Travel Book Country Finder

Trying to find a travel book from a certain country? Whilst there's plenty of resources out there that do this for fiction books, I've found that there are few that actually provide a list of country-specific non-fiction travel books. That's about to change, as Best Travel Books has provided a list below of primarily non-fiction travel books that we've read and that are focussed on one particular country. We'll look to add to this list over time, but for now check out the map below for the countries which we have currently read a travel-related book on. At 48, this still lags the number of countries I've actually visited, which simply means I need to read more! 

When finished, scroll down to see a list of countries by region with accompanying book(s) listed in order of our ranking. Note, that we have slipped in the odd Fiction book where we believe that it has captured the true essence of travel, but we've made sure that they have been highlighted as fiction.

North Africa and the Horn of Africa

Egypt: The Nile by Toby Wilkinson, Walking the Nile by Levison Wood
Ethiopia: In Search of Solomon's Mines by Tahir Shah, Surrender or Starve by Robert D. Kaplan
Morocco: The Caliph's House by Tahir Shah, Glory in a Camel's Eye by Jeffrey Tayler
Somalia: Where Soldiers Fear to Tread by John S. Burnett

Sub-Saharan Africa

Botswana: Whatever You Do Don't Run by Peter Allison, Torn Trousers by Andrew St Pierre and Gwynn White
Democratic Republic of Congo: Blood River by Tim Butcher, Facing the Congo by Jeffrey Tayler, Canoeing the Congo by Phil Harwood
Liberia: Chasing the Devil by Tim Butcher
Republic of Congo: Congo Journey by Redmond O'Hanlon
Sierra Leone: Chasing the Devil by Tim Butcher
South Africa: After Mandela by Alec Russell

North America

Canada: Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw by Will Ferguson
Mexico: Born to Run by Christopher MacDougall
United States: Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Fiction) by Hunter S. Thompson, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Central America and the Caribbean

Bahamas: An Embarrassment of Mangoes by Ann Vanderhoof
Costa Rica: It's Every Monkey for Themselves by Vanessa Woods
Honduras: The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston
Jamaica: The Dead Yard by Ian Thomson

South America

Bolivia: Marching Powder by Rusty Young
Brazil: The Lost City of Z by David Grann, Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? by Thomas Kohnstamm
Colombia: The Fruit Palace by Charles Nicholl
Ecuador: That Bear Ate My Pants! by Tony James Slater
Paraguay: At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig by John Gimlette
Peru: Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams

Oceania and Australasia

Australia: In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Fiji: Kite Strings of the Southern Cross by Laurie Gough
French Polynesia: Mutiny on the Bounty (Fiction) by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
Kiribati: The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost
New Zealand: Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King, A Land of Two Halves by Joe Bennett, Kiwi Tracks by Andrew Stevenson
Tuvalu: Where the Hell is Tuvalu? by Philip Ells

Western Europe

Cyprus: The Cyprus Conspiracy by Brendan O’Malley and Ian Craig, The Back of Beyond by Sheila Hawkins
France: A Piano in the Pyrenees by Tony Hawks
Italy: Vroom with a View by Peter Moore
United Kingdom: Free Country by George Mahood

Eastern Europe, Russia and the Caucasus

Armenia: Tour de Armenia by Raffi by Youredjian
Bosnia & Herzegovina: The Trigger by Tim Butcher
Georgia: Please Don't Call It Soviet Georgia by Mary Russell
Greece: Things Can Only Get Feta by Marjory McGinn

Middle East and Arabian Peninsula

Iran: Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce, Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn by Jamie Maslin
Israel: Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn by Daniel Gordis
Oman: Oman by John Beasant
Saudi Arabia: Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger, My Desert Kingdom by Jill Koolmees
United Arab Emirates: Beyond Dubai by David Millar, City of Gold by Jim Krane

Central and South Asia

Afghanistan: The Kite Runner (Fiction) by Khaled Hosseini
India: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, Are You Experienced? by William Sutcliffe, Footloose - India(ish) by Mark Walters, Kevin and I in India by Frank Kusy
Nepal: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Sri Lanka: Elephant Complex by John Gimlette 

East Asia

China: Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost, Wild Swans by Jung Chang, Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman, I Grew My Boobs in China by Savannah Grace
Japan: Hokkaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson, The Sun in My Eyes by Josie Dew
North Korea: My Holiday in North Korea by Wendy E. Simmons

South East Asia

Cambodia: River of Time by Jon Swain
Indonesia: In Time of Madness by Richard Lloyd Parry, Indonesia, Etc. by Eliabeth Pisani
Laos: Nightmare in Laos by Kay Danes
Myanmar: Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin
Thailand: The Beach by Alex Garland
Vietnam: Destination Saigon by Walter Mason