the intrepid, sometimes misanthropic writers who inspired his own investigation of wilderness. He chooses some of his favourite books of nature-writing.
The best books on Indian Journeys, recommended by Roy Moxham
The author and Senior Conservator of the University of London’s Senate House Library discusses books on Indian Journeys. Interesting selections that offer good insights into the authors themselves
The Best Books of Landscape Writing, recommended by Dan Richards
Good writing offers readers an invitation to explore and engage with the world around them, says Dan Richards—author of Outpost and Climbing Days—as he recommends five brilliant books that exemplify the skill of landscape writing.
The best books on Modern Iran, recommended by Jasmin Darznik
Everyday life in Iran is often mischaracterised, says the Iranian author and academic Jasmin Darznik – especially when it comes to the struggles of its women. She recommends five books that give us a window on Iranian history and family life