STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I always gravitate toward Lonely Planet books.  I don't have any experience specifically with the Europe ones -- only mexico, central and south america, but they have a fairly in depth section on history and culture.  definately comprehensive.

i think lonley planet tends to be slightly more budget oriented when it comes to accomodations and food, though, which could or could not be plus depending on what kind of trip you're doing.

thanks for the recs! I will check those out. I don't think I need a ton of info on lodging or transportation, because all that is taken care of by the company. We also have a tour guide and a pretty detailed itinerary. But it's been a long time since I took World History (and only a month or so of that was European), and I would prefer not to embody the Ugly American while there.

Has anyone read this? Or any Rick Steves books?

I swear by Fodors. Even if you are not looking for lodging & dining, they have good write ups on the history of sights.  Often times when we're traveling, even if we're just driving by something, I'll read out loud from the book about the region or a sight we're driving by.  They have a ton of walking tours that also give all kinds of cool inside information.

Fodors Europe will have information on customs, etc. for each country.  Tipping varies, and everyone speaks some English.  You will find the British hard to understand sometimes, the French are extremely rude (they just plain hate Americans for the most part - I think they're still pissed about the Louisiana purchase ), but they appreciate it if you at least try to speak a little French (even if it's just bon jour) usually, I always ask if they speak English before assuming it out of courtesy.

Switzerland - everyone speaks English, and a lot of people speak English in Italy, but if they don't they will go above and beyond to accomodate you (I swear, Italians have to be the nicest people in the world)

Tipping may vary in the different countries, but I can't recall what it is for each off the top of my head.

I would visit Fodors and read the on-line mini-guides they have for each country (those are pretty comprehensive in themselves.)

For taking along with you, you could get Fodors Europe, but there's a lot of information on other countries that you won't need on this trip - and it's fairly bulky. Your best bet is to get the Fodor's pocket guides for each country ($$) (or to save even more money, just print the pages of the guides on Fodors.com)

I would also suggest visiting Borders and looking at travel books to get an idea of what books fit what you're looking for - I often do that, then just order what I want on-line.