Explore the world with The Folio Society’s collection of enthralling travel books. From hair-raising tales of exploration to adventures in fascinating countries and cultures, Folio Society books include specially researched photographs, maps and illustrations and come in beautiful hardback bindings. They are books to inspire your own travels or the perfect gift for an armchair explorer. See below for the full list of Folio Travel and Exploration books.
In 1934, Laurie Lee left his Gloucestershire village. Yearning for adventure, he embarked for Spain and walked the length of the country, covering 20 miles a day under the merciless heat of the Spanish sun.
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Neal Ascherson chronicles the tumultuous history of the sea where East meets West. He recalls Ovid’s exile on its shores, charts Scythian wayfarers, Stalinist purges and Hitler’s vision of a German Gothic Crimea. His thoughtful book ends by considering the sea’s damaged ecology – perhaps to be its final tragedy.
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Before he became famous throughout the world as Lawrence of Arabia, T. E. Lawrence travelled through Britain, France, Syria and Palestine to research his undergraduate thesis on ‘The Influence of the Crusades on European Military Architecture to the End of the Twelfth Century’. Lawrence’s brilliant observations have since been confirmed by modern research.
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Before the modern age, only the intrepid, foolhardy or mad would undertake a voyage of exploration. Impossible Journeys tells the stories of 24 of these extraordinary journeys, from the Middle Ages to the Victorian era.
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A.H. Layard’s discovery of the Assyrian citadel Nineveh was momentous. This edition displays his celebrated pictures of the site, done in situ. In his introduction, Andrew George, Professor of Babylonian and Assyrian at the University of London, applauds Layard’s adventurous spirit.
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Bryson's account of his farewell tour of Britain by public transport is a hilarious and affectionate tribute by Britain's funniest adopted son.
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The book of Parkman's youth and one of the first great chronicles of the American West, The Oregon Trail remains the most popular of all his works.
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No matter how many biographies are written or films are made of the story, nothing can match Scott’s own epic, elegiac account of his expedition to the South Pole. Illustrated with over 80 archive photographs, this is a wonderful edition of a classic book.
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Lawrence's story - that of a stranger from a far-off world who arrives among an oppressed people and helps to lead them to freedom against terrible odds - is the stuff of legend. And legend he became - with help from this book, an epic film and an ability for 'backing into the limelight'.
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Mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates had successfully scaled the 21,000-foot Siula Grande in the heart of the Peruvian Andes, but on their descent disaster struck. Touching the Void, also an acclaimed film, is one of the most remarkable tales of survival ever told.
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No matter how far from home, or what the circumstances, the 25th of December is not a date we pass unmarked. This anthology contains over 90 stories of Christmases spent away from home
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Lively, opinionated and full of idiosyncratic details, The Travels of Ibn Battutah paints a fascinating portrait of medieval civilisation beyond Europe.
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A charming account of Stevenson's adventure in the wilds of southern France, accompanied only by his stubborn but loveable donkey.
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Travels with Charley is at once an affectionate account of life on the road and a great writer's last look at an America entering a turbulent time in its history.
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As Poland's greatest foreign correspondent, Kapuściński saw most of the Cold War's conflicts and revolutions first hand. Travelling across the globe, he always carried with him a copy of Herodotus, and in this exhilarating memoir Kapuściński compares his own experiences with the writings of his hero.
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