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Get the featured set of Essential Reading, our top picks of what to read, and get free shipping on anything else you order.

Essential Reading

Item EXFRN244A. Buy these 6 items as a set for $93 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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Michelin Green Guide Normandy

Michelin Green Guide Normandy

by Michelin Travel Publications

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

A thorough introduction to Normandy and the Channel islands in the classic Michelin style, featuring brief descriptions of all the major attractions. Organized alphabetically, we like it for its broad coverage, and especially for its excellent local maps. (FRN89, $21.99)

1066, The Year of the Conquest

1066, The Year of the Conquest

by David Howarth

  • HISTORY
  • 1981
  • PAPER
  • 207 PAGES

A crack medievalist and storyteller, Howarth brings to life the momentous events of 1066 in rich, anecdotal history -- a classic portrait of the Norman invasion and conquest of England. (GBR115, $14.00)

D-Day June 6, 1944, The Climactic Battle of World War II

D-Day June 6, 1944, The Climactic Battle of World War II

by Stephen Ambrose

  • HISTORY
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 655 PAGES

Written by the best-selling historian Stephen Ambrose, this well researched book draws together interviews and government documents to tell the gripping tale of D-Day. This comprehensive account contains 32 pages of photos and eight maps. (FRN40, $18.99)

The Secret Life of the Seine

The Secret Life of the Seine

by Mort Rosenblum

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 290 PAGES

After losing his Paris apartment, Rosenblum, a born storyteller, takes to a houseboat moored on the Seine. The result is this entertaining tour of the places and people he encounters during his explorations along the river. (FRN48, $17.50)

Paris to the Moon

Paris to the Moon

by Adam Gopnik

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 338 PAGES

Gopnik writes with candor and humor about Paris and Parisian ways in these charming reflections on adapting to life abroad. (FRN208, $16.00)

Normandy Map 513

Normandy Map 513

by Michelin

  • MAP

A colorful, detailed map of Normandy at a scale of 1:200,000, featuring Rouen, Le Havre and the route of the Seine from west of Paris to the Atlantic. (FRN49, $11.95)

 
Battle of Normandy 1944 Map

Battle of Normandy 1944 Map


by Michelin Travel Publications

  • MAP

A reproduction of a 1947 map of Normandy showing the main sites of the summer 1944 battle. (FRN264, $12.95)

Fodor's Paris' 25 Best

Fodor's Paris' 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This shirt-pocket map and guide includes essential information on the city's history, highlights and sightseeing, ideal for a short visit to the City of Light. (FRN41, $11.99)

Lonely Planet French Phrasebook

Lonely Planet French Phrasebook


by Marie-Helene Girard | Anny Monet

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2011
  • PAPER

This handy phrasebook focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (FRN120, $8.99)

Made in France, A Shopper's Guide

Made in France, A Shopper's Guide


by Laura Morelli

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

Both a fascinating history of France's artisanal legacy and an insider's shopping guide, Made in France includes illustrations, maps, a primer on French shopping culture, and craft festivals. (FRN706, $24.95)

The Food of France

The Food of France


by Waverly Root

  • FOOD
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 450 PAGES

An evocative and beautifully written survey of French food. First published in 1958 and revised in the mid-1970s, the book covers the important regions of French cuisine by dividing them into domains of Butter (northern France), Fat (Alsace) and Oil (the south). (FRN17, $18.00)

A Traveller's History of France

A Traveller's History of France


by Robert Cole

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This fast-moving survey covers the conquests of ancient Gaul through the heady days of revolution to modern times. (FRN08, $14.95)

Mont Saint Michel and Chartres

Mont Saint Michel and Chartres


by Henry Brooks Adams

  • HISTORY
  • 1986
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

First published at the turn of the century, this classic work is a meditation on the Medieval world as reflected through its most famous religious structures. (FRN44, $17.00)

Six Armies in Normandy, From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris

Six Armies in Normandy, From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris


by John Keegan

  • HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 365 PAGES

A provocative account of the invasion of Normandy and the battles that proceeded it. Keegan's intense descriptions of the war in northern France are accompanied by perceptive analysis of the military tactics that resulted in Allied victory. (FRN118, $16.00)

The Longest Day: June 6, 1944

The Longest Day: June 6, 1944


by Cornelius Ryan

  • HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 350 PAGES

Long the standard history of the Allied invasion of Normandy, Ryan's visceral account of men at war is skillfully written and accurate. First published in 1959. (FRN382, $15.00)

The Most Beautiful Villages of Normandy


by Hugh Palmer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2002
  • HARD COVER
  • 208 PAGES

An oversized, full color photographic celebration of the villages, churches, chateaux, harbors, and coastlines of Normandy. (FRN647, $40.00)

The Road from the Past, Traveling through History in France

The Road from the Past, Traveling through History in France


by Ina Caro

  • HISTORY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 339 PAGES
  • BEST SELLER

Time travel through France by way of its finest castles, chateaux, cathedrals and monasteries. This unusual travelogue is an invaluable companion for traveling in Paris, southern France, the Dordogne and the Loire Valley, combining personal observation with large doses of well-presented history. (FRN03, $17.00)

Monet's Garden in Giverny, Inventing the Landscape

Monet's Garden in Giverny, Inventing the Landscape


by Marina Ferretti Bocquillon

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 144 PAGES

Published in conjunction with the new Musee des Impressionnismes in Giverny, this luminous collection captures Monte's beloved works and the landscapes that inspired them. (FRN829, $40.00)

Monet, the Ultimate Impressionist

Monet, the Ultimate Impressionist


by Sylvie Patin

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

A colorful pocket-size reference to Monet's life, paintings and contemporaries, perfect for those visiting Giverny. (FRN35, $15.95)

The Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry


by David Wilson

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 234 PAGES

An illustrated, full-color reproduction of the Bayeux Tapestry, whose colorful embroidery and Latin text tell the story of the Norman victory over England in 1066. The reproduction shows the detailed stitches clearly and is enhanced by Wilson's accompanying text. (FRN445, $50.00)

The Gothic Cathedral, Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order

The Gothic Cathedral, Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order


by Otto Georg Von Simson

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1988
  • PAPER
  • 364 PAGES

A scholarly examination of the Medieval cathedral as a representation of the supernatural and divine. (EUR246, $29.95)

A Moveable Feast

A Moveable Feast


by Ernest Hemingway

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 211 PAGES

A treasure for anyone interested in Parisian cafe society and its luminaries circa 1925. Hemingway includes sharp portraits of Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ford Maddox Ford and others who idled on their way to greatness. (FRN26, $15.00)

Between Meals, An Appetite for Paris

Between Meals, An Appetite for Paris


by A.J. Liebling

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 182 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Liebling captures with stylish prose his coming-of-age in Paris in this elegant memoir, which is also a tribute to French cuisine. (FRN32, $15.00)

Into a Paris Quartier, Reine Margot's Chapel and other Haunts of St. Germain

Into a Paris Quartier, Reine Margot's Chapel and other Haunts of St. Germain


by Diane Johnson

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 204 PAGES

Novelist Diane Johnson (Le Divorce) writes with insight, verve and wit in this affectionate, personal portrait of St Germain-des-Pres, her neighborhood on the Left Bank. (FRN491, $10.95)

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc


by Mary Gordon

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

In elegant, insightful prose, novelist Gordon meditates on the courageous and complex young girl and the iconic status she has acquired. (FRN753, $15.00)

Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary


by Gustave Flaubert

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 360 PAGES

The landmark novel of a woman who suffers in search of relief from her humdrum life in a provincial village outside Rouen. (FRN301, $13.00)

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Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.