Bourgogne Map  •  IGN 2007 •  MAP A map of Burgundy at a scale of 1:250,000. (FRN262, $11.95)
Clara's Grand Tour, Travels With a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-century Europe  •  Glynis Ridley HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES The entertaining history of a most unusual eighteenth-century European celebrity. Clara the Indian rhinoceros was brought to Europe in 1741 by the Dutch sea captain Douwemout Van der Meer, and toured for seventeen years, to the delight of heads of state such as Louis XV and Frederick the Great. A marvelous and unique look at the introduction of Eastern wildlife into the Western world. (FRN536, $12.00)
Claudine's House  •  Colette  •  Doris Lessing LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 166 PAGES A marvelous new translation of Colette's warm, sensual account of growing up under her mother's watchful care in the south of France. Written 20 years after her wildly popular Claudine novels. (FRN570, $15.95)
Dijon Tournus Map  •  IGN 2002 •  MAP A detailed traveler's map of the region south of Dijon in Burgundy at a scale of 1:100,000. (FRN514, $6.95)
Dijon/Tournus Map  •  IGN MAP A detailed travel map, published in France, which covers the region south of Dijon at the very good scale of 1:100,000. (FRN376, $11.95)
An Englishman A La Campagne, Life in Deepest France  •  Michael Sadler TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 182 PAGES A humourous, quirky narrative of Englishman Michael Sadler making do in rural France, filled with anecdotes that convey the charm of the French countryside and the unavoidable mishaps that accompany Sandler's immersion in local life. (FRN569, $12.95)
Floating Through France, Life Between Locks on the Canal Du Midi  •  Barb Euser TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 200 PAGES A lovely collection, evoking the dreamy French countryside along the banks of the Canal du Midi, Europe's oldest functioning canal. The essays and poems are the reflections of a group of writers who slipped along the canal together in two old boats in the summer of 2005. (FRN572, $14.95)
France and the French, A Modern History  •  Rod Kedward CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2007 •  PAPER  • 736 PAGES A sweeping, in-depth history of France from 1900 to the present day, from the disasterous world wars to the crumbling of the empire to France's modern place in the European Union. (FRN573, $24.95)
France in Mind  •  Alice Powers ANTHOLOGY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES This wonderful selection of essays, excerpts and stories filters the experience of being in France through the lens of 33 British and American writers. (FRN384, $14.00)
French English Bilingual Visual Dictionary  •  DK Publishing LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  PAPER  • 360 PAGES With thousands of neatly arranged color photographs, this compact book is impressively comprehensive, covering everything from the basics of le corps (body) to the vocabulary of la buanderie (utility room). With a handy reference section in the back. (FRN520, $12.95)
The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629  •  Mack P. Holt HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 253 PAGES A lively social history of the French civil wars of the 16th and 17th centuries geared for undergraduate students. Holt, who revised and expanded his original text for this edition, balances his interest in Burgndy with the rest of France. (FRN560, $28.99)
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)
Gustave Courbet  •  Sarah Faunce ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1993 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES A wonderfully illustrated study of Gustave Courbet, the 19th century French realist painter. Nearly 100 plates of his paintings (40 in color) are accompanied by commentary from Sarah Faunce. This book is a good introduction to his work and his influence on the great French Impressionists. (FRN155, $24.95)
Henri Matisse 1869-1954, Master of Color  •  Volkmar Essers ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES This slim book, an entry in Taschen's popular Basic Art series, features 300 color reproductions of Matisse's work along with brief accompanying text. (ART45, $9.99)
Here Is Where We Meet  •  John Berger LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $14.00)
Life With Picasso  •  Francoise Gilot BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1989 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES This intimate memoir is as much about Picasso's art as it is about Gilot's experiences with Picasso as a lover and companion. She met Picasso in Paris in 1943, during the German occupation of France, when she was 21 and he was 62. For ten years, she lived with the artist, gave birth to two of his children, and served as his model. She recounts their life together with careful attention to detail, combining memoir, art history and romance. (ART42, $15.00)
Life With Picasso  •  Francoise Gilot BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1989 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES This intimate memoir is as much about Picasso's art as it is about Gilot's experiences with Picasso as a lover and companion. She met Picasso in Paris in 1943, during the German occupation of France, when she was 21 and he was 62. For ten years, she lived with the artist, gave birth to two of his children, and served as his model. She recounts their life together with careful attention to detail, combining memoir, art history and romance. (ART42, $15.00)
Mammals of Europe  •  Priscilla Barrett  •  David W. MacDonald FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES Published by Princeton, this is a field guide to land and marine mammals throughout Europe, both endemic and introduced. With more than 600 color illustrations of over 200 mammals, it's a comprehensive handbook, with detailed descriptions, range maps and commentary on behavior. (FG61, $34.95)
Picasso, The Early Years 1892-1906  •  Pablo Picasso  •  Marilyn McCully  •  Natasha Staller ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 374 PAGES A collection of essays about Picasso's formative years as an artist, featuring hundreds of drawings, plates and photographs. (ART43, $25.00)
Pilgrimages, The Great Adventure of the Middle Ages  •  John Ure HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES (EUR202, $15.95)
Pilgrimages, The Great Adventure of the Middle Ages  •  John Ure HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES (EUR202, $15.95)
Pimsleur Quick & Simple French  •  Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  AUDIO CD Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic French, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (FRN523, $19.95)
Rick Steves' French, Italian & German Phrase Book & Dictionary  •  Rick Steves LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2003 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A compact phrase book for travelers, organized thematically and with a brief dictionary. French, German and Italian phrases are side-by-side on the page so that you can pick and choose depending on the situation. This is no dry litany but instead peppered with humor and Rick Steves' insider insight into how to break the ice and make friends around the world. (EUR142, $9.95)
Short Stories in French  •  Richard Coward LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 214 PAGES From Daniel Boulanger's exploration of revenge and the desire for recognition in "The Hunter's Cafe," to Alain Gerber's brief and poetic "You Never Die," these stories by contemporary authors make good reading in any language. A volume in New Penguin Parallel Texts. (FRN594, $14.00)
To Travel Hopefully, Footsteps In The French Cevennes  •  Christopher Rush BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  PAPER  • 279 PAGES In a last ditch effort to regain himself after the death of his wife, Rush heads off to France with a donkey on the trail of fellow Scot Robert Louis Stevenson. It's a beautifully written, moving tale of getting through grief. (FRN534, $17.95)
The Tour De France, A Cultural History  •  C. S. Thompson HISTORY •  2008 •  PAPER  • 406 PAGES This authoritative, engaging history of the famous cycling event goes beyond a simple history of the race to consider the Tour de France and its meaning in a wider cultural context. (FRN584, $18.95)
Travelers' Tales, A Woman's Europe  •  Marybeth Bond  •  Mary Morris ANTHOLOGY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 298 PAGES This entertaining collection depicts Europe through the eyes of a diverse group of women writers, including Frances Mayes, Jan Morris and Mary Morris. These humorous and well-written true stories capture the misadventures, discoveries and slices of life that the continent (and travel!) has to offer. (EUR160, $17.95)
Vive La Revolution, A Stand-up History of the French Revolution  •  Mark Steel HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER This "stand-up history" hits all the major points of the French revolution in a distinctly unique (and hilarious) style. Steel, as you might guess, is a British comedian with a flair for history. (FRN609, $14.00)
Walking in France, Exploring France's Great Towns And Finest Landscapes on Foot  •  John Souter  •  Gillian Souter GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A wonderful guide for the independent traveler, featuring walks in a variety of French locations and settings. There are several suggestions for strolls in Paris as well as walks in rural areas, small cities and vineyards. With maps and color photographs. (FRN533, $20.00)