READ THE WORLD recommends the three best books on more than 50 countries, taking readers on a trip through Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The mix of nonfiction and novels - both classic and contemporary - goes beyond books merely set on location, looking instead to those that reveal something of each country's soul. Whether you're an intrepid traveller or an armchair adventurer, climb aboard for a literary journey to encounter different peoples and places, and learn more about them. Enjoy the trip! This book started out as a feature in the Guardian, and has been extensively revised and expanded. ORLD An indispensable guide to the writers, writings, themes and ideas that together provide much-needed insight into a world from which we hear too little. - Gary Younge , author of Dispatches From the Diaspora I have often said, if you want to know a country, read its writers ... Read the World is the place to start that journey. - Aminatta Forna , author of Happiness Read the World does us all a great service by identifying the books offering those blinding moments of insight into what hitherto seemed impenetrable. - Michela Wrong , author of Do Not Disturb A literary tour that introduces you to the variety of texts available in the larger world of books. A very entertaining read. - Nuruddin Farah, author of North of Dawn What a brilliant idea, and how wonderfully executed ... A superb set of suggestions for finding powerful writing from all over the world. - Steve Crawshaw , former UK director of Human Rights Watch and author of Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice Read the World is like a well-curated travel bookshop, full of surprises and unexpected pleasures. - David Loyn , former BBC foreign correspondent and author of The Long War: The Inside Story of America in Afghanistan Since 9/11 For anyone interested in these countries here is a portal to the books that explain them. - Rory Carroll , author of Comandante A tour de force of the global south, offering a great insight into countries you may want to visit - or steer well clear of. Lots to read, lots that can be learned. - Mike Carter , author of One Man and His Bike and All Together Now What a great idea! Exactly what you need on first travelling to a new country ... judiciously chosen fiction and nonfiction. - Aida Edemariam, author of The Wife's Tale Most certainly a labour of literary love, this impressively curated set of books will help you to get to know a vast array of peoples and places. - Ann Wright , translator of Che Guevara's The Motorcycle Diaries , and I, Rigoberta Menchú An epic journey through 55 countries around the world, bringing rare insights into the thoughts and feelings of writers and characters too often overlooked - Nick Caistor , former analyst at the BBC World Service The variety and quality of the titles he has chosen are wonderfully impressive ... You will find some terrific reads chosen by someone who himself has erudition, culture and expertise in the subject of literary wanderlust. - T ripFiction.com A phenomenal achievement ... We should be grateful to the author for keeping literature alive and lifting our spirits. - Linda Etchart , Latin America Bureau Read the World can be a gateway to your literary and historical adventures for years to come. - Global Justice Now Pushpinder Khaneka is a widely travelled journalist who has worked in Britain and abroad for, among others, the Guardian, the Observer, the Independent, Independent Television News (ITN) and ABC radio. He was deputy editor of the Guardian Weekly from 1994 to 2003