Travel writing–either fact-based or fictional–is a popular genre for readers and writers alike. The travel section of bookstores fill up with new titles every year, but some books remain timeless. Here we take a look at the best books about travel, taking in works of fiction and non-fiction, old and new …
Below is a list of the best books about travel. It is subjective, as are all lists of its kind, but only up to a point: these books have appeared time and time again on similar lists, and could easily form a recommended reading list for an aspiring travel writer or dedicated armchair traveller.
A List of the Best Books about Travel (In No Particular Order)
(Click on the book cover images to view the book at Amazon.)
In Patagonia, by Bruce Chatwin
Driven by a desire to identify a strange beast from a piece of animal skin hanging in his grandmother’s house, Bruce Chatwin spent six months in beautiful Patagonia exploring the region’s people and culture.
Employing various modes of transport, Chatwin travels across the land and experiences a wide variety of people. His descriptions portray a land of wonder and myth.
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The Great Railway Bazaar, by Paul Theroux
Theroux also wrote about rail travel in his book The Old Patagonian Express, but it is The Great Railway Bazaar that has become perhaps the definitive book about this mode of transport.
The Great Railway Bazaar is an exciting and inspiring account of an epic journey across Asia, in which Theroux entertainingly portrays the scenery and the people he encounters on his travels.
The Beach, by Alex Garland
Quickly gaining cult status after its release in 1996, Alex Garland’s The Beach tells the story of Richard, a British backpacker, who discovers the location of an earthly paradise known only to a chosen few.
The Beach is a gripping read: part thriller, part a modern day Lord Of The Flies. The book is better than the film which, despite having a great cast, turned out to be rather lacklustre, The Beach deserves to be in any list of the best books about travel.
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Among the Russians by Colin Thubron
Among The Russians is a beautifully told account of the author’s solo journey by car across Brezhnev-era Russia. Eloquent and engaging, Thubron’s work sheds light on the people of a country that, even today, remains enigmatic and distant.
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On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
Part fiction, part autobiography, Keroac’s classic drink and drug-fuelled road trip through 50’s America launched the beat generation and has inspired countless books and films. On The Road looks likely to have secured itself a permanent place in modern day American culture.
On The Road has become a classic travel book, and one that will no doubt be required reading for travel writers for years to come.
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Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
In Travels with Charley: In Search of America, John Steinbeck documents his 1960 journey across the USA. The ‘Charlie’ of the title is Steinbeck’s French poodle, who accompanies the writer from Maine to California.
A personal look at a country of extremes, Travels with Charley: In Search of America is a classic travel book by one of literature’s greats.
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
A classic of alternative American culture, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a drink and drug-fuelled take on the American Dream. Lacking any real plot or structure, the book is more of a sequence of events that remain in the memory like a crazy dream.
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Into the Wild by John Krakauer
In 1992 Chris McCandless, a gifted young man from an affluent family, donated all of his money to charity and walked into the Alaskan wilderness, never to return. Into The Wild is author Jon Krakauer’s account of McCandless’s life.
Krakauer attempts to discover what possessed the young man to follow his ideals through to their tragic conclusion. In doing so he paints a moving and inspirational portrait.
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The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
In this engaging book, veteran foreign correspondent Eric Weiner tours the world in search of the happiest places to live. The Geography of Bliss is an enjoyable examination both of the world’s cultures and the meaning of happiness itself.
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The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Mark Twain was the pen name of American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens. The Innocents Abroad is his first book, and recalls the author’s trip from New York City to Europe and the Holy Land in 1867.
Now a historical document as much as a book about travel, The Innocents Abroad highlights how much (and how little) has changed over the years since its publication.
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The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron
One of the first great books of modern travel writing, Robert Byron’s The Road to Oxiana tells of the author’s real-life travels through Persia and Afghanistan.
This classic book about travel also underlines the importance of literature in opening up parts of the world that to many are inadmissible.
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Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East by Pico Iyer
In Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East, Pico Iyer sets out to discover the extent to which western popular culture was taking hold in the East.
Written in the late eighties, when Sylvester Stallone’s movie First Blood was experiencing huge success in Asia, Iyer’s book is an enjoyable description of the meeting of two cultures.
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Best Books About Travel Conclusion
Some of these books are works of high literary achievement; others are rather less ‘high-brow’, but all have become classic travel books in their own right.
We found compiling this list of the best books about travel to be extremely enjoyable. In doing so we have re-visited many old favourites and made a few new good friends.
Why not set yourself the challenge of reading all of the books on this list over the next 6 months! Let us know how you get on …