The romance of rail travel is immune to declining patronage and decaying infrastructure. Of course, riding French trains immediately ups the excitement. Ina Caro transports us accross topography and history with twenty-five daytrips that embark from Paris and venture into France's glorious past. Arranged in chronological order, Caro conducts readers to Orléans, Versailles, the Place de la Concorde, and beyond. 

This eloquent and timely travel book, by BNR columnist Brooke Allen, offers a fresh, informed, and often surpising portrayal of contemporary Syria and its people, with much welcome pondering of the richness of its past, from the ancient cities of Aleppo and Damascus to Crusader castles.

32 writers—including novelists Diane Johnson and Edmund White, biographers Stacy Schiff and Judith Thurman, and humorist Joe Queenan—contribute their private perspectives to this charming celebration of the City of Light and its special way of illuminating lives.

A marvelous addition to Harvard University Press's lovely Wonders of the World series, celebrating the history and atmosphere of Venice's great public square. Read more...