Books about travel, travel guides & phrasebooks

Books about travel -- the ones I read again and again -- are my favorite books. Every year or so, I re-read one and discover something new and fresh. If you're a traveler, then no doubt some of them are already on your book shelf. I've included some travel guides and language phrase books (listed according to country or subject), some of which I used, and others I wish I'd had on the trip. Where appropriate, I've included links to movies and CDs. The links open a new, specific page with more information.

If you need a guidebook or phrasebook, just order it now, and that will be one less thing on your To-Do list! And the nice thing about phrase books is that they have along shelf life -- once you have it, you'll use it time and again, or loan it to friends and family.

Language Phrasebooks and Dictionaries

You might never need to pull the phrasebook out of your pocket, but there are times it will be a lifesaver, and you will be thrilled to have it. The cost is minimal, the potential benefits great. Get one.

Amharic (Ethiopia) :: Amharic Phrasebook

Chinese (Cantonese - Hong Kong):: Cantonese Phrasebook

Chinese (Mandarin Beijing) :: Mandarin Phrasebook

Creole (Haiti) :: Haitian Creole Dictionary Phrasebook (new) and Creole Made Easy , plus a work book and ppronunciation guide.

Portuguese (Portugal) :: Portuguese Phrasebook

Spanish (Argentina, Chile) :: Spanish (Latin American) Phrasebook Spanish Phrasebook Spanish (Mexico) Phrasebook

Sinhala (Sri Lanka) :: Sinhala Phrasebook

Thai (Thailand) :: Thai Phrasebook

Recommended Travel Books

The Worst Journey in the World I cannot praise this book enough, and I was delighted when I was able to get my own copy now that it has been reprinted. The author was not a writer, and this is the only book he ever produced. The world is the poorer for that. Had someone other than Paul Theroux told me I'd treasure a book about Antarctic exploration, I'd not have believed it. National Geographic calls it the number one adventure tale of all time. Do yourself a favour, and buy this book. You'll read it again and again, and loan it to friends and family.

Argentina

For travel guides, try Lonely Planet Argentina , Insight Guide, Frommer's Argentina and Chile I see there's a new Fodor's Argentina . And I wish I'd had my copy of Food and Drink in Argentina before I traveled. It's geared to tourists and residents, and small enough to fit into a purse or pocket.

Australia and Pacific

Find current Australia travel guides (I hang on to my old copy, though it's out of date now). One of the best and funniest books about Australia is In a Sunburned Country. I really enjoyed Canadian author Charles Montgomery's The Last Heathen. Good, too, is Happy Isles of Oceania about Paul Theroux's paddles around the Pacific.

Canada
There are a number of Canada travel guides, many according to region or interest. Start with this travel guides page.

Chile

Ethiopia

The Bradt Travel Guide is the newest. I used Insight East Africa Wildlife and the 2003 version of Lonely Planet Ethiopia and Eritrea (2006). Notes From the Hyena's Belly (Tales of An Ethiopian Boyhood) and Dark Star Safari are both good resources for understanding the culture. Those of you interested in international aid issues may already be familiar with Lords of Povertyand The Road To Hell. Both should be required reading for anyone considering donating to major charities or studying foreign aid policy.

Haiti

I used an older edition of the Lonely Planet Dominican Republic and Haiti. there are a number of good books about Haiti, but some can be hard to get through. For insight, try The Uses of Haiti. Try Mountains Beyond Mountains Tracy Kidder's account about Paul Farmer, and The Serpent and The Rainbow, by Wade Davis, which is nothing like the movie based on it.

 

Sri Lanka

 

 

When I traveled to Sri Lanka, there were no guides available. Now, there's a new one (Dec 2006) Rough Guide Sri Lanka. For background reading, I liked Anil's Ghost. Both Oprah and I, and several million others, enjoyed A Fine Balance; set in India, the culture is similar