Greatest Travel Books

Traveling is always better when you have a guide to help navigate your journey, and there is no better guide than a good travel book. Consider, for instance, the excitement of having Ernest Hemingway direct your travels through Paris! And there would be no one better to take you on an adventure through America than Jack Kerouac. Here is a list of some of the Greatest Travel books of all time. Pick up any one of these, and begin your adventure today!

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

An iconic book that has fueled generations of young readers, this largely autobiographical work was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across America in the 1950′s, in their search for “enlightenment”. The story, inspired by a barrage of poetry, jazz, and drug experiences, has often been considered the defining work of the post-war beat generation. It has become a bible for those seeking meaning and adventure on the open highway, is quite possibly at the top of the list of Greatest Travel books of all time.

Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin

Emma Larkin provides one of the most in-depth looks into Burmese life to date, in her account of truly Orwellian circumstances that she experienced there. Her work is a simultaneous literary study of George Orwell’s work, a political analysis of Burma, and a travelogue that is incredibly difficult to put down.

Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway

This is a necessary book for anybody who is traveling through Spain, and especially for those who plan on attending a bull fight. Published in 1932, his non-fiction work is near the top of the list of Greatest Travel books, as it takes the reader through the ceremony and traditions of Spanish bullfighting, as well as into the deep contemplations of fear and courage.

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

John Krakauer’s non-fiction account of the young adventurer, Chris McCandles, will inspire the reader to sell all of their possessions and live in the open air, and shake them up all at the same time. McCandles, a young college graduate, decides to leave everything behind, (including his name), to travel throughout the Alaskan wilderness. Taking only a few necessities with him, his unshaken dedication to his journey is both inspirational and ultimately heartbreaking. It is no mistake that this is one of the Greatest Travel books in the market.