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/LO8525. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.

These 5 items are available for $77, including U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXFRN200)

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)
French or Foe? Getting the Most Out of Visiting, Living and Working in France  •  Polly Platt CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  PAPER  • 292 PAGES With humor, directness and great insight, this little book explains the French and how to get along with them. Whatever your thoughts about cultural stereotypes, her suggestion for how to get out of sticky situations is perfect: "Excusez-moi de vous deranger." It also works! An expanded third edition, which now includes the French romance with cell phones and a short chapter with recent vignettes. (FRN54, $16.95)
Cathedrals and Castles, Building in the Middle Ages  •  Alain Erlande-Brandenburg ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 175 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE A slim encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages. This volume in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series features hundreds of drawings and color illustrations, a brief chronology and more information than you would imagine between its slim covers. Take it along to gain a better appreciation of the Middle Ages and its legacy in Europe. (MED07, $12.95)
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)
Pays de la Lorie 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. (FRN302, $11.95)

Eyewitness Guide Paris  •  Eyewitness Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Gorgeous, well illustrated and filled with maps, this compact book provides an excellent overview of the City of Light, its history, traditions, cultures and sights. (FRN02, $25.00)
Rick Steves' French Phrase Book & Dictionary  •  Rick Steves   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  A compact phrase book for travelers, organized thematically and with a brief dictionary. It's peppered with humor and Rick Steves' insider insight into how to break the ice and make friends around the world. (FRN366, $7.95)
The Food of France  •  Waverly Root   • FOOD  •  An evocative and beautifully written survey of French food. First published in 1958 and revised in the mid-1970s, this book covers the important regions of French cuisine by dividing them into domains of Butter (northern France), Fat (Alsace), and Oil (the south). (FRN17, $17.95)
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  •  In this wide-ranging study, Manchester evokes in vivid detail the great figures and daily life of the 16th century, with information on Henry VIII, Magellan, Borgia, da Vinci and Martin Luther. (EUR06, $15.99)
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, $25.00)
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, $37.00)
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)
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, $14.00)
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  •  Killian Mullarney  •  Lars Svensson  •  Dan Zetterstrom  •  Peter J. Grant   • FIELD GUIDE • FAVORITE  •  A Princeton field guide to European birds, featuring 3,500 color illustrations that depict 722 species found across the continent. (FG47, $29.95)