Here's a page from Longitude, the specialty bookseller for travelers. To order online, and to see the latest, most comprehensive selection of books and maps, go to http://reading.longitudebooks.com/LO11428. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.

These 8 items are available for $142, including U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. )

Angry Island, Hunting the English  •  A. Gill ANTHOLOGY •  2008 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES An owner's manual to the English, this over-the-top comic primer by the splendidly irreverent London critic A. A. Gill includes scathing chapters on voice, humor, drink (I am an alcoholic), animals, garden, sport and class. Gill explains, rather unnecessarily that though he lives in London, for obvious reasons he spends as much time as possible abroad. (GBR715, $14.00)
The Lost Continent, Travels in Small Town America  •  Bill Bryson TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1990 •  PAPER  • 314 PAGES Heading out from his native Des Moines, Bryson makes his way through 38 of these United States, tossing off hilarious observations of the American character and roadscapes. Forgive Bryson's cheap shots at fat people and "hicks," he's an acerbic, witty guide to the country with a well-developed sense of the absurd. (USW180, $14.95)
Why I Hate Canadians  •  Will Ferguson CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2007 •  PAPER  • 305 PAGES An enlightening, tongue-in-cheek survey of Canadian history, politics and attitudes in a 10th anniversary edition. This is the collection of essays is the book that launched Ferguson's career. (CND154, $19.95)
La Bella Figura, A Field Guide to the Italian Mind  •  Beppe Severgnini CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2007 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES Hugely popular in Italy, this witty guide to the Italian character addresses the apparently never-ending Italian passion for beauty, disorder and high emotion. An Italian journalist, Severgnini opens with a snapshot of the hubbub at Malpensa Airport, taking the unwary reader firmly by the hand on a journey to Milan,Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Sardinia. He hilariously points out Italian rituals and quirks from the highway to hotels, bedrooms, restaurants, the office and beach. (ITL718, $12.95)
The Frenchman  •  Philippe Halsman  •  Art Buchwald CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 108 PAGES This much-loved book, out of print for 50 years, captures something inimitable about the French. It's a highly visual Q&A, featuring the great portrait photographer Philippe Halsman (famous for the Life magazine portrait of Marilyn Monroe among other iconic images) and the vaudeville actor Fernandel. Halsman asked irreverent questions about America and recorded Fernandel's facial expression in response. With 24 black-and-white portraits and humorous accompanying captions on the difference between the French and Americans. (FRN574, $19.99)
70 Japanese Gestures  •  Hamiru-aqui LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  PAPER  • 158 PAGES A clever, useful guide to decoding body language in Japan. With 70 black-and-white photographs of engineer Takafumi Hamada demonstrating each gesture, along with accompanying expressions and explanation. Hamiru-aqui includes both everyday gestures and slang. (JPN193, $9.95)
Swedish Mentality  •  Ake Daun CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  PAPER  • 236 PAGES The Swedes -- What are they like? Daun elucidates such issues of national character as why Swedes distrust elevators and why Swedes like to fish, then valiantly poses that most unaskable of questions: why are Swedes so dull? (His question, not ours.) The English translation of the hugely successful book published in Sweden in 1989 (SWE21, $29.95)
Why Switzerland?  •  Jonathan Steinberg CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  PAPER  • 300 PAGES A sweeping study of the Swiss character and an examination of how Switzerland, alone in western Europe, resisted centralization of its state and economy and membership in the European Union. Its unique institutions, direct democracy, absence of strikes, communal autonomy and four national languages make it unique, but can it last? Through lucid descriptions of history, politics, religion, and culture, this book captures what it means to be Swiss. Illustrated with black-and-white photos and maps. (SWZ04, $33.99)

Savoir Rire, The Humorists' Guide to France  •  Robert Wechsler   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A delightful collection of cartoons, stories and anecdote illuminating the French character. (FRN331, $10.95)
Chrysanthemum and the Sword, Patterns of Japanese Culture  •  Ruth Benedict  •  Ezra Vogel   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Published in the aftermath of World War II, this brilliant exploration of the Japanese psyche and culture retains its interest today, as much for its perspective on the West as for insights about the Japanese character. (JPN23, $15.00)
French or Foe? Getting the Most Out of Visiting, Living and Working in France  •  Polly Platt   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  With humor, directness and great insight, this compact book is an expert and entertaining guide to the French and how to get along with them. The expanded third edition addresses France's romance with cell phones and includes a short chapter of recent vignettes. (FRN54, $16.95)
Italianissimo  •  Louise Fili  •  Lise Apatoff   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Divertingly illustrated, this A-to-Z guide profiles 50 very Italian customs and concepts from the notion of beauty (bellisimo) to the Italian disregard for lines (Fare La Coda). (ITL983, $18.95)
The French  •  Theodore Zeldin   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT • COMING IN  •  A stimulating and very entertaining social history in the guise of a "how-to" book. Zeldin considers, for example, such imponderables as when to laugh at a joke, how to be friends with a peasant, and how to eat properly. (FRN31, $17.00)
The Nature of Prejudice  •  Gordon W. Allport   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A pioneering social psychologist, Allport tackles the role of stereotyping, victimization, ethnic division, upbringing and group behavior with scholarship, anecdote and sparkling prose in the 25th anniversary edition of his classic. (GEN222, $25.00)
The Undutchables, An Observation of the Netherlands, Its Culture and Inhabitants  •  Colin White   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  A laugh-out-loud, irreverent guide to understanding Dutch character and habits, covering topics such as home, money, children and politics. (NTH12, $15.00)
American Notes for General Circulation  •  Charles Dickens   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Dickens was one of many Englishmen who traveled to America, fascinated by the character of the youthful nation. His account of his 1842 voyage is descriptive and often funny. (USM116, $13.00)
Journey to the Alcarria, Travels Through the Spanish Countryside  •  Camilo Jose Cela   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The Spanish novelist and 1989 Nobel Prize-winner, writes of his travels on foot in the Alcarria region of Spain in this classic book, originally published in 1948. (SPN239, $8.95)