Macaronesia Recommended Reading

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Here is a brief selection of favorite, new and hard-to-find books, prepared for your journey. The items on this list can be purchased (some at discount rates) through Longitude Books. For your convenience, you may call (800) 342-2164 to order these books directly from Longitude, a specialty mail-order book service, or to order on-line please click here.

ESSENTIAL READING

These four books are available as a package for $100 including shipping, 15% off the retail price (Item no. EXATL67). Free shipping on any additional books ordered.

Bradt Guide Cape Verde Islands. Aisling Irwin, Colum Wilson, 2006, PAPER, 278 PAGES, $22.95
A practical travel guide to the Cape Verde islands, including its cultural and natural history. (Item no. ATL07)

Twice Round the Loggerhead, The Culture of Whaling in the Azores. Bruce Halabisky, Lance Lee, 2000, HARD COVER, 124 PAGES, $35.00
A loving, richly illustrated account of building an Azorean whaleboat. With essays on the history and folklore of traditional whaling and boatbuilding as well as archival and contemporary photographs, line drawings and 60 watercolor illustrations. (Item no. PGL37)

The Columbian Exchange. Alfred W. Crosby, 2003, PAPER, 268 PAGES, $33.95
Crosby, a historian with an ecological perspective, explores the impact of Columbus' voyage on the ecosystems – and people – of the New World in this lively and provocative study. (Item no. GEN21)

The Discoverers. Daniel Boorstin, 1985, PAPER, 745 PAGES, $18.95
This wide-ranging, readable account of exploration by Daniel Boorstin includes a chapter on some of the great sea voyages, including Magellan's voyage to Tierra del Fuego and Cook's journey into the Southern Ocean. (Item no. EXP01)

ALSO RECOMMENDED

Azores Map. Turinta Maps, 2002, MAP, $12.95
A nicely detailed folded map of the islands with travel information at a scale of 1:75,000. (Item no. PGL36). We also carry a Cape Verde Map (Item no. ATL17, $12.95), a Madeira Map (Item no. PGL18, $11.95) and an Atlantic Ocean Map (Item no. OCE34, $14.99).

Cadogan Guide Madeira & Porto Santo. Cadogan Guide, 2003, PAPER, 288 PAGES, $17.95
A guidebook in the respected British Cadogan series, this comprehensive look at Madeira and Porto Santo provides insightful cultural and historical background, and up-to-date practical information. (Item no. SPN21)

Eyewitness Guide Canary Islands. Eyewitness Guides, 2003, PAPER, 208 PAGES, $20.00
This compact, visually appealing guide features excellent short essays on the history, nature and attractions of the islands, color photographs and many maps. (Item no. CNY05)

Longitude. Dava Sobel, Neil Armstrong (Introduction), 2007, PAPER, 184 PAGES, $13.00
An elegant extended essay on the historically vexing problem of determining longitude and the solution developed by master clockmaker John Harrison. It's a captivating story of marine chronometers, Byzantine 18th-century British politics, and the age of sail. With photographs. (Item no. HSC01)

Compass, A Story of Exploration and Innovation. Alan Gurney, 2006, PAPER, 320 PAGES, $13.95
A marvelous storyteller and crack historian (not to mention yachtsman), Gurney traces in this latest book the history of the compass (and navigation). (Item no. HSC29)

Unknown Lands, The Log Books of the Great Explorers. François Bellec, 2002, HARD COVER, 216 PAGES, $55.00
An exquisitely illustrated selection of eyewitness accounts, maps, and reports from the logs of Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco de Gama, James Cook, and others from the great age of exploration. (Item no. EXP32)

The Reverse of the Medal. Patrick O'Brian, 1992, PAPER, 287 PAGES, $13.95
In book 11 of the Aubrey and Maturin series, they head from Barbados through the Caribbean across the Atlantic to the Azores and their old stomping grounds in London (where 2/3 of the novel is set). (Item no. ATL04)

Prince Henry "the Navigator," A Life. Peter E. Russell, 2001, PAPER, 448 PAGES, $21.00
A complicated, rewarding portrait, and the first biography of this empire-minded Portuguese prince in more than a hundred years. (Item no. PGL25)

Sailing Alone Around the World. Joshua Slocum, Thomas Philbrick (Editor), 2005, PAPER, 272 PAGES, $16.95
An American hero and born storyteller, Slocum sailed alone around the world at the turn of the century. This classic book, with the original illustrations, is his own account of the three-year voyage. (Item no. EXP03)

Smithsonian Handbook: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. Mark Carwardine, 2002, PAPER, 256 PAGES, $20.00
In the trademark, graphic Eyewitness style, this sturdy guidebook colorfully describes the world's cetaceans with numerous illustrations, range maps, fluke drawings and a few paragraphs on each species. (Item no. FG02)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. Randall Reeves, Pieter Folkens (Illustrator), 2002, PAPER, 528 PAGES, $26.95
A handsome, comprehensive guide to 120 species of whales, dolphins, seals, walruses, sirenians, polar bears and their kin worldwide. Each species gets a four-page spread with color photographs and an overview of range, habitat, behavior, status and conservation. (Item no. FG58)

Song for the Blue Ocean, Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas. Carl Safina, 1999, PAPER, 458 PAGES, $18.00
A grand tour of our blue planet, divided geographically, this book is an excellent resource – fascinating to read and full of hope. It combines a personal journey, hundreds of interviews with fisherman and scientists around the world, and a tour of important watery habitats. (Item no. OCE09)