Classic Travel Books | The Best books that will inspire you

Have time to kill while traveling and wanna read some books ? Or maybe just looking to escape a few moment from life ? Here is some classic travel books to make your imaginary work. A mix of novels, stories, memoirs from great authors who had experienced the art of travel. Check out this general list, give us your impression and feel free to recommend a book that should be in the list !
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The Travels of Marco Polo, (1271-1295)
Also called "Book of the Marvels of the World" or "Description of the World", in Italian "Il Milione" (lit. The Million, deriving from Polo's nickname "Emilione"), The Travels is a 13th - century travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Italian explorer Marco Polo, describing Polo's travels through Asia between 1271 and 1295, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan. |
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The Alchemist, (1988)
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On The Road, (1957)
The two main characters of the book are the narrator, Sal Paradise, and his friend Dean Moriarty, much admired for his carefree attitude and sense of adventure, a free-spirited maverick eager to explore all kicks and an inspiration and catalyst for Sal's travels. The narrative takes place in the years 1947 to 1950, is full of Americana, marks a specific era in jazz history, and is largely autobiographical, Sal being the alter ego of the author and Dean standing for Neal Cassady. |
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The Little Prince, (1943)
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Candide : Or The Optimism, (1759)
A young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not rejecting Leibnizian optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds". |
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Shantaram, (2003)
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Into The Wild, (1996)
On September 6, 1992, Christopher McCandless' body was found inside an abandoned bus in Alaska. One year later, author Jon Krakauer retraced McCandless' steps during the two years between college graduation and his demise in Alaska. McCandless shed his legal name early in his journey, adopting the moniker "Alexander Supertramp". Krakauer interprets McCandless' intensely ascetic personality as possibly influenced by the writings of Henry David Thoreau and McCandless' favorite writer, Jack London. |
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Motorcycle Diaries, (1952)
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Africa Trek 1 & 2, (2011)
From Cape Town to Israel, the french couple Poussin crossed the continent from south to north through East Africa, traveling more than 14,000 km. They describe their experience and their feelings with the inhabitants of real Africa, very far from the tourist sites. |
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Around The World In 80 Days, (1873)
The novel tells the race around the world of an English gentleman, Phileas Fogg, who made the bet to achieve in eighty days. He is accompanied by Jean Passepartout, his French servant. The whole of the novel mixes travel story (traditional for Jules Verne) and scientific data like that used for the rebound of the fall of the novel. |
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The Adventures Of Tintin, (1929)
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These are just some classics selected by Exit Stamp but obviously there is much more classic travel books that will make you travel by reading. Let us know if you think a book is missing. We wanna hear from you !
If you already know these ones and want to discover other books and get a deeper reading to understand better the world we travel, please have a look at our Essentials Booklist where you will find archeological, social, historical and political stuff.
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