✈️ Travel & Exploration · United States
Best Travel & Exploration Books from United States
Travel writing is among the oldest literary forms — Homer's Odyssey is the first travel book, and Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and James Cook established the genre of exploration narrative. United States has produced some of the most internationally recognised works in travel & exploration, with titles that have appeared on major prize lists and critical surveys worldwide. This page ranks the best travel & exploration from United States by editorial consensus.
#1
literary-fiction
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain· 1876
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#2
literary-fiction
Life on the Mississippi
Mark Twain· 1883
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#3
literary-fiction
Green Hills of Africa
Ernest Hemingway· 1709
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score55/100
#4
literary-fiction
The sketch-book of Geoffrey Crayon, Esq
Washington Irving· 1819
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score50/100
#5
literary-fiction
American notes
Charles Dickens· 1800
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score50/100
#6
literary-fiction
The adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A.
Washington Irving· 1800
Library Journal
Editorial Score50/100
#7
literary-fiction
Pictures from Italy
Charles Dickens· 1846
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score50/100
#8
literary-fiction
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn / Billy Budd / Red Badge of Courage / Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne· 1969
Library Journal
Editorial Score50/100
#9
literary-fiction
Roughing It
Mark Twain· 1872
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#10
literary-fiction
Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens· 1800
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#11
literary-fiction
A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
Henry David Thoreau· 1849
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#12
literary-fiction
A Tramp Abroad
Mark Twain· 1878
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#13
literary-fiction
The Innocents Abroad
Mark Twain· 1800
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#14
literary-fiction
Omoo
Herman Melville· 1847
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#15
literary-fiction
Travels with Charley
John Steinbeck· 1962
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#16
literary-fiction
Novels (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn / Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
Mark Twain· 1922
Library Journal
Editorial Score45/100
#17
classic-literature
Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer Detective and Other Stories Etc. Etc.
Mark Twain· 1896
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#18
biography-memoir
Columbus
Washington Irving· 1800
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score45/100
#19
cooking-food
Travels in West Africa
Mary Henrietta Kingsley· 1897
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score45/100
#20
biography-memoir
Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer· 1997
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score44/100
#21
travel-exploration
The world's space programs
Isaac Asimov· 1990
Notable Work
Editorial Score43/100
#22
biography-memoir
Wild
Cheryl Strayed· 2012
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score42/100
#23
literary-fiction
On the Road
Jack Kerouac· 1957
TIME 100 Best Novels
Editorial Score41/100
#24
biography-memoir
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer· 1996
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score40/100
#25
literary-fiction
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Mark Twain· 1889
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#26
literary-fiction
The Alhambra
Washington Irving· 1800
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#27
literary-fiction
Tom Sawyer Abroad
Mark Twain· 1894
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#28
literary-fiction
Following the Equator
Mark Twain· 1897
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score40/100
#29
literary-fiction
A Tramp Abroad in two volumes. 2/2
Mark Twain· 1880
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#30
literary-fiction
True at first light
Ernest Hemingway· 1714
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score40/100
#31
classic-literature
The Golden Fleece
Julian Hawthorne· 1896
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#32
science-fiction
George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt
Lucy Hawking· 2009
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score40/100
#33
biography-memoir
The Maine Woods
Henry David Thoreau· 1803
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score40/100
#34
biography-memoir
The French and Italian notebooks
Nathaniel Hawthorne· 1871
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#35
biography-memoir
Passages from the American note-books of Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne· 1860
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#36
biography-memoir
The Crayon miscellany
Washington Irving· 1835
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#37
biography-memoir
A Russian journal
John Steinbeck· 1948
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#38
biography-memoir
The American Notebooks by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne· 1868
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#39
travel-exploration
Eothen
Alexander William Kinglake· 1845
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#40
travel-exploration
Travels in Various Countries of Europe, Asia and Africa
Edward Daniel Clarke· 1811
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#41
travel-exploration
The Portable Mark Twain
Mark Twain· 1946
Library Journal
Editorial Score40/100
#42
travel-exploration
India and its inhabitants
Caleb Wright· 1850
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score40/100
#43
biography-memoir
Eat Pray Love
Elizabeth Gilbert· 2006
Goodreads Choice Award
Editorial Score38/100
#44
travel-exploration
A Walk in the Woods
Bill Bryson· 1998
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score37/100
#45
travel-exploration
In a Sunburned Country
Bill Bryson· 2000
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score36/100
#46
travel-exploration
Notes from a Small Island
Bill Bryson· 1995
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#47
classic-literature
Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
Washington Irving· 1976
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#48
science-fiction
2010, odyssey two
Arthur C. Clarke· 1982
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
#49
science-fiction
George's Secret Key to the Universe
Stephen Hawking· 1998
Kirkus Reviews
Editorial Score35/100
#50
science-fiction
3001
Arthur C. Clarke· 1997
Publishers Weekly
Editorial Score35/100
