At their worst, travel books are dated, deeply racist, or just painfully dull. But at their best, they capture the spark of seeing something new, as well as the way your perspective shifts when you鈥檙e out of your rut with your eyes open. Here are some of the best鈥攊ncluding some by writers who have been overlooked for too long.
鈥榃ind, Sand, and Stars鈥 by Antoine de Saint-Exup茅ry
Best Aviation Writing

Antoine de Saint-Exup茅ry鈥檚 of his time pioneering new mail routes as an Aeropostale pilot in the 1920s and 鈥30s is the kind of adventure story that鈥檚 too crazy to have been made up. But what really sets it apart is Saint-Exup茅ry鈥檚 clarity about both the minutia of early aviation and his own feelings as he faces his potential death while flying above the empty Sahara. It鈥檚 a gripping, gorgeously written window into a world that doesn鈥檛 exist anymore. If the early days of flying get you going, Beryl Markham鈥檚 should also be on your list.
Tie: 鈥楾ravels with Charley in Search of America鈥 by John Steinbeck and 鈥淕reat Plains鈥 by Ian Frazier
Best Road-Trip Writing

There are piles of American road-trip books, and plenty of them don鈥檛 hold up well (ahem, On the Road), mostly by dint of their selfishness. Staring at the windshield trying to figure out your shit stays interesting only for so long. In both , where John Steinbeck, in his old age, takes a lap around the country, and , where Ian Frazier tries to understand what pulls him to those plains, the focus is external. They鈥檙e fascinated by the people they meet and the way those people shape and are shaped by the land around them. That contrast, and the complicated crew each author encounters, is what makes America鈥攁nd both of these books鈥攇reat.
鈥楾he Innocents Abroad鈥 by Mark Twain
Best Humor Writing

Mark Twain, more than anything, is funny. And his of his trip on a steamship to Europe and the Middle East is a send-up of privileged Americans, including himself. But between Twain鈥檚 character sketches and sarcasm, he digs into why people travel, the ways tourism takes advantage of locals and capitalizes on history, and the baked-in moral conflict of being a traveler responsible for that capitalism.
鈥楾ell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica鈥 by Zora Neale Hurston
Best Immersion Writing

Hunter S. Thompson has nothing on Zora Neale Hurston鈥檚 brand of gonzo journalism. For her at medicine, ritual, race relations, and tradition in Jamaica and Haiti in the 1930s, Hurston, an American woman, had to unflinchingly show up for those rituals, even if it meant getting bucked off a mule in the middle of nowhere or subjecting herself to medicine men. It鈥檚 immersive travel writing at its finest.
鈥楾he Snow Leopard鈥 by Peter Matthiessen
Best Mountain Writing

A really good book can take a subject that you might otherwise think is a snooze (sheep! someone else鈥檚 spiritual journey!) and turn it into something relevant and fascinating. , Peter Matthiessen鈥檚 story about his loosely planned trek into the Nepalese Himalayas with sheep biologist George Schaller, is also a story about why climbers go to the mountain in the first place and what we鈥檙e trying to find there.
鈥楳y Life in France鈥 by Julia Child
Best Memoir Writing

Eat. Pray. Love. Or something like that. of her time in France is the best, most joyful version of a certain type of travel story鈥攍ike or Elizabeth Gilbert鈥檚 actual 鈥攚here the writer (often a woman) is submerged in a foreign culture and works her way through discomfort, cultural clashes, and awkwardness to achieve some kind of grace. Child is funny and self-deprecating, and (all respect to Gilbert) you don鈥檛 have to wade through her thoughts on meditation.
鈥楤arbarian Days鈥 by William Finnegan
Best Coastal Writing

Calling this a travel book, or even more snubbily calling it a sports book, belittles the grace that William Finnegan weaves into the story of his and the way it took him around the world. He captures the angsty drive to keep moving that fuels a lot of young travelers, the FOMO-y obsession of following something ephemeral, and the heartbreak of finding the perfect untouched place鈥攊n Finnegan鈥檚 case, Tavarua鈥攁nd then having it changed by the next crew of travelers looking for the exact same thing.
鈥楢 Field Guide to Getting Lost鈥 by Rebecca Solnit
Best Idea Writing

Rebecca Solnit is a master of juxtaposing seemingly disparate ideas, digging into them, and then weaving them together in a way you may never have expected. , her collection of essays about place, the unknown, and all the different ways one might get lost, is a mesh of stories that also manage to touch on travel, history, wilderness, and more. Plus, Beyonc茅 allegedly named her kid Blue because of one of the pieces, so you know it鈥檚 good.