The Best Travel Books to Inspire Future Trips
Grab your suitcase and passport, we are going places!
These book recommendations aren't for those holding back from adventure. They are for the bold and daredevils. These books will transports readers to exotic destinations, historical landmarks, and cultural wonders through a foolhardy narrative. From thrilling memoirs to insightful travelogues, each page beckons wanderlust and ignites the imagination, offering a glimpse into the diverse tapestry of our world. Whether you seek adrenaline-fueled escapades or soulful explorations, these book recommendations promise to awaken the spirit of wanderlust and inspire your next great adventure.
World travelers, mountain climbers, and plenty other Reader Types interested in exploration, let's hike up those boots and fill up those gas tanks. It's time for some adventure from the best travel books we can offer you!
The Best Travel Books to Inspire Future Trips:
Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel
by Shahnaz Habib
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence
This witty personal and cultural history of travel from the perspective of a Third World-raised woman of color, Airplane Mode, asks: what does it mean to be a joyous traveler when we live in the ruins of colonialism, capitalism and climate change?
Budapest: Portrait of a City Between East and West
by Victor Sebestyen
AN ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A vivid and enthralling account of the historical and cultural events that defined Budapest, a unique city in the heart of Europe, on the fault line between East and West--from the critically acclaimed author of Lenin
Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones: A Memoir
by Priyanka Mattoo
From a wry, insightful, and very funny new voice, here is one woman's peripatetic search for home, from Kashmir to England to Saudi Arabia to Michigan to Rome and, finally, to Los Angeles.
Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening
by Ari Shapiro
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the beloved host of NPR's All Things Considered, a stirring memoir-in-essays that is also a lover letter to journalism.
In his first book, broadcaster Ari Shapiro takes us around the globe to reveal the stories behind narratives that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. He details his time traveling on Air Force One with President Obama, or following the path of Syrian refugees fleeing war, or learning from those fighting for social justice both at home and abroad.
Argentina - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture
by Mary Godward - Robert Hamwee - Culture Smart! Culture Smart!
Don't just see the sights―get to know the people.
The second-largest country in South America, Argentina has been through great changes in recent years. Its journey from dictatorship to democracy has left many scars, but these are largely eclipsed by the pride and resilience of the Argentinian people, who have developed a style, a language, and a joie de vivre that are all their own. Embracing much more than gaucho, tango, and soccer, Argentina is very unlike its neighbors. And, due to the unique way in which it evolved, is quite different from the expectations many visitors have of a stereotypical Latin American destination.
Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-Mile Horseback Journey Into the Old West
by Will Grant
USA Today Bestseller!
Selected by the Smithsonian as Best Travel Books of the Year
The Last Ride of the Pony Express boldly illuminates both our mythic fascination with the Pony Express, and how its spirit continues to this day.
The Pony Express was a fast-horse frontier mail service that spanned the American West-- the high, dry, and undeniably lonesome part of North America. While in operation during the 1860s, it carried letter mail on a blistering ten-day schedule between Missouri and San Francisco, running through a vast and mostly uninhabited wilderness.
Living the Vanlife: On the Road Toward Sustainability, Community, and Joy
by Noami Grevemberg
Discover what it's really like to live and work on the road in a camper van full time from eco-vanlifer and founder of the Diversify Vanlife movement, Noami Grevemberg.
Feeling dissatisfied with her office job and her "stationary home," in 2016 Noami Grevemberg took a bold step. She quit her job, sold her belongings, and set out in her 1985 VW Vanagon to pursue a life of simplicity and travel with her husband and German Shepherd by her side.
National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home
by Anya Von Bremzen
Named a Best Book of 2023 by Financial Times, The Guardian, and BBC's The Food Programme
In this engrossing and timely journey to the crossroads of food and identity, award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen explores six of the world's most fascinating and iconic culinary cultures--France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey--brilliantly weaving cuisine, history, and politics into a work of scintillating connoisseurship and charm
Oh My Mother!: A Memoir in Nine Adventures
by Connie Wang
A dazzling mother-daughter adventure around the world in pursuit of self-discovery, a family reckoning, and Asian American defiance
In Chinese, the closest expression to oh my god is wo de ma ya. It's an interjection, a polite expletive, something to say when you're out of words. Translated literally, it means oh my mother--the instinctual first person you think of when you're on the cusp of losing it, or putting it all together.
Polar Exposure: An All-Women's Expedition to the North Pole
by Felicity Aston
This inspiring account of a diverse all-women's expedition to the North Pole reveals the highs and lows of record-breaking, modern-day exploration.
When British Explorer Felicity Aston put out an open call for women with little to no experience willing to brave the elements on an expedition to the North Pole, she was stunned to have over 1000 applicants. After narrowing it down to ten women from ten different countries--some of whom had never seen snow before--the team spent the next two years training for this unique opportunity.
Mother, Nature: A 5,000-Mile Journey to Discover If a Mother and Son Can Survive Their Differences
by Jedidiah Jenkins
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST
When his mother, Barbara, turns seventy, Jedidiah Jenkins is reminded of a sobering truth: Our parents won't live forever. For years, he and Barbara have talked about taking a trip together, just the two of them. They disagree about politics, about God, about the project of society--disagreements that hurt. But they love thrift stores, they love eating at diners, they love true crime, and they love each other. Jedidiah wants to step into Barbara's world and get to know her in a way that occasional visits haven't allowed.
On Freedom Road: Bicycle Explorations and Reckonings on the Underground Railroad
by David Goodrich
A thoughtful and illuminating bicycle journey along the Underground Railroad by a climate scientist seeking to engage with American history.
The traces of the Underground Railroad hide in plain sight: a great church in Philadelphia; a humble old house backing up to the New Jersey Turnpike; an industrial outbuilding in Ohio. Over the course of four years, David Goodrich rode his bicycle 3,000 miles east of the Mississippi to travel the routes of the Underground Railroad and delve into the history and stories in the places where they happened.