classic traveller books

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Classic Traveller Facsimile Edition

Game designers' workshop (gdw).

This is the original text of the 1981 edition of Classic Traveller based on page image Scans.

It includes Books 1-2-3, with errata and corrections inserted (where possible; and additional material in an errata appendix). This text is essentially an errata corrected edition faithful to the original Classic Traveller of the early 1980's.

The PDF has been OCR'ed. Margins are upgraded to 6x9 (from 5-1/2 x 8-1/2) for better margins.

30 classic travel books to read in 2024

Whether you need an inspirational book to give you the little kick you need to book your trip, or if you have long bus rides ahead of you, this list of classic, must-read travel books will undoubtedly keep you entertained and motivated to explore the world.

Here are 30 books that are not about melodramatic self-discoveries, but rather about the journey and the destination. Happy reading and happy travels!

The best non-fiction travel books & memoirs

The Turk Who Loved Apples and Other Tales of Losing my Way Around the World

This is about breaking free of the constraints of modern travel and letting the place itself guide you. It’s a variety of travel you’ll love to experience vicariously through Matt Gross—the celebrated Frugal Traveler columnist for the New York Times— and maybe even be inspired to try for yourself.

All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft

All Over the Place is Geraldine deRuiter’s memoir about what happened after she was laid off from a job that she loved: It chronicles her journey through Europe and Asia as well as many other places. Those years taught her a great number of things —about herself, about her family and friends, and about what it means to be an adult in the 21st century. From Geraldine’s first trip to India (where she was mistaken for a prostitute), to her adventures in Italy (where she fell in love with an Italian man), this book is in summary full of hilarious stories from all over the world.

The Travels of Marco Polo

Marco Polo’s account of his journey throughout the East in the thirteenth century was one of the earliest European travel narratives, and it remains the most important. The merchant-traveler from Venice, the first to cross the entire continent of Asia, provided us with accurate descriptions of life in China, Tibet, India, and a hundred other lands, and recorded customs, natural history, strange sights, and historical legends.

Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story

Founders of Lonely Planet Tony and Maureen Wheeler have produced travel guides to just about every corner of the globe. After thirty years in the business, they have been hassled by customs, cheated by accountants, let down by writers, banned in Malawi, berated for their Burma guide and had books pirated in Vietnam. Through it all, their passion for the planet and traveling certainly hasn’t diminished and comes shining through in this enthralling travelogue.

Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet

Flight attendant Heather Poole has written an engaging memoir about the ups and downs of life in the air. The author’s fifteen years of experience in the skies serve as inspiration for this funny account—written from a flight attendant’s point of view—of crazy airline passengers, quirky crew behavior and memorable flights. In conclusion, a cheeky and fun read during an oversea flight that is sure to catch your flight attendant’s attention.

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World

Part foreign affairs discourse and part twisted self-help guide, this book takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness using a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is with engaging wit and surprising insight.

The Journals of Captain Cook

John Cook led three famous expeditions to the Pacific Ocean in voyages that ranged from the Antarctic circle to the Arctic Sea, bringing back detailed descriptions of the natural history of the Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand. His journals tell the story of these voyages as Cook wanted it to be told, radiating the ambition, courage, and skill which enabled him to carry out an unrivaled series of expeditions in dangerous waters.

The Great Railway Bazaar

Through his signature signature humor and wry observations, Theroux recounts his early adventures on Asia’s fabled trains—the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Frontier Mail, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express, the Trans-Siberian Express—the stars of a journey that takes him on a loop eastbound from London to Tokyo, then onto the Trans-Siberian. In other words, an essential read for both the ardent adventurer and the armchair traveler.

Life is a Trip: the Transformative Magic of Travel

Judith Fein takes readers on 14 exotic journeys where she learns from other cultures new and transformative approaches to family discord, death, success, fear, faith, forgiveness and overcoming trauma. To summarize, this book is immensely readable, steeped in a spirit of connecting with place, with each other, and with our inner selves.

The Art of Travel

Rather than lavishing pages on the sumptuous taste of a sun-ripened olive in Provence, philosopher de Botton examines what inspires us to escape the humdrum. Whether it consists of purchasing tickets to Tahiti, tromping through the countryside, or wandering through Rome. de Botton uses the works of artists (Baudelaire, Wordsworth, Van Gogh) and writers to explore the premise. For this reason, the Art of Travel is one of the wisest and most original travel books.

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide

Anthony Bourdain explored more of the world than almost nearly any other person, from his hometown of New York City to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires to the isolated Oman desert and of course Paris. Everyone who knew him has their favorite story about how Anthony opened their eyes—and stomachs!–to new flavors. In World Travel, Anthony along with a few of his closest friends share some of those stories. As he writes, “ The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page .”

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway’s classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s, notably includes the original manuscript along with insightful recollections and unfinished sketches. Hemingway beautifully captures the fragile magic of a special time and place, and he manages to be nostalgic without hitting any false notes of sentimentality. “ This is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy ,” he concludes.

The best travel books for finding inspiration

The new york times explorer. 100 trips around the world.

The New York Times Explorer is a collection of 100 trips around the world that are guaranteed to blow your mind. This beautifully designed, full-color book features dozens of expert-curated trip ideas by region, spanning from one-day adventures to multi-week journeys. In other words, there is something for everyone with a wide range of travel types and budgets. In essence, a must-have for globe-trotters, travel enthusiasts, and armchair travelers alike — and an excellent travel-themed gift for the travel enthusiast in your life.

Atlas of Improbable Places: A Journey to the World’s Most Unusual Corners

Travis Elborough takes you on a journey in search of unusual and forgotten corners of the modern world. The truth about these curious places (underground realms, forgotten villages and secret societies) is just as varied as the destinations themselves. More particularly, these extraordinary insights reflect on our relationship with the world around us and tell fascinating stories. According to the New York Times, “ Atlas of Improbable Places has that rare, through-the-wardrobe quality. It is a delightful compendium of the strangest places on the planet .”

Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure

Monisha Rajesh shares her record-setting journey around the world in 80 trains. Beginning with an antique steam engine across India and ending with a bullet train through Japan, Rajesh took to the rails for three months and 15 countries on a quest to experience life as it’s lived by locals. This book is a voyage through history and culture, peppered with personal stories of triumph over adversity—and it’s also just fun to read! This was the 2019 National Geographic Travel Book of the year.

Lonely Planet The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World

This photographic journey through the world’s countries is filled with amazing images that showcase what life is like in each nation. This is a premium, 416-page hardback package that will inspire wanderlust and make an impressive travel gift. Supported by colourful and detailed maps—and packed with fascinating facts about different cultures, environments, languages and customs throughout the world—it brings the entire planet to life for a new generation of travellers! As a result, the New York Times critic is pretty straightforward: “Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.”

The best fiction travel novels

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost

As her candid coming-of-age journey takes her to Australia and South America, curious Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she’s never done before: simply live for the moment. Overall, a riveting and relatable read.

On the Road

The most famous of Jack Kerouac’s works is not only the soul of the Beat movement and literature but one of the most important novels of the century. Like nearly all of Kerouac’s writing, this thinly fictionalized autobiography is filled with a cast made of real life friends, lovers, and fellow travelers. Narrated by Sal Paradise, one of Kerouac’s alter-egos, this book remains a cross-country bohemian odyssey that not only influenced writing in the years since its 1957 publication but penetrated into the deepest levels of American thought and culture.

The Innocents Abroad

Mark Twain acclaims his voyage from New York City to Europe and the Holy Land in a book so funny and provocative it made him an international star. Paris, Milan, Florence, Venice, Pompeii, Constantinople, Sebastopol, Balaklava, Damascus, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem—for the first time he was seeing the great paintings and sculptures of the Old Masters. He responded with wonder and amazement, but also with exasperation, irritation, disbelief. Above all he displayed the great energy of his humour.

The Signature of All Things

Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, this book, peopled with unforgettable characters, soars across the globe from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam. To summarize, it is the story of Alma Whittaker. He bears witness to the Industrial Revolution and that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas.

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Travels with Charley in Search of America

Hear the speech of the real America, smell the grass, tsee the colors—these were Steinbeck’s goals as he set out to rediscover the country with Charley, his French poodle. He drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu

In 1911, Hiram Bingham III climbed into the Andes Mountains of Peru and “discovered” Machu Picchu. While history has recast Bingham as a villain who stole both priceless artifacts and credit for finding the archeological site, this book retraces the explorer’s perilous path in search of the truth.  Turn Right at Machu Picchu is markedly Mark Adams’ fascinating and funny account of his journey through some of the world’s most majestic, historic, and remote landscapes.

A Year in the Merde

Based on Stephen Clarke’s own experiences and with names changed to “avoid embarrassment” A Year in the Merde provides perfect entertainment for Francophiles and Francophobes alike. The premise is simple: Paul West, a young Englishman, arrives to set up some “English” tea-rooms in Paris. In other words, the account gives a laugh-out-loud account of the pleasures and perils of being a Brit in France.

The best destination travel books

The new paris: the people, places & ideas fueling a movement.

In 1933, the delightfully eccentric travel writer Robert Byron set out on a journey through the Middle East via Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad and Teheran to Oxiana, near the border between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Throughout, he kept a thoroughly captivating record of his encounters, discoveries, and frequent misadventures. Consequently, the bookserves as a rare account of the architectural treasures of a region now inaccessible to most Western travelers, and a nostalgic look back at a more innocent time.

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure

This is Macdonald’s often hilarious chronicle of her adventures in a land of chaos and contradiction. It features encounters with Hinduism, Islam and Jainism, Sufis, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians. And also a kaleidoscope of yogis, swamis and Bollywood stars! From spiritual retreats and crumbling nirvanas to war zones and New Delhi nightclubs, it is a journey that only a woman on a mission to save her soul and her sanity.

The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country

This book, which explores the art of living as an expat in Denmark, was my favorite read this year. Helen Russell decided to follow her husband to Scandinavia and try to figure out what makes Denmark the happiest country in the world. Her insights cover design, tax evasion, sexism, childcare, gastronomy and politics. Helen’s funny, uniquely poignant tale of navigating life as an American abroad kept me entertained from start to finish. It’s informative, hilarious and self-deprecating—and tells a great story about how someone who tries very hard to fit in.

Hand Luggage Only: Great Britain

This book by British couple Yaya and Lloyd will give an inside look at what makes Britain so special. It features dazzling photos from incredible hikes and surprising spots to beautiful road trips. 100% of the tips are based on their own personal experiences. So whether you’re looking for the best pubs, the most gorgeous walks or the best fish & chips, this book will invariably be a trusted guide for Great Britain.

Notes from a Small Island

Prior to his return to the U.S. after a 20-year residence in England, journalist Bryson embarked on a farewell tour of his adopted homeland. As much as his trenchant, witty and detailed observations of life in a variety of towns and villages will delight Anglophiles, it veers from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again. This journal is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the nation that has produced zebra crossings and Shakespeare, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey.

The Road to Oxiana

In 1933, eccentric travel writer Robert Byron set out on a journey through the Middle East. He passed through Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad and Teheran to get to Oxiana, near the border between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Throughout, he kept a thoroughly captivating record of his encounters, discoveries, and frequent misadventures. The book serves as a rare account of the architectural treasures of a region now inaccessible to most Western travelers. In essence, it’s a nostalgic look back at a more innocent time.

The Monocle Book of Japan

Featuring thoughtful commentary and stunning photography, Monocle’s new book explores the endlessly fascinating country of this insular country. It’s part travel guide, part history lesson and part design inspiration. It features interviews with Japan’s top thinkers—including Hiroshi Fujiwara, Taku Satoh and Sou Fujimoto—who share their thoughts on Japanese culture and its all-encompassing influence on their work. This is a uniquely passionate tribute to Japan, covering everything from food and fashion to architecture and culture.

Marie-Eve is a native Montrealer trying to balance a deep love for her hometown and an unquenchable thirst for travel and discovery. She has been to more than 36 countries, lived abroad in both France and the U.K., and is always on the lookout for authentic experiences wherever she travels -- especially if it involves wine.

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Thursday, May 5, 2022

Review: the traveller book (1982).

It came in the mail, it was summer I recall, likely near my birthday, and I jumped right in. 

It was not what I expected.  

By this point, I had been playing D&D for nearly three years, and in earnest (every weekend) for the last two. There were no classes here, no levels, just skills.  It was a shift, but it was a lot of fun.  I recall I had more fun making planetary systems than characters really. I even wrote some BASIC programs for the TRS-80 to do some of the math.

Sadly like those cassette tapes I stored my BASIC programs on, my Traveller book was lost to the sands of time.  I can't even really recall what happened to it. Sad because today it goes for so much on eBay!

Thankfully for me, and everyone else, you can get the PDF and Print on Demand (POD) of the book from DriveThruRPG .  I grabbed it as soon as the PDF was out.  I wish I had gotten the original POD though.  The newer PDF and POD has been replaced with a far better scan, but the cover is the Black and Red of the earlier Traveller books and not the "blue book" I came to know.

Much like Holmes' Basic D&D "Blue Book" combined the Original D&D "Little Brown Books" and other material into a single volume, this Traveller "Blue Book" combined the three "Little Black Books" into a single volume with new material.  This new material included Book 0 "An Introduction to Traveller," some of "Double Adventure 1," and more material. 

The Traveller Book (1982)

160 pages, PDF (Hardcover PoD; original softcover) Color cover art, black & white interior art with red accents.

The Traveller Book was published in 1982 and was the follow-up to the highly successful Traveller boxed set .  Since the boxed set printing and reprints there had been a number of well-received supplements, in particular, Supplement 0 An Introduction to Traveller, DA1 Double Adventure (Shadows), Book 04 Mercenary, and Book 05 High Guard.  These made up what I largely felt was the core of Classic Traveller (or Original Traveller as I thought of it then). Much like how D&D combined their Original game with many supplements to make Holmes' Basic D&D (and later AD&D) these materials were re-edited and re-combined into a new book/game.  This became the Traveller Book.

At the time nearly everyone claimed it was not just a step up in terms of learning Traveller, it was an advanced leap in playing Traveller.

The Traveller Book contains everything from the Little Black Books of the Classic Traveller boxed set as well as new introductory material from Book 0.  

You can read my review of the Classic Traveller boxed set here, https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/05/review-classic-basic-traveller.html . Today I want to talk about what makes this book new and special. 

Among other improvements in text, there are also plenty of redesigned tables and charts.  While the LBBs had charm they did not have a lot of space formatted for digest-size (5½" x 8½").  The Traveller book is a full-sized 8½" x 11".  At the time people even commented that it was a proper sized RPG now to go with the likes of AD&D.

 The sections on worlds and encounters are also expanded. Animals in particular get more text and even more examples.  Trade and Commerce also get more text. My Classic Traveller boxed set had very little on this.  This is closer to the 1980s reprint.  The one the new Facsimile Edition is based on.  It also looks like the Psionics section is more detailed.

There is a "new" (new to anyone coming from the boxed set) section on the Referee's Guide to Adventuring.  Since this is really pre-Traveller as a system AND a setting, there is some good advice here on running any sort of Sci-Fi/Space Adventure game.  There are hints of Star Trek, Star Wars and lots and lots of Classic "Hard" Sci-Fi like you would see from Clarke or Asimov. But it is also none of the things entirely.  I did say "Pre-" but in reality, Traveller was building its universe right before our eyes. Again, much like D&D did.

Also reprinted here is the adventure Shadows from Double Adventure 01. 

The last section, The Traveller's Guide to the Universe introduces us to The Imperium. This is the important setting for Traveller and what sets it apart from other Sci-Fi RPGs.  The history, both in-game and real-world, of the Imperium is impressive and much like that of Dune, Star Wars, or Star Trek, absolutely daunting.  I will admit I read this section many, many times and wondered what would fiction set in any period of this history be like?   Back in 1982-3 I did not have much other than this book, some friends that had played (but were not looking for new players), and a growing case of what I call " Traveller Envy ".  Today there are wikis and blogs and entire websites devoted to Traveller and the Imperium.  My cup is full, running over and there are still more cups on the table waiting for me to pick them up.

Recommendations

For ANYONE who is interested in the Classic Traveller, I would say get this book first before looking into the vast catalog of older Classic Traveller books.  There is so much out there and I am going to only scratch the surface this month.  In fact "The Traveller Series" in this book (page 159) covers everything published to this point and where they all fit in.  Including all the board games.   I am going to need to spend some time talking about those as well.

4 comments:

This is one of the few Traveller products I never owned, having started with the earlier boxed set. I don't think I ever saw a copy outside of a bookstore until well into the 2000s - everyone I played the game with was either a fellow LBB junkie or we were playing Megatraveller, New Era, or GURPS. Or Traveller: 2300. To this day it feels wrong to me to call it just by the number, leaving "Traveller" off. Yeah, different timeline, but original Traveller was supposed to be a sandbox for all kinds of scifi, so why shouldn't non-Imperium-timeline games also carry the name?

There actually was a hardcover version of the Traveller Book, with a black cover, and the facsimile is based on that version. I had the blue softcover and a red softcover called "The Traveller Adventure".

I believe there was a version with a black hardcover and the classic cover image as a dustjacket. The POD is based on that version, I think, just without the dustjacket.

I played both the boxed set and with the "new" 1982 Traveller book (I was 9 when I started and 11 when the new book came out.) They were my mom's books though - most of the gamers around me were adults, didn't really meet other tween/teens that played until the mid-80s. Anyway, just recently been rummaging through my mom's old gaming books and came across the 1982 book (with some interesting notes and papers she'd crammed inside the pages) and 05 Highguard - can't find the 0-4 that I know she had. Thanks to your blog entry here, I'm able to place this in order / context that wasn't clear in my memory.

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Classic Traveller 08 Paperback – January 1, 2000

• Print length 256 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Far Future Enterprises
• Publication date January 1, 2000
• ISBN-10 1558782001
• ISBN-13 978-1558782006
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Far Future Enterprises (January 1, 2000)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1558782001
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1558782006
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
• Best Sellers Rank: #1,944,739 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

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