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/CV3864. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.

These 5 items are available for $79, including U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXFRN422)

Eyewitness Guide Loire Valley  •  Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 264 PAGES Visually rich, comprehensive, and practical, this guidebook is an excellent introduction to the history, culture and attractions of the Loire Valley. Highly recommended. (FRN43, $23.00)
The Road from the Past, Traveling through History in France  •  Ina Caro HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 339 PAGES 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)
The Food of France  •  Waverly Root FOOD •  1992 •  PAPER  • 450 PAGES An aromatic and and beautifully written survey of French food. First published in 1958 and revised in the mid-1970's, this book covers the important regions of French cuisine by dividing them into domains of Butter (northern France), Fat (Alsace), and Oil (the south). A great read for anyone interested in the foundation of French cuisine. (FRN17, $18.00)
France, A Traveler's Literary Companion  •  William Rodarmor ANTHOLOGY •  2008 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES From the excellent Traveler's Literary Companion series, this collection contains literary gems from all corners of France, not just Paris. Interesting stories written by great modern French writers. (FRN767, $14.95)
Loire Valley Map 517  •  Michelin Travel Publications MAP A map of the Loire region of France in the series published by Michelin series, at a scale of 1:200,000. One Side. 40 X 61 inches. (FRN302, $11.95)

Cycling the River Loire, The Way of St Martin  •  John Higginson   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A practical guide to cycling the country lanes and byways along the Loire. (FRN515, $18.95)
Lonely Planet French Phrasebook  •  Marie-Helene Girard  •  Anny Monet   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  A handy phrasebook for French basics. This guide focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (FRN120, $8.99)
Made in France, A Shopper's Guide  •  Laura Morelli   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Morelli's illustrated, personal guide to locally crafted, hand-made textiles, porcelain, crystal, digestifs and much more. (FRN706, $24.95)
A Traveller's History of France  •  Robert Cole   • HISTORY  •  This fast-moving survey covers the conquests of ancient Gaul through the heady days of revolution to modern times. (FRN08, $14.95)
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, Portrait of an Age  •  William Manchester   • HISTORY  •  Organized into sections on the Renaissance, Reformation and Discovery, Manchester's popular history evokes in vivid detail the great figures and daily life of the 16th century, including Henry VIII, Magellan, Borgia, da Vinci and Martin Luther. (EUR06, $15.99)
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)
The Age of the Cathedrals, Art and Society 980-1420  •  Georges Duby   • HISTORY  •  The definitive historical study of the building of the great cathedrals. French scholar Duby, writing very accessibly, describes the cathedrals themselves, and the philosophical, religious, and political climate that enabled them to be built. (EUR01, $28.00)
The Autumn of the Middle Ages  •  Johan Huizinga   • HISTORY  •  A pioneering work of social and cultural history, this well-translated classic is a richly detailed portrait of life, thought and art in 14th- and 15th-century France and the Netherlands. (EUR17, $28.00)
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, $24.95)
The Most Beautiful Villages of the Loire  •  James Bentley  •  Hugh Palmer   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  An illustrated portrait of the region, its landscape, architecture, and people, featuring 275 color photographs and accompanying lively essays by Francophile James Bentley. (FRN483, $40.00)
Art and Architecture in France, 1500-1700  •  Richard Beresford  •  Anthony Blunt   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A depiction of artistic endeavors which were born in 16th- and 17-century France. (FRN242, $40.00)
Cathedrals and Castles, Building in the Middle Ages  •  Alain Erlande-Brandenburg   • ART & ARCHITECTURE • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE  •  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, $12.95)
Adventures on the Wine Route, A Wine Buyer's Tour of France  •  Kermit Lynch   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A delightful, warmly anecdotal book, highly recommended for anyone touring the wine regions of France. The book brings the domains and appellations of French wine into full-blown life, and Lynch's portraits of the grand personalities who make wine are priceless. (FRN72, $18.00)
Eleanor of Aquitaine, A Life  •  Alison Weir   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  An extremely well-researched, enjoyable biography of the woman who was both queen of France (married to Louis VII) and queen of England (married to Henry II). Eleanor became a political and artistic powerbroker in an age when most women were seen but not heard. (FRN287, $17.00)
Leonardo da Vinci, The Mind of the Renaissance  •  Alessandro Vezzosi   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A pocket-size encyclopedia of knowledge, this colorful book illustrates and documents the life and work of Leonardo, including a long section of excerpts from his writings. (ITL77, $12.95)
France in Mind  •  Alice Powers   • ANTHOLOGY  •  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)
Travelers' Tales France  •  James O'Reilly  •  Larry Habegger   • ANTHOLOGY  •  A wonderful collection of mostly contemporary tales, including such marvelous authors as Peter Mayle, M.F.K. Fisher, Mort Rosenblum, Ina Caro and Jan Morris. Organized thematically, it's a good introduction to the history, culture and character of France. (FRN05, $18.95)
Chocolat  •  Joanne Harris   • LITERATURE  •  This charming novel set in the Loire Valley pits provincial morals against pleasure. Adapted into a popular movie. (FRN484, $15.00)
In a Dark Wood Wandering, A Novel of the Middle Ages  •  Hella Haasse   • LITERATURE  •  With a cast of thousands including Joan of Arc and the Dukes of Burgundy, this 1949 historical novel renders the political intrigue, people and texture of 15th-century Europe. Haasse captures medieval court life during the Hundred Years War. (FRN86, $21.95)
Birds of Europe  •  Lars Svensson  •  Dan Zetterstrom  •  Killian Mullarney   • FIELD GUIDE • FAVORITE  •  Featuring 3,500 glorious paintings by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterstrom, this second revised edition of this exquisite guide has been brought up to date with revised text and maps. (FG47, $29.95)