A companionable, personable guide to the city, strong on history and culture. Oddly (for a guide), it's the sort of book that makes for leisurely and pleasurable reading. This eight edition was revised and updated by Fionualla Jervis. An Art Historian, Piper (1918-1990) was director of the National Portrait Gallery and the Ashmolean Museum.  (GBR514, $34.95)