10 Travel Books That Will Inspire You

10 Travel Books That Will Inspire You

Travelling is one of the most visceral educational experiences that anyone can try. Some travelers have managed to translate their own experiences onto videos and paper, allowing others to have a glimpse of the truths and insights inherent to absorbing new destinations. Here are some of the most inspirational travel books out there.

The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots From a Hidden War

By Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva

10 Travel Books That Will Inspire You Apartheid Sign English Afrikaans

Image credit: By Dewet – Derived

Silva and Marinovich are one-half of the four members of the Bang-Bang Club. The four photographers managed to capture South Africa’s transition from apartheid to modern democracy. It’s certainly not a lighthearted book, to say the least. However, in the middle of the violence and war, the Bang-Bang Club peppers in instances of genuine comradeship and exhilaration. This makes the book a rollercoaster ride through South Africa’s post-apartheid townships.

The Famished Road

Ben Okri

10 Travel Books That Will Inspire You Ben Okri in Tallinn

Image credit: By Metsavend – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

African magical realism finds a spectacular foundational standard in The Famished Road. This novel centers around spirit children who can move effortlessly between the physical and mystical worlds that simultaneously exist around them. Join the children as they navigate a fictionalized version of the author’s native Nigeria, complete with both human and spiritual dangers that dwell at every turn.

Finding Beauty in a Broken World

By Terry Tempest Williams

Finding Beauty in a Broken World chronicles three of the author’s travels across the globe. Williams observed a prairie dog town in the American Southwest and studied mosaics in Ravenna, Italy. In Rwanda, she joins a group of people who survived the Rwandan genocide in building a war memorial from the rubble. The genius is in how she puts these events together – proving that rarely is there a truly self-contained event in life.

A Long Way Gone

By Ishmael Beah

10 Travel Books That Will Inspire You A Long Way Gone

Image credit: By Source, Fair use

Be warned: this is no ordinary travel book. A Long Way Gone is the author’s account of being a 12-year-old child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone. It details Beah’s journey from the moment his childhood was forcibly taken from him, up to the time of his rehabilitation from the life of a child soldier. It’s an extremely troubling book, but also a story of great inspiration and travel insight.

The Little Prince

By Antoine de Saint-Exupery

10 Travel Books That Will Inspire You Little prince

Image credit: By Antoine de Saint– Exupéry

The Little Prince deserves every accolade it has garnered over the years, including being one of the best-selling books of all time. This magical and insightful book is a political and environmental warning, an inspiring magical tale, and a short book on modern philosophy all at once. The Little Prince is a must-read for the imagination.

Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs

By John Lindow

A Guide to Gods

Image credit: Abebooks

Norse Mythology has never been as popular. And John Lindow’s book offers a great starting point for anyone looking to delve further into the subject. It covers Scandinavian mythology’s place in history – from the earliest creation of man to the universe’s destruction and the mythic future. Along the way, you’ll meet the characters and locations that have shaped Norse culture, with some places still visitable today. The explosion of Norse-themed media has been sparked by the character Thor who features not only in the book but in wider media. Foxy Games has a range of titles based on Norse mythology, including Thor’s Lightning, Vikings Unleashed, and Valhalla, whilst the TV show Vikings has been based loosely on the same themes. The emergence in pop culture has been thanks largely to Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of Thor in the Marvel films, bringing the character to life for a generation of film buffs.

Travels With Myself and Another

By Martha Gellhorn

This book is a retelling of the years that the author spent adventuring throughout the world, sometimes alone and sometimes accompanied by others. Travels With Myself and Another is told with razor-sharp humor and the insight of someone who’s seen almost everything. American non-fiction writer Rosemary Mahoney calls the book “witty, vivid, political, and thoroughly enjoyable.” And by the way, the “other” described in the title is Gellhorn’s husband, Ernest Hemingway.

Vagabonding

By Rolf Potts

Penned by Rolf Potts, the original vagabond, this book is the ultimate guidebook to long-term travel. Apart from the logistical necessities required in “vagabonding,” Potts also goes into the mental and spiritual insights. He garnered these stories from spending a decade on the road, including walking through Israel.

Travels in the Interior of Africa

By Mungo Park

10 Travel Books That Will Inspire You Mungo Park cover 1859

Image credit: Public Domain

Penned by the Scottish writer and explorer Mungo Park, Travels in the Interior of Africa is a classic display of Park’s wit and equanimity. His retelling of the instance when his horse and clothes were robbed is a must-read. And so is his advice for explorers who come face-to-face with a lion. But perhaps most notable of all is the fact that in 1799. The Guardian states that Travels also functions as an eyewitness argument for abolishing slavery – in Park’s unmistakably Scottish dry wit. Herman Melville and Ernest Hemingway are just some of the writers that were inspired by Park’s 1799 book.

Which are your favorite travel books?