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Why We Love It

From Portland's most acclaimed and beloved baker comes this must-have baking guide, featuring recipes for world-class breads and pizzas and a variety of schedules suited for the home baker.

Ashley Wolfgang Newsletter Editor
Ashley Wolfgang

Flour Water Salt Yeast

$19
Why We Love It

This colorful, lively book is Gastro Obscura writer Priya Krishna’s loving tribute to her mom’s “Indian-ish” cooking—a trove of one-of-a-kind Indian-American hybrids that are easy to make, clever, practical, and packed with flavor.

Alex Mayyasi Gastro Obscura Editor
Alex Mayyasi

Indian-ish: Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family

$17
Why We Love It

In this award-winning book, photographer Mark Edward Harris celebrates the Japanese hot spring, an endless source of both visual and visceral pleasure.

The Way of the Japanese Bath

$50
Why We Love It

Renowned artist and author Maira Kalman and food writer Barbara Scott-Goodman bring us this beautifully illustrated book dedicated to their love of cake.

Cake: A Cookbook

$18
Why We Love It

This otherworldly collection of Soviet space-race graphics takes readers on a cosmic adventure through Cold War-era Russia.

Winnie Lee Visuals Editor
winnielee

Soviet Space Graphics: Cosmic Visions from the USSR

$62
Why We Love It

Influenced by her background as a second-generation Indian -- born in London, raised across the US, now based in the Bay Area -- Preeti's irreverent style informs her personality and her food.

The Juhu Beach Club Cookbook: Indian Spice, Oakland Soul

$21
Why We Love It

Artist Amir Zaki photographed skateparks all over Southern California, the birthplace of skateboard culture. His images depict these parks as significant features of the contemporary landscape, belonging to a tradition of architecture and public art.

California Concrete: A Landscape of Skateparks

$28
Why We Love It

Internationally-renowned photographer Matt Lambros traveled across the United States to document the country's abandoned theaters—from the supposedly haunted Pacific Warner Theatre in Los Angeles to the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA. 

After the Final Curtain: America's Abandoned Theaters

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

This is a endearing story with wonderful vintage photos of two women who risked travel unchaperoned at a time when women were not encouraged to be independent, often donning men’s clothing and cowboy hats, and joyfully handling cameras, guns, and kingsnakes in the California desert.

Postcards from Mecca

$22
Why We Love It

This delightful, debut children's book by former Atlas Obscura staff writer Sarah Laskow answers important unicorn questions like why are unicorns associated with rainbows, why do some unicorns have wings, and—of course—are unicorns real? 

The Very Short, Entirely True History of Unicorns

$12
Why We Love It

A beautiful book written by Dan Barasch, the Co-Founder of the Lowline with a forward by Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras, Ruin and Redemption in Architecture offers an extraordinary portrait of monumental abandoned spaces around the world and explores the possibilities to radically transform them.

Tyler Cole VP, Community
tyler

Ruin and Redemption in Architecture

$60
Why We Love It

This paean to bovine beauty features photographs of 105 of the world's most amazing cows. Moo.

The Cow: A Tribute

$73
Why We Love It

Baboons do it unashamedly. Coral snakes do it in defense. Parrots don't do it at all. Find out which animals fart and which animals don't in this oddly detailed book.

Does It Fart?

$15
Why We Love It

Penned by an impassioned ichthyologist, this book is a surprisingly amusing and delightfully obscure read.

Larissa Hayden
larissahayden

Certainly More Than You Want to Know About the Fishes of the Pacific Coast

$30
Why We Love It

Color-changing, camouflaging, ink-cloud concealing cephalopods are basically the closest thing we have on earth to real-life shapeshifters. I loved learning all about these mysterious creatures from cephalopod expert—and AO trip leader—Sarah MacAnulty, all while calmly coloring the tentacles of a giant squid. 

Rachel Bouton Program Manager, Group and Co-Branded Experiences
rachelbouton

The Ink-credible Cephalopod Coloring Book

$15
Why We Love It

Sink into an armchair and cozy up to this special book filled with colorful flap caps, scarves, and rare mitten patterns. Through the work captured in this book, the two local authors aim to keep the tradition and culture of Newfoundland knitting alive.

Tao Tao Holmes Director of Special Projects, Experiences
taotaoholmes

Saltwater Mittens from the Island of Newfoundland

$30
Why We Love It

This newly annotated edition of the classic wrests the text from English majors and hands it to STEMers, but also brings the concerns of literature—moral weight, literary device, creativity—to readers at risk of underestimating their importance.

Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators

$20
Why We Love It

Whether you’re a veteran backcountry skier or a backyard builder, this instructive yet whimsical manual will take you through the process of constructing and inhabiting a range of useful snow structures.

Larissa Hayden
larissahayden

How to Build an Igloo and Other Snow Shelters

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

An exploration of the ways panoramic photography was used in the early 20th century United States, capturing  and memorializing everything from majestic landscapes to work picnics to man-made disasters.

Tyler Cole VP, Community
tyler

The Big Picture: America in Panorama

$9
Why We Love It

The definitive guide to fermentation by the decade's definitive chef.

Tyler Cole VP, Community
tyler

The Noma Guide to Fermentation

$25
Why We Love It

Are those human molars or piranha incisors? Is that a tail or a snout? Are the eyeballs supposed to be on the back of the head, and why are they different sizes? These are all valid questions to ask when leafing through this unconventional, pocket-size coffee table book—guaranteed to draw...

Tao Tao Holmes Director of Special Projects, Experiences
taotaoholmes

Crap Taxidermy

$13
Why We Love It

The perfect gift for your favorite member of The Finer Things Club, this “Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights” covers everything from Aerostation, i.e. the art of hot air ballooning to Xiguo Jifa, the art of memory.

Tyler Cole VP, Community
tyler

Encyclopedia of the Exquisite

$90
Why We Love It

Written by Culinary Backstreets, the cohosts of our food tour of Istanbul, this book is the definitive guide to eating locally and authentically in the Turkish metropolis.

Tao Tao Holmes Director of Special Projects, Experiences
taotaoholmes

Istanbul Eats: Exploring the Culinary Backstreets

$13
Why We Love It

What is this? A room for ants? This book captures the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago—68 miniature models of European and American interiors from the 16th century.

Abi Inman Senior Audience Development Manager
AbiInman

Miniature Rooms

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

What better way to stay in touch with the far corners of capitalism than by having obscure industry trade journals sent to your door? My last issues of Elevator World and American Laundry News were positively scintillating.

Joshua Foer Co-Founder
Josh

Niche Trade Journal Subscription

$15
Why We Love It

The Spomenik Database is a catalog that aims to “explore and demystify” the stunning concrete monuments built across Balkan states in the mid 20th century. These “spomeniks” are often taken out of context in Western media, but their histories are as fascinating as their design.

Abi Inman Senior Audience Development Manager
AbiInman

Spomenik Monument Database

$23
Why We Love It

If you love books, you're predisposed to loving fonts, considering as no book would exist without them. This font-astically fascinating book does a deep dive into how a font is created, dispersed, used, and misused (including anachronistically!), and it will having you looking at words on a page with a...

Tao Tao Holmes Director of Special Projects, Experiences
taotaoholmes

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts

$14
Why We Love It

There's nothing like a few drinks to bring a bookclub together, and even better if they're literary themed. With concoctions classically entitled Vermouth the Bell Tolls and Romeo and Julep, you'll get the bookworm party started right.

Jordan Schultz Director of Marketing & Audience
schultjh

Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist

$13
Why We Love It

“Humboldt was a 19th century explorer, philosopher, and a father of the environmental movement. This is the first facsimile of all his explorer journals.” — Russell Fernandez, New York City, New York

Alexander von Humboldt: The Complete Drawings

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

“I love to cook world flavors, and to travel (hence why I enjoy Atlas Obscura), so this looks like it will go into detail about different world cuisines—the history, geography, ingredients, and how they came to be.” — Sorelle, Santa Rosa, California

The Edible Atlas: Around the World in 39 Cuisines

$17
Why We Love It

“It's a revamped (pun intended) RPG system. It looks easy to play, and a game I want to get my friends and family in on too.” — Leslie Smith, Nashville, Tennessee

Vampire: The Masquerade (5th Ed.)

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

A hilarious and practical guide by the creator of Dinosaur Comics and writer of Adventure Time, Ryan North! In just 464 pages, you'll learn how to quickly replicate humanity's achievements, just in case you ever accidentally get sent back in time.

Larissa Hayden
larissahayden

How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler

$60
Why We Love It

Dozens of towns around the world that have given themselves over to books and bookshops, and with this guide you can imagine visiting them all!

Sarah Laskow Senior Writer
Sarah Laskow

Book Towns: Forty Five Paradises of the Printed Word

$29
Why We Love It

The world's first food critic once hosted a dinner party where he served only black foods. Thanks to the decision of a paint company to produce a cookbook organized by color, you can now follow in his monocolor footsteps.

Alex Mayyasi Gastro Obscura Editor
Alex Mayyasi

Pantone Foodmood

$33
Why We Love It

Armchair travel meets tin foil hats in this gorgeously designed book documenting sites around the U.S. where UFOs have been spotted. It’s a photographic road trip through E.T. visitation past and present.

Blake Olmstead Head of Design
Blake

UFO Presences

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

A beautifully illustrated book featuring knots for every occasion. Handy instruction for everything from pitching a tent to tying a package.

My First Book of Knots

$9
Why We Love It

Perfect for the budding birder, this workbook includes stickers for each of the 48 most common North American birds and encourages you to record the date and details of each sighting.

Beginning Birdwatcher's Book With Stickers

$7
Why We Love It

New York City today is an elegantly congested urban mess, a largely ad hoc group of skyscrapers, highways, avenues, and pedestrian walkways. But if some of the architects in Never Built New York had their way, New York might be a wholly different place, with buildings built over the city’s...

Never Built New York

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

In the recent past, owning a copy of Les Diners de Gala, Salvador Dali’s rare and eccentric cookbook, cost upwards of $400. Now you can buy it for much less, thanks to a Taschen reprint. With recipes ranging from fast-acting cocktails to lambs brain with avocado to a royal peacock...

Salvador Dalí’s Surrealist Cookbook

$50
Why We Love It

An inspiring collection of travel posters and other branding elements sure to inspire nostalgia. Highlights include glamorous renderings of the iconic Banff Springs and Lake Louise hotels, both built to service railway passengers as they steamed across Canada.

Tyler Cole VP, Community
tyler

Canadian Pacific: Creating a Brand, Building a Nation

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

A well-researched and lively read about one of the most impressive technological achievements of all time: the 1858 laying of a telegraph line crossing the Atlantic and connecting North America to Europe.

Tyler Cole VP, Community
tyler

A Thread Across the Ocean

$14
Why We Love It

From early computer programmers to the “girl gamers” of the 1990s, Claire Evans does an incredible job of highlighting the important women who are often left out of conventional tellings of internet history. I just finished this book and can see their influence everywhere now—not just in the internet as...

Lex Berko Senior Editor
lexberko

Broad Band

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

When I thought of a hermit, I used to imagine a Biblical figure living in the desert. Then I learned about Christopher Knight, who may be history’s greatest hermit (27 years with almost zero human contact) despite living within shouting distance of Maine vacation homes from the ‘80s through the...

Alex Mayyasi Gastro Obscura Editor
Alex Mayyasi

The Stranger in the Woods

$10
Why We Love It

Like the air we breath, it can be easy to overlook something as everyday as milk. Luckily, author Mark Kurlansky has not made that mistake. This book covers everything from Fidel Castro’s obsession with dairy and ice cream, which led the CIA to attempt to assassinate him with a poisonous...

Alex Mayyasi Gastro Obscura Editor
Alex Mayyasi

Milk! A 10,000-Year Food Fracas

$25
Why We Love It

This is a stunningly detailed pop-up book that can morph into a planetarium, an infinite calendar, a message encoder, and more. Super cool.

Blake Olmstead Head of Design
Blake

Extraordinary Pop-Up Contraptions

$22
Why We Love It

Use the red cellophane magnifying glass included in this artful book to reveal the secrets behind a number of beautifully illustrated scientific specimens, historical objects, and antique objet d’art.

Blake Olmstead Head of Design
Blake

Hidden Museum: A Cabinet of Curiosities

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

See your home and neighborhood through the eyes of the bad guy with this fascinatingly in-depth look at the methods experienced burglars use to "case the joint".

A Burglar's Guide to the City

$12
Why We Love It

Written at the beginning of the 19th century, this novel of interlocking stories of travel, seduction, conspiracy, occultism, and general bewilderment was centuries ahead of its time. Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have promoted the film adaptation as a classic of world cinema.

Luke Thomas Senior Software Engineer
lukert33

The Manuscript Found in Saragossa

$21
Why We Love It

Behind every almost famous artist, scientist, explorer, or entrepreneur is a story in many ways more interesting than that of their more celebrated kin. This book explores the saga of near achievement while celebrating mankind's silver medalists.

Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World

$17
Why We Love It

This gorgeous book traces how humans have attempted to understand the cosmos through the ages. Explore ancient astronomical charts, medieval illuminations of the heavens, supercomputer renderings of the structure of the universe, and hundreds more illustrations, maps, and diagrams that range from antiquity to the present day.

Daniel Sobo Head of Engineering
Daniel

Cosmigraphics: Picturing Space Through Time

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

As a person that grew up in Northern New Jersey, I have long been fascinated by the ecosystem known as the Meadowlands, but didn’t know all that much about it. Robert Sullivan’s book gave me a whole new appreciation for these often maligned wetlands, their flora and fauna, and their...

Lex Berko Senior Editor
lexberko

The Meadowlands

$12
Why We Love It

What Annie Leibowitz is to celebrities, Beth Moon is to trees. She takes gorgeous black-and-white photos the world's most charismatic trees, from the General Grant to the Bleeding Yew of Nevern to the Dragon's Blood trees of Socotra.

David Plotz CEO
davidplotz

Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time

$39
Why We Love It

Clear, beautifully rendered illustrations and vivid descriptions make this book my absolute favorite guide to bird identification—I never travel without mine.

Blake Olmstead Head of Design
Blake

The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Edition

$22
Why We Love It

This book—the result of one man's passion for the art of tying—has become a bible for knot-makers the world over. From the most basic hitch to astonishingly complex decorative patterns, this is the only book on knots you'll ever need.

Blake Olmstead Head of Design
Blake

The Ashley Book of Knots

$75
Why We Love It

If you've ever spent time looking upward, finding shapes in passing clouds, this is the book for you. Learn to see clouds in a whole new light through the lenses of history, science, art, and culture. Perfect for weather enthusiasts and the curious-minded alike.

The Cloudspotter's Guide

$11
Why We Love It

Atlas Obscura co-founder Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.

Moonwalking with Einstein

$16
Why We Love It

I picked up this 500+ page book about the history of the Brooklyn Bridge intending to skim for mentions of one of my personal heroes—Emily Roebling—but found myself sucked into the narrative and ended up reading the whole thing cover to cover. It’s an epic story, masterfully told.

Ariel Azoff Executive Director, Brand Partnerships
ArielAzoff

The Great Bridge

$12
Why We Love It

Filled with non-stop curiosities about an oddly notable summer in which, among many other happenings, Lindbergh completed his transatlantic flight; The Jazz Singer was released; and the first public demonstration of the television occurred.

Nathan Igdaloff
nathanlouis1

One Summer: America, 1927

$13
Why We Love It

A fascinating collection of eyewitness accounts from the first Europeans who encountered, and attempted to describe, a wide range of animals, plants, foods, and people, and a healthy reminder of how wrong first impressions can be.

Chris Naka Director, Creative Development
Chris Naka

Penguins, Pineapples and Pangolins

Currently Unavailable
Why We Love It

A detailed account of the ocean’s most frightening mystery.

Eric Grundhauser Senior Producer
EricGrundhauser

The Search for the Giant Squid

$18
Why We Love It

Go deep on the design history of a modern marvel, your humble coffee cup lid.

Coffee Lids

$13
Why We Love It

Timeless how-to guide for outdoor sustenance, warmth, orientation and safety, and the perfect gift for the grad, dad, or survivalist on your list.

Tyler Cole VP, Community
tyler

How to Stay Alive in the Woods

$12
Why We Love It

With approximately 3,000 color photographs taken between 1942 and 1945, these rarities—now over 70 years old—bring an unexpected immediacy and intimacy to the conflict.

Anika Burgess Visuals Editor
Anika Burgess

The Second World War in Colour

$24
Why We Love It

Often overlooked as tourist destinations, cemeteries deserve a new life in the eyes of the traveler. This book pays respect to the incredible architecture, stunning landscapes, and intriguing histories of those oft-ignored spaces around the globe that exist to celebrate and honor life.

Blake Olmstead Head of Design
Blake

199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die

$26
Why We Love It

Informed by visits to 39 sanatoriums across 11 former Eastern Bloc countries, this book details both the architecture and attendees of these state-mandated vacation destinations.

Holidays in Soviet Sanatoriums

$29
Why We Love It

Serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions. For example, how many calories would you consume by eating this book?

What If?

$21
Why We Love It

Full-color instructions for building a LEGO robin, hummingbird, blue jay, and 12 other detailed aviary designs.

Birds from Bricks

$21
Why We Love It

The world looks both beautiful and wounded in Benjamin Grant’s Overview, a collection of incredible high-definition satellite photos of (sometimes devastating) human activity.

David Plotz CEO
davidplotz

Overview: A New Perspective of Earth

$38

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Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide | An Atlas Obscura Book

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An Explorer’s
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Hidden Wonders, 2nd Edition

An Explorer’s Guide
for the World’s
Most Adventurous Kid

Explorer’s Journal:
Let Your Curiosity Be Your Compass

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