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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Books for

Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXFRN454. Buy these 4 items as a set for $73 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
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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 in glorious exile. (FRN208, $16.00)

Adventures on the Wine Route, A Wine Buyer's Tour of France

Adventures on the Wine Route, A Wine Buyer's Tour of France

by Kermit Lynch

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1990
  • PAPER
  • 271 PAGES

A delightful and warmly anecdotal book, highly recommended for anyone touring the wine regions of France. Lynch brings the domains and appellations of French wine to full-blown life, and his portraits of the grand personalities who make the wine are priceless. (FRN72, $19.00)

Eyewitness Guide France

Eyewitness Guide France

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

This superb guide to all of France features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a region-by-region synopsis of the country's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (FRN01, $30.00)

France Map

France Map

by Michelin

  • MAP

A colorful, accurate and up-to-date map of France at a scale of 1:1,000,000. (FRN07, $12.95)

 
Fodor's France

Fodor's France


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 872 PAGES

An excellent all-around guidebook to the history, culture and attractions of France. (FRN180, $24.99)

Fodor's Paris' 25 Best

Fodor's Paris' 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 176 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, $12.99)

Lonely Planet French Phrasebook

Lonely Planet French Phrasebook


by Marie-Helene Girard | Anny Monet

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

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, the book 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)

Provence A-Z

Provence A-Z


by Peter Mayle

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

A companion to all things Provencal, from bouillabaisse to lavender and vinaigre, by the British expatriate and Francophile Peter Mayle. (FRN619, $15.95)

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong


by Jean-Benoit Nadeau | Julie Barlow

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 351 PAGES

Two Canadian journalists tackle the contradictions and complexities of the French character, paying particular attention to the question of why the French resist globalization. (FRN755, $18.99)

The Most Beautiful Villages of Burgundy


by James Bentley | Hugh Palmer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1998
  • HARD COVER
  • 224 PAGES

Divided geographically, this handsome book is an illustrated portrait of the region, its landscape, architecture and people. With maps, a travel guide and 260 photographs. (FRN80, $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)

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages


by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. (MED07, $15.95)

Matisse and Picasso, The Story of their Rivalry and Friendship


by Jack Flam

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

Jack Flam explores the compelling, competitive, parallel lives of these two artists and their very different attitudes toward the idea of artistic greatness, toward the women they loved, and ultimately toward their confrontations with death. (ART20, $17.95)

The Art Detective, Adventures of an Antiques Roadshow Appraiser

The Art Detective, Adventures of an Antiques Roadshow Appraiser


by Philip Mould

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 261 PAGES

An expert on portraiture and a presenter on the original British version of the Antiques Roadshow, Mould uncovers the tricks of the trade required to know a real Caravaggio from a counterfeit, blending this with some lively tales of great art frauds from the archives. (ART144, $16.00)

The Power of Art


by Simon Schama

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2006
  • HARD COVER
  • 448 PAGES

The noted British historian turns his erudition and keen eye on to eight acknowledged masterpieces, revealing the often stressful personal conditions that accompanied their conception. With works by Caravaggio, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Rembrandt, Jacques-Louis David, Joseph Mallord William Turner, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Mark Rothko. (ART143, $55.00)

The Private Lives of the Impressionists


by Sue Roe

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 356 PAGES

Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Roe shows the Impressionists in the studios of Paris, rural lanes of Montmartre and rowdy riverside bars as Paris underwent Baron Haussmann's spectacular transformation. (FRA16, $17.99)

Vincent Van Gogh, The Passionate Eye

Vincent Van Gogh, The Passionate Eye


by Pascal Bonafoux

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

From Paris to Asnieres, Amsterdam and Provence, this jewel of a book traces the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh, the spirited, self-destructive painter who celebrated the south of France. Engaging, compact and illustrated with hundreds of photographs. (FRN29, $12.95)

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)

A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France

A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France


by Georgeanne Brennan

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 209 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Marvelously frank about daily chores and the decidedly unglamorous business of raising goats and pigs, Brennan lards her earthy tale of the rural life with recipes, one per chapter. (FRN687, $15.95)

A Year in Provence

A Year in Provence


by Peter Mayle

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 207 PAGES

The original best-selling tale of settling down in Provence, told with warmth and a great deal of humor. It offers a wonderful inside look at the charms and quirks of the people and the countryside in the south of France. (FRN19, $14.95)

Dear Theo, The Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh

Dear Theo, The Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh


by Irving Stone

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

This collection of letters from the troubled artist to his brother offers an illuminating gaze into Van Gogh's passion for art, as well as a revealing his dramatic personal struggles. (NTH88, $17.00)

French Dirt, The Story of a Garden in the South of France

French Dirt, The Story of a Garden in the South of France


by Richard Goodman

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 203 PAGES

Another story of a foreigner transplanted to the south of France. This captivating tale, set near Avignon, is noteworthy for Goodman's willingness to work, passion for horticulture and frank portrait of his neighbors. (FRN417, $13.00)

Renoir, My Father


by Jean Renoir

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 437 PAGES

The great filmmaker's portrait of his father remains the standard biography of the Impressionist master -- personable, informative and affectionate. With 12 color plates. (ART10, $18.95)

Two Towns in Provence

Two Towns in Provence


by M. F. K. Fisher

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1983
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Celebrated food writer M.F.K. Fisher contrasts village life in Aix-en-Provence with bustling Marseilles, evoking these two favorite places with anecdote and loving description. (FRN27, $18.95)

France, A Traveler's Literary Companion

France, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by William Rodarmor

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

This collection contains literary gems from all corners of France--not just Paris--by a select group of 20th-century French writers, from Colette to Georges Simenon. (FRN767, $14.95)

French Feast, A Traveler's Literary Companion

French Feast, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by William Rodarmor

  • LITERATURE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 248 PAGES

With deliciously idiosyncratic twists, you won't find recipes or expats or sweet nostalgia in this sampling of contemporary short stories, many translated by editor William Rodarmor. As his co-conspirator Jean Anderson puts it in the introduction, "none of the 30 stories is really about food; they're about people". (FRN970, $14.95)

It All Began in Monte Carlo

It All Began in Monte Carlo


by Elizabeth Adler

  • MYSTERY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Sunny Alvarez and Mac Reilly find romance, intrigue and stolen diamonds in the south of France in this sunny follow-up to Adler's There's Something About St. Tropez. (FRN905, $14.99)

Murder in the Marais

Murder in the Marais


by Cara Black

  • MYSTERY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 360 PAGES

Literate and thrilling, with a strong sense of the geography and flavor of Paris, the first in a series of mysteries starring Aimee Ledoc shows off the French-American detective's wit and wile. The series continues with Murder in Belleville (FRN562), Murder in the Sentier (FRN563) and many more. (FRN561, $14.00)

The Masterpiece


by Emile Zola

  • LITERATURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 428 PAGES

Zola's novel tells of the downfall of a painter in 19th-century Paris, based on his childhood friend Cezanne. This classic is evocative of the artistic life in turn-of-the-century France. It was also the novel that would end their friendship. (FRN227, $12.95)

The Pillars of the Earth


by Ken Follett

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 976 PAGES

Set in 12th-century England, this best-selling epic of kings and peasants is also a surpisingly detailed, gripping account of the building of a magnificent Gothic cathedral. (GBR226, $22.00)

The Unknown Masterpiece, And, Gambara

The Unknown Masterpiece, And, Gambara


by Honore de Balzac

  • LITERATURE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 135 PAGES

Balzac's story of a painter who struggles to be understood by his contemporaries has inspired artists of the stature of Cezanne, Picasso and Henry James. Published here alongside Gambara, a novella which elucidates a musician's descent into madness. (FRA15, $14.00)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

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.