With an excellent introduction on the history, culture, landscapes and the pleasures of Southern France, this illusrtated guide features 34 towns and villages in Provence. The book opens with the villages of the Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhone, the region of such architectural gems as Bonnieux and Gordes. Moving east to the Var and eventually the mountains of the Alpine departments, we visit tranquil villages of the center like Les Arcs, set amid some of the finest vineyards of southern France  (FRN28, $26.95)