Celebrated by writers from Petrach to Peter Mayle, Provence's rugged mountains, wild maquis, and lavender-filled meadows are world-famous. Martin Garrett explores a region littered with ancient monuments and medieval castles. Looking at the vibrant dockside atmosphere of Luberon, he considers how writers like Mistral and Daudet have captured the character of a place and its people. He traces the development of Provence as a Roman outpost, medieval kingdom, and modern region of France, revealing through its landmarks the people and events that have shaped its often tumultuous history. Through...

The Andes form the backbone of South America. Irradiating from Cuzco--the symbolic "navel" of the indigenous world--the mountain range was home to an extraordinary theocratic empire and civilization, the Incas, who built stone temples, roads, palaces, and forts. The clash between Atahualpa, the last Inca, and the illiterate conquistador Pizarro, between indigenous identity and European mercantile values, has forged Andean culture and history for the last 500 years.

Jason Wilson explores the 5,000-mile chain of volcanoes, deep valleys, and upland plains, revealing the Andes' mystery,...

Scattered off the west coast of mainland Greece are the seven Ionian Islands, celebrated for their spectacular landscapes, olive groves and classical associations. Together with the mountainous mainland region of Epirus, the combined populations of Corfu, Paxos, Lefkas, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, and Kythira constitute less than a twentieth of the population of Greece, yet they have made a huge contribution to the culture of the country, before and since becoming part of the Greek state. The unsurpassed beauty of the islands and of the Pindus Mountains has stimulated the imagination of...