Travel literature is a passion of mine. I second the recommendation of Theroux, although he is certainly not everyone's cup of tea.

I suggest you search Amazon for travel writing + [insert your destination]. Some of the historical books also make great reading, e.g., Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad. I have just finished reading Laurens van der Post's Journey into Russia published in 1964 and it was absolutely fascinating. Final tip: Clear Waters Rising by Nicholas Crane about his walk from Galicia, Spain to Istanbul, Turkey.

I should stop before I get boring!

Happy reading

Jonathan Turton London / Duesseldorf http://www.travelinsights.org