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/MT2996. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.

These 4 items are available for $59, including U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXLAO5)

Lonely Planet Laos  •  Justine Vaisutis  •  Andrew Burke GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 332 PAGES This practical guide to Laos by Lonely Planet features maps, a 60-page overview of culture, history and nature and plenty of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With color photographs and excellent travel information by the intrepid Joe Cummings. (LAO02, $21.99)
A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia  •  J.M. Barwise  •  Nicholas J. White HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A compact history of the region, including the Khmer and other ancient kingdoms that produced Borobudur, Angkor and other architectural marvels. The authors include the history of diverse nations from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia, to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. (SEA36, $14.95)
The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future  •  Milton Osborne HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES A cultural history of the great river from prehistory to European exploration, colonial tensions and modern challenges. It's an engaging introduction to the history of Southeast Asia. Osborne has also written an account of the 19th-century search for the source of the Mekong (SEA29). (SEA28, $16.00)
Laos Map  •  Periplus Maps MAP A traveler's map of Laos, with topographical relief and city insets, at a variety of scales. Two Sides. 21x23 inches. (LAO11, $8.95)

Ancient Luang Prabang  •  Denise Heywood   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An illustrated guide to the sacred art, traditional architecture and colonial legacy of this first capital of the Lao Kingdom, a Unesco World Heritage Site. With 300 color photographs. (LAO24, $30.00)
Culture Shock! Laos  •  Robert Cooper   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A practical guide to Laotian customs, etiquette and culture, perfect for the business traveler, casual visitor or resident. (LAO13, $15.95)
Footprint Laos Handbook  •  Jack O'Tailan   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A sturdy practical guide in the British Footprint series, featuring in-depth practical information, 42 sketch maps and an overview of history and culture. (LAO10, $23.95)
Insight Compact Guide Laos  •  Insight Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A slim illustrated guide. (LAO15, $7.95)
Lonely Planet Lao Phrasebook  •  Lonely Planet   • GUIDEBOOK  •  This handy pocket phrasebook includes pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary. (LAO25, $8.99)
A History of Laos  •  Martin Stuart-Fox   • HISTORY  •  A comprehensive, scholarly history of the country, focusing on the modern period and emergence of Laos as a modern nation state. With chapters on the early kingdoms and French Laos. (LAO06, $36.99)
Shooting at the Moon, The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos  •  Roger Warner   • HISTORY  •  Soldiers, diplomats, Hmong villagers and CIA strategists are all depicted fully in this engrossing, well-reported history of the secret war in Laos. (LAO05, $24.95)
The Politics of Ritual and Remembrance, Laos Since 1975  •  Grant Evans   • HISTORY  •  Social anthropologist Evans looks at the transformation of Laotian society since the 1975 revolution in this important book. (LAO14, $22.00)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down  •  Anne Fadiman   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  The editor of American Scholar, Fadiman gracefully documents the encounter between two worldviews, in an intimate portrait of a Hmong refugee family in California. (VNM31, $15.00)
Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992  •  Jane Hamilton-Merritt   • HISTORY  •  A portrait of the Hmong, their role in America's clandestine war in Laos during the Vietnam era and their persecution and plight in Laos since being abandoned by America in 1975. (LAO12, $27.95)
What the Buddha Taught  •  Walpola Sri Rahula   • RELIGION  •  A classic account of Theravada Buddhism by a respected monk and scholar from Sri Lanka. Provides translations from original texts with explanations for Western readers. A good foundation for any visitor to Southeast Asia. (SEA41, $14.00)
Arts of Southeast Asia  •  Fiona Kerlogue   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A handsome guide to the art, architecture, textiles and crafts of Southeast Asia. (SEA45, $16.95)
A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam  •  Norman Lewis   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE • FAVORITE • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE  •  A classic account of travels and adventure during the last years of French Indochina, strong on atmosphere and including wonderfully detailed descriptions of local cultures and archaeological treasures. First published in 1951. (SEA40, $33.95)
River Road to China, The Search for the Source of the Mekong, 1866-73  •  Milton Osborne   • EXPLORATION  •  An excellent modern account of a 19th-century French expedition 4,000 miles from Vietnam and Cambodia into unknown regions of China in search of the source of the Mekong. (SEA29, $16.00)
The River's Tale, A Year on the Mekong  •  Edward Gargan   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A personal, probing chronicle of a 3,000 mile journey on the river from its source in China through Tibet, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. (SEA33, $15.95)
Travels in the East  •  Donald Richie  •  Stephen Mansfield   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The unmatchable, exuberant Richie (who winningly writes "New countries are like new clothes") muses on Egypt, India, Bhutan, Mongolia, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Borneo, Thailand, Yap, Korea, and Japan in this kaleidoscope of travel essays. (ASA63, $14.95)
Adventures and Encounters, Europeans in Southeast Asia  •  J.M. Gullick   • ANTHOLOGY  •  This anthology offers a diverse selection of European accounts of Southeast Asia. The writers range from 16th century explorers and mariners to 19th century naturalists and modern literary travelers. (INS20, $60.00)
Collected Short Stories, Volume 4  •  W. Somerset Maugham   • LITERATURE  •  Maugham can evoke turn-of-the-century colonial Asia like no other. This collection of stories features many set in Malaysia and other southeast Asian locales, including the well-known tale "The Letter." (SEA01, $18.00)
Curse of the Pogo Stick  •  Colin Cotterill   • LITERATURE  •  A pogo stick brings a curse on a Hmong village (which our hero, the septuagenarian national coroner Dr. Siri is improbably asked to remove) in this thrilling fifth quirky mystery set in Laos. (LAO18, $13.00)
The Coroner's Lunch  •  Colin Cotterill   • MYSTERY  •  The first in Colin Cotterill's wonderful Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery series follows the septuagenarian national coroner of Laos as he navigates both the criminal underworld of communist Laos and the spiritual world of his ancestors. (LAO21, $13.00)
Soul of the Tiger, Searching for Nature's Answers in Southeast Asia  •  Jeffrey A. McNeely  •  Paul Spencer Sochaczewski   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  A meditation on the role of animals and nature in the societies of Southeast Asia. With dark humor, the authors wax philosophical about conservation issues throughout the region. (SEA02, $18.95)
Birds of Southeast Asia  •  Craig Robson   • FIELD GUIDE  •  This authoritative, masterfully illustrated guide, featuring 140 color plates covering 1,270 species throughout the region, also includes Malaysia, Burma, Borneo and Indonesia. (SEA49, $35.00)