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10. TSAR: THE LOST WORLD OF NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA By Peter Kurth (Little, Brown; $60). Perhaps it's because we know the Russian imperial family were slaughtered in a Siberian hovel that their graceful life has such enduring appeal. Nicholas and Alexandra were shutterbugs themselves and kept scrapbooks that record the growth of their pretty children and the family's annual progress through palaces and yachts. The heart of the book is its eloquent detail. The tsarevich's little drum, the tsarina's snowy parasols have the impact of domestic artifacts found in a mummy's tomb, bringing a remote past shockingly alive.
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11. TUSCANY Photographs by Sonja Bullaty and Angelo Lomeo; text by Marie-Ange Guillaume (Abbeville; $45). Tuscany ages well. It probably has something to do with the food, the wine, the art and centuries of adoration by foreigners. That this New York City husband-and-wife photography team can retain an enthusiastic eye after 30 years of travel through the region is evident in their fresh images of familiar Tuscan sights: Florence's rooftops, bell towers and famous statuary; Pisa's leaning tower; country villas and vineyards.
12. QUEEN MARY By James Steele. (Phaidon/Chronicle; $55). The wish book of the year. The liner's glory days between the wars coincided with the apogee of Art Deco. This volume can be enjoyed as a catalog of an elegant, seductive style or, better yet, as a guide to travel in a luxury no longer available, even to the rich. The swimming pools of the three classes are so beckoning it is hard to choose among them. The insinuating lighting and the low, enticing lounge fittings call for ambrosia and a suspension of time.