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The Travel Writing Top 100 — Best Travel Writing Books

The greatest travel writing — adventures, discoveries, and journeys that take you somewhere extraordinary.

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In Patagonia
1
In Patagonia
Bruce Chatwin
1977
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A Walk in the Woods
2
A Walk in the Woods
Bill Bryson
1998
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Notes from a Small Island
3
Notes from a Small Island
Bill Bryson
1995
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In a Sunburned Country
4
In a Sunburned Country
Bill Bryson
2000
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Neither Here nor There
5
Neither Here nor There
Bill Bryson
1991
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The Lost Continent
6
The Lost Continent
Bill Bryson
1989
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The Great Railway Bazaar
7
The Great Railway Bazaar
Paul Theroux
1975
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Dark Star Safari
8
Dark Star Safari
Paul Theroux
2002
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The Old Patagonian Express
9
The Old Patagonian Express
Paul Theroux
1979
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Eat Pray Love
10
Eat Pray Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
2006
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Wild
11
Wild
Cheryl Strayed
2012
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Into the Wild
12
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
1996
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Into Thin Air
13
Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer
1997
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A Time of Gifts
14
A Time of Gifts
Patrick Leigh Fermor
1977
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Between the Woods and the Water
15
Between the Woods and the Water
Patrick Leigh Fermor
1986
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Blue Highways
17
Blue Highways
William Least Heat-Moon
1982
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Seven Years in Tibet
18
Seven Years in Tibet
Heinrich Harrer
1952
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The Snow Leopard
19
The Snow Leopard
Peter Matthiessen
1978
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Shadow of the Silk Road
20
Shadow of the Silk Road
Colin Thubron
2006
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In Siberia
21
In Siberia
Colin Thubron
1999
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Travels with Charley
22
Travels with Charley
John Steinbeck
1962
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Innocents Abroad
23
Innocents Abroad
Mark Twain
1869
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West with the Night
24
West with the Night
Beryl Markham
1942
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Full Tilt
25
Full Tilt
Dervla Murphy
1965
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Venice
26
Venice
Jan Morris
1960
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The Places in Between
27
The Places in Between
Rory Stewart
2004
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Arabian Sands
28
Arabian Sands
Wilfred Thesiger
1959
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Desert Solitaire
29
Desert Solitaire
Edward Abbey
1968
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On the Road
31
On the Road
Jack Kerouac
1957
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A Year in Provence
32
A Year in Provence
Peter Mayle
1989
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Under the Tuscan Sun
33
Under the Tuscan Sun
Frances Mayes
1996
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Round Ireland with a Fridge
34
Round Ireland with a Fridge
Tony Hawks
1998
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The Beach
35
The Beach
Alex Garland
1996
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Shantaram
36
Shantaram
Gregory David Roberts
2003
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The Alchemist
37
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
1988
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A Moveable Feast
38
A Moveable Feast
Ernest Hemingway
1964
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The Motorcycle Diaries
39
The Motorcycle Diaries
Ernesto Che Guevara
1995
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Tracks
40
Tracks
Robyn Davidson
1980
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Terra Incognita
41
Terra Incognita
Sara Wheeler
1996
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Turn Right at Machu Picchu
42
Turn Right at Machu Picchu
Mark Adams
2011
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Endurance
43
Endurance
Alfred Lansing
1959
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In the Heart of the Sea
44
In the Heart of the Sea
Nathaniel Philbrick
2000
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South
45
South
Ernest Shackleton
1919
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The White Darkness
46
The White Darkness
David Grann
2018
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The Orchid Thief
47
The Orchid Thief
Susan Orlean
1998
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A Field Guide to Getting Lost
48
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
Rebecca Solnit
2005
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River Town
50
River Town
Peter Hessler
2001
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Country Driving
51
Country Driving
Peter Hessler
2010
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Oracle Bones
52
Oracle Bones
Peter Hessler
2006
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Tokyo Vice
53
Tokyo Vice
Jake Adelstein
2009
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The Emperor
54
The Emperor
Ryszard Kapuscinski
1978
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Shah of Shahs
55
Shah of Shahs
Ryszard Kapuscinski
1982
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Homage to Catalonia
56
Homage to Catalonia
George Orwell
1938
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Down and Out in Paris and London
57
Down and Out in Paris and London
George Orwell
1933
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The Road to Wigan Pier
58
The Road to Wigan Pier
George Orwell
1937
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A Small Place
59
A Small Place
Jamaica Kincaid
1988
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An Area of Darkness
60
An Area of Darkness
V.S. Naipaul
1964
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The Sex Lives of Cannibals
61
The Sex Lives of Cannibals
J. Maarten Troost
2004
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Getting Stoned with Savages
62
Getting Stoned with Savages
J. Maarten Troost
2006
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The Caliph's House
63
The Caliph's House
Tahir Shah
2006
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The Old Ways
64
The Old Ways
Robert Macfarlane
2012
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The Wild Places
65
The Wild Places
Robert Macfarlane
2007
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Mountains of the Mind
66
Mountains of the Mind
Robert Macfarlane
2003
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Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
67
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
Paul Theroux
2008
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Riding the Iron Rooster
68
Riding the Iron Rooster
Paul Theroux
1988
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I'm a Stranger Here Myself
69
I'm a Stranger Here Myself
Bill Bryson
1999
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McCarthy's Bar
70
McCarthy's Bar
Pete McCarthy
2000
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Toujours Provence
71
Toujours Provence
Peter Mayle
1991
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Bella Tuscany
72
Bella Tuscany
Frances Mayes
1999
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A Fortune-Teller Told Me
73
A Fortune-Teller Told Me
Tiziano Terzani
1995
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The Fear
74
The Fear
Peter Godwin
2010
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When a Crocodile Eats the Sun
75
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun
Peter Godwin
2006
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Balkan Ghosts
76
Balkan Ghosts
Robert D. Kaplan
1993
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Italian Hours
77
Italian Hours
Henry James
1909
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Pictures from Italy
78
Pictures from Italy
Charles Dickens
1846
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Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere
79
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere
Jan Morris
2001
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Muddling Through in Madagascar
80
Muddling Through in Madagascar
Dervla Murphy
1985
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The Last Place on Earth
81
The Last Place on Earth
Roland Huntford
1979
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Rowing the Atlantic
82
Rowing the Atlantic
Roz Savage
2009
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The Ice at the End of the World
83
The Ice at the End of the World
Jon Gertner
2019
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Chasing Che
84
Chasing Che
Patrick Symmes
2000
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In Arabian Nights
85
In Arabian Nights
Tahir Shah
2008
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Travels in Hyperreality
86
Travels in Hyperreality
Umberto Eco
1986
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The Travels of Marco Polo
87
The Travels of Marco Polo
Marco Polo
1300
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Among the Believers
88
Among the Believers
V.S. Naipaul
1981
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Red Dust A Path Through China
89
Red Dust A Path Through China
Ma Jian
2001
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The Feather Thief
90
The Feather Thief
Kirk Wallace Johnson
2018
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Mayflower
91
Mayflower
Nathaniel Philbrick
2006
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A Tramp Abroad
92
A Tramp Abroad
Mark Twain
1880
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The Ends of the Earth
93
The Ends of the Earth
Robert D. Kaplan
1996
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The Soccer War
94
The Soccer War
Ryszard Kapuscinski
1978
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The Sun Also Rises
95
The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway
1926
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Wanderlust A History of Walking
96
Wanderlust A History of Walking
Rebecca Solnit
2000
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
97
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig
1974
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The Songlines
98
The Songlines
Bruce Chatwin
1987
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The Worst Journey in the World
99
The Worst Journey in the World
Apsley Cherry-Garrard
1922
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An Empire of Ice
100
An Empire of Ice
Edward Larson
2011
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