Top 10 books about exploration

Max Jones is Senior Lecturer in Modern History at The University of Manchester and author of The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott's Antarctic Sacrifice.

In 2003 he named his top ten books about exploration for the Guardian. One title on the list:

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (1968)

A mesmerising collection of essays exploring California in the 1960s by one of America's greatest writers, on topics ranging from murder trials to the movies of John Wayne. Few cultural commentators have rivalled Didion's ability to express penetrating insights in such elegant prose.

Read about another book on the list.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem is one of Kurt Andersen’s five favorite ’60s books, and is a book David Rakoff keeps returning to.

--Marshal Zeringue