A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by Bernstein, William J. I think I’ll begin with William Bernstein’s latest work, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Reading about the history of business should meet my goals. Fortunately, Bernstein, a financial theorist frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, treats this history as a spellbinding saga of adventurous men crossing dangerous lands and oceans to attain fabulous wealth. Starting with primitive bartering strategies in ancient Mesopotamia, through amazing journeys on the Silk Road and the rise the of great colonial trading companies, the author shows us how ever expanding markets have brought us to our modern economy where we think nothing of eating grapes from Chile and wearing shoes from China. I think I’ll keep this one in mind for Father’s Day gift giving as well. ($30.00)

Transit Maps of the World by Ovenden, Mark "Transit Maps of the World" is the first and only comprehensive collection of historic and current maps of every rapid-transit system on earth. Using glorious, colorful graphics, Mark Ovenden traces the history of mass transit-including rare and historic maps, diagrams, and photographs, some available for the first time since their original publication. "Transit Maps" is the graphic designer's new bible, the transport enthusiast's dream collection, and a coffee-table essential for everyone who's ever traveled in a city.

A Piano in the Pyrenees: The Ups and Downs of an Englishman in the French Mountains by Hawks, Tony Inspired by breathtaking views and romantic fantasies of finding love in the mountains, Tony Hawks impulsively buys an idyllic house in the French Pyrenees. And here, he imagines, he will finally fulfill his childhood fantasy of mastering the piano, all the while overlooking spectacular views as the troubles of the world pass him by unnoticed. However, Tony's hopelessly ill-prepared stumbling into the world of overseas homeownership is perhaps best read as a useful manual of how not to go about buying a house abroad. He flirts with the moving company in a disastrous attempt to take his piano over to France in a dodgy white van; foolishly attempts to build a swimming pool himself; and takes his experience of relationships to a new level when he finds himself cohabiting not with the expected beautiful French woman, but with his old buddy Ron the builder. Yet as Tony and his small group of friends haplessly attempt to integrate themselves into local village life, they learn more about themselves and each other than they ever thought possible.