Books to Read Before You Travel to Chile

Here is a brief selection of books you may want to consider reading before a journey to Chile. To order these books online, visit http://holbrook.travel/chilebooks. If you have suggestions for other books we should add to this list, let us know in the comments! Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey through Chile Sara Wheeler | 1996 British author Sara Wheeler deploys her wit, intelligence and powerful investigative skills on the Republic of Chile in this insightful travelogue. Chile: A Traveler’s Literary Companion Katherine Silver | 2003 This diverse collection of stories, organized geographically, includes the country’s best-known writers, Ariel Dorfman and Pablo Neruda, as well as lesser-known luminaries. This sampling illustrates the diversity of contemporary Chile through the eyes of the country’s current generation of writers. Insight Guide Chile Insight Guides | 2012 This glossy guide is a full-color introduction to the land, people and history of Chile, written by a team of experts. Brief background essays highlight important topics, and there is some practical travel information interspersed throughout. Chile Adventure Map National Geographic | 2011 Printed on tear- and water-resistant paper, this colorful map shows topography, sites, cities and roads from the Atacama to Tierra del Fuego in a series of strip maps at a scale of 1:1,750.000. A Wildlife Guide to Chile Sharon Chester | 2008 Chester’s splendid guide, featuring 120 color plates, covers the wildlife, plants and natural history of Chile from the Atacama Desert and Patagonia to Easter Island and Antarctica. Birds of Chile Alvaro Jaramillo | 2003 This compact, comprehensive guide with superb color plates also includes Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. Birds of Southern South America & Antarctica Martin R. de la Peña and Maurice Rumboll | 2001 With color plates, range maps and brief descriptions, this is a compact regional guide. Plant Life in the World’s Mediterranean Climates Paul Dallman | 1998 Richly illustrated, clearly written and engaging, this book is an ecological overview of the landscapes, plants and vegetation types found in Mediterranean climates. Culture Smart! Chile Caterina Perrone | 2007 A concise and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture. Lonely Planet Chile Lonely Planet | 2012 This practical guide includes a chapter on Easter Island in addition to a comprehensive overview of Chile, its history and culture. Wallpaper City Guide Santiago Rachael Moloney | 2014 A stylish, thin (it fits in your back pocket) city guide compiled by the design magazine Wallpaper’s local reporters. Well-organized, with chapter tabs, many photographs and of-the-moment recommendations. Forgotten Continent Michael Reid | 2009 Economist editor Reid draws on his years in the cities, presidential palaces and shantytowns of Central and South America in this portrait of a region rich in oil, farmland and culture, with consideration on its prospects in the face of globalization. Voyage of the Beagle Charles Darwin | 2002 The wide-eyed tale of a young man on a five-year voyage that changed his life—and our way of thinking about the world. First published in 1839, it’s still a marvelous introduction to the wildlife, nature and allure of South America. Voyaging Southward from the Strait of Magellan Rockwell Kent | 2000 An illustrated account of Rockwell’s foolhardy voyage with a madman through magnificent Tierra del Fuego in a jury-rigged lifeboat. Both the text and striking woodcut illustrations communicate this dangerous landscape’s dynamic character. Desert Memories: Journeys Through the Chilean North Ariel Dorfman | 2003 A quest for national history, personal memories and family origins in the Atacama by the noted playwright, novelist and essayist. The legacy of mining, Pinochet, and the author’s own history are woven into this meditative account. In Patagonia Bruce Chatwin | 1989 A masterpiece of travel, history and adventure, this award-winning book captures the spirit of the land, history, wildlife and people of Patagonia. There’s no travel writer as engaging, insightful and just plain wonderful as Bruce Chatwin. My Invented Country Isabel Allende | 2004 Novelist Allende ruminates on her upbringing in Chile, interweaving memories of South America with her feelings for the United States, where she has lived since the assassination of her uncle, Chilean president Salvador Allende, on September 11, 1973. The Dictator’s Shadow: Life Under Augusto Pinochet Heraldo Muñoz | 2008 A gripping memoir of life in Chile under Pinochet, the horrors perpetrated by his regime, his complex character and what it took to overthrow him by Chile’s current ambassador to the United Nations. Five Decades, Poems 1925-1970 Pablo Neruda | 1974 A bilingual edition of 138 poems by the great Pablo Neruda, drawn from his entire career. Neruda is the quintessential South American poet: lyrical, engaging and bristling with life. Gabriela Mistral: Selected Prose and Prose-Poems Gabriela Mistral and Stephen Tapscott | 2004 Selected prose by the Chilean Nobel laureate as edited and translated by Stephen Tapscott. Part of the Texas Pan American Literature in Translation Series. Ines of My Soul Isabel Allende | 2007 Allende turns the amazing life of Spanish conquistadora and founder of Santiago, Inés Suárez (1507-1580), into a gripping novel. The House of the Spirits Isabel Allende and Magda Bogin | 1993 A remarkably imagined tale of four generations, much in the spirit of Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, centered on a land-owning tyrant, and his wife, daughter and grandchild. Natural Patagonia: Argentina and Chile Marcelo D. Beccaceci | 1999 An informative photographic journey through the breathtaking landscapes and wildlife of Patagonia. Featuring 120 color photographs, presented in Spanish and English. Chilean Wine, The Heritage: A Journey from the Origins of the Vine to the Present Rodrigo Alvarado | 2004 Alvarado does justice to the long winemaking tradition of Chile in this narrative, which explores the history of Chile’s vineyards and wine production. Ideal for anyone on the path to becoming a connoisseur, or interested in gaining a deeper understanding of this long-standing tradition in Chile.