The sometimes controversial Polish journalist, foreign correspondent, and Nobel-prize nominee known for blending reportage with philosophy, this 2004 work - which is an exception on this list because this isn´t written in English but is rather a translation from the Polish - pairs his early assignments in Asia and Africa with reflections on the ancient historian (I fear I may be too lazy to read Herodutus myself, so I take his word for it). This ambitious book elevates travel writing into an examination of power, storytelling, and cultural misunderstanding. (I´ve also enjoyed other non-memoir books of Kapuściński´s, such as The Emperor and The Soccer War.)

Read more in my post 6 of the Greatest English-Language Travel Books of all Time.