France Books

This is an excellent program for learning to speak French the way it's supposed to be spoken. School classes teaches the hard stuff, like grammar, etc., and not exactly how to speak/listen to the language. We tried a few other programs and were fairly disappointed until we got SmartFrench. This is an excellent program where you learn to speak, and as importantly, listen to French the way it's supposed to be spoken at different speeds. This first set of CDs (Introduction Vol 1 and Vol 2) will give you an introduction to simple everyday words, as well as some fundamental French language structure, and how to use them. Also, the 5 most used verbs are explained on their usage.

Finally, if you're an absolute beginner in the French language, this Vol 1 and Vol 2 will get you started in the right direction. Afterwards, the next sets (SmartFrench Beginner, Intermediate/Advanced) will get you further in developing the right speaking/listening skills. This program focuses mainly on the speaking/listening aspect of the language and it does it extremely well. This SmartFrench program should be used in conjunction with reading, watching French TV/movies, and working with other French grammar programs if you want total fluency in the language. Enjoy!

This is a wonderful learning tool. Along with Volume 1, you get the basics that you need to build a solid foundation for learning the language. The pacing of the lessons is just right, and they are very pleasant to listen to as well. You feel like you are in the hands of a good, smart, wise teacher. I love using it, and I recommend it strongly.

This method works. Period. I have a bookshelf full of French language learning tools (books, CD's, flashcards), and they seem useless now that I am using SmartFrench. I listen to it six days a week. I'm going to be able to converse at length with someone on the street in Paris when we go this summer. I have been studying French almost daily for 3 months, and I was to the point where I wished for a program (like this new SmartFrench method!) that would just teach the basics: the most used verbs, and an easy way to become proficient in counting (pay attention to how many times a day you say numbers and you'll see why it's critical in learning a foreign language). Because I'm tired of only learning to ask, "I would like a croissant", or "Where is the bathroom?", I am thrilled that this method is helping me to have a two-way conversation in French. I'm already speaking French to my twin (a French speaker) and she just laughs--she is so shocked at my progress.

This is a simple, simple program. The SmartFrench Audio Cds Beg I, Vol. 1 Vol. 2 (separate purchases) figured out which essential vocabulary words, verbs (4 of them), and phrases you need to know to speak French quickly. This method also teaches you counting. It's unbelievable that this simple, easy approach has never been done before. I'm glad someone finally did it! Some of the most successful, useful inventions become obvious to the rest of us after someone comes up with the idea, and we smack our foreheads with the palm of our hands thinking, "Why didn't I think of that? It's so obvious!" SmartFrench is like that.

The teacher on the CD is really gifted. He speaks at a perfect speed, or tempo, his voice is easy to listen to, and he's SMART! It's literally like taking a French class without having to go to school. He gives you tips, clues, and ideas on how to remember things. You get the sense that he truly, truly wants to help you become proficient in speaking French.

Have you felt like giving up on learning French? Try this program and you'll get excited about it again. Have a Francophile in your life? This would be the PERFECT GIFT for them.

Side note:
*Pay attention to which SmartFrench program you want. The titles are very similar. This program is called Beginner 1 Volume 1, and Beginner 1 Volume 2.
*Do not confuse the title with the CD entitled simply "Beginner Level"! That "Beginner Level" CD and the "Intermediate/Advanced Level" CD are also great, but have a different approach (VERY effective). Those CD's help tune your ear to the French language as you listen to native French speakers, at the same time teaching you to speak along with a really cool, innovative approach.
*The CD-Rom is also great. Very interactive. Nice to see the native French people speaking. Helps me to understand how to pronounce things even better and to see typical French mannerisms.

What a delightful trip back in time. Discover all of the benefits that are available to our wonderful letter carriers today and how they came about. This letter carrier, France Bozeman, was such an active memeber in the National Association of Letter Carriers that he was instrumental in providing some of the actual benefits that your letter carrier enjoys today. He mentions his many trips to Washington, D.C. to speak with the movers and the shakers about what was really happening in the local post offices and they really got involved.

You can read this book in one sitting and it is well worth it. You will become better informed and entertained at the same time. Mr Bozeman even includes his "famous" recipe for Barbecue Chicken and describes a cooking contest where he placed second. Now where can you find all of that in one small book?

Order this book or go to your local bookstore and purchase one for your letter carrier. They work very hard for you, and they would appreciate the gift.

Snail Mail versus Email is a rare treat. The book reads warmly and invites you to sit a spell as the story unfolds. It follows the experiences and humorous reflections of a small town mail carrier during the post World War II era. Before computers, electronic messaging and mail sorting machines, the men and women of the American Golden Age wrote, sorted and delivered mail with a neighbor's touch.

The pages walk you down the lane of the author's life, every stop along the way is a new story. The author describes everything from dealing with attack dogs, outsmarting contriving supervisors, to dealing with politicians while he was working to reform the system. And with the wit of a grandfather storyteller, he leaves the reader trying to decide which is worse!

While some might object that the book has little to do with Email, I think they're missing the point. The book is about working people in the pre-electronic age. I can't think of a grandparent or anyone with a grandparent who wouldn't enjoy Snail Mail.

About 2 weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to meet France Bozeman. He served with my grandfather during WWII. I can honestly say that he is just as interesting and entertaining in print as he is in person. This book is very humorous and informative. It kept my attention from start to finish. I would highly recommend it as a fascinating slice of Americana.

I really enjoyed reading Sophie's Diary. It is a wonderful book and its description of struggle of young Sophie to teach herself basic mathematics is fascinating. I'm amazed by a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from history of mathematics to history of the French Revolution, covered by this book and by a perfect balance between fiction, historical facts and the fundamental concepts of mathematics introduced in the book. In addition to an engaging story of Sophie's personal struggle and a thoughtful account of life of ordinary people during the French Revolution, the book's greatest value is educational with its profound message of how a mixture of wonder, resourcefulness and hard work can get you to the top of the field of your interest. Indeed, this is a beautiful book, one of its kind, and it'd be a must read book for students and instructors interested in this subject, as well as for anyone trying to encourage young women into science and mathematics. This is a book to buy for yourself and then buy ten more copies to give as gifts to your friends.

Although the character in Sophie's Diary is fictitious, one can easily believe the diary was written by the real Sophie Germain, who grew up to become a great mathematician. Reading this book one gets a sense of the world in which Sophie Germain grew up. I liked the book, but sometimes it gets hard to read because of the mathematics. However, one can imagine that a girl who likes mathematics would write a journal that not only describes what is going on around her, but also the things she is learning, since she did not have anybody to share that with.
Good book to motivate and to be a source of inspiration for young women interested in mathematics, and for anyone who likes to read about the history of mathematics.

This book is not for little girls! Actually, it is a book for adults with knowledge of mathematics or at least some interest in the subject.
Someone gave "Sophie's Diary" to my 13-year old niece, thinking that it was like other books for young adult readers, but after she read about 20 pages my niece gave up for there was "too much math".
"Sophie's Diary" should be advertised as containing a great deal of math analysis, history of mathematics, and historical facts from the French Revolution.

Knowing that, one can enjoy reading about the struggle of a teenager teaching herself mathematics amidst the chaos of the social conflicts that led to the French Revolution. The author put in perspective the topics of mathematics that the girl had to learn in order to become one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.

I urge you to buy this book or at least look at it. It is a beautiful book. Charming in style with beautiful images. But the best part is that it is not just a rehash of old recipes, or recipes congured up to be different. When you eat one of these soups, there is a depth to the flavor, and you could think you were in France. I commend the author for preserving these old soups.

The French didn't invent soup (though the word "restaurant" refers to soup and is a French word.) But they sure embrace soup as an important food. Personally, I love soup and think it is indeed a restorative; easy to digest, good on cold days and soothing to sip slowly. A well-made soup may be humble, like bean soup, or insanely complex and elegant like a crab or lobster bisque.

The Soups of France is more or less organized by French "Department" or area of the country. The accompanying photographs are excellent quality and show the beautiful and varied French countryside.

There are 84 different soups, from cabbage, bean, the inevitable Potage Crecy (cream of carrot) to game soup and rabbit soup. The only soup missing is the ubiquitous no-name soup that is to be found in every cafe or inn no matter where you are in France--it's a puree of (leftover?) vegetables in a veal broth base with cream and you usually find it on the menu as the soupe du jour. It's delicious and I hope someday someone will provide a recipe for it (maybe with the stock used) as it's a fine homey thing and one you can make when the family forgets to finish all the rutabagas and parsnips.

The book is in a large, square format and is a must for any Francophile or cooking afficionado. Interesting reading, pretty with nice recipes. A great gift for the foody in your family.

With all the scenery and none of the rude people, this book is better (and certainly much more affordable) than a trip to France. For those of us who remember--and sorely miss--the Rotherts' restaurant, "DuJour" in Fort Wayne, the recipes are a godsend. Let's hope Lois sells many many many copies and uses the royalties to publish a companion cookbook ... of Larsh's bread recipes!

Though many in the U.S. are more familiar with hearing names like Fodor's or Rough Guide, Cadogan Guides are among the best you will ever find! I orginally checked out this series because the guide series I wanted was sold out. However, as soon as I began flipping through these guides, I was hooked. You will not find a higher-quality product in any price range!

Full of cultural insight and truly HELPFUL tourist info, Cadogan gives you a feel of what or where exactly you are visiting and why it is important. Cleverly written, the editors are able to infuse a dose of humor without detracting from the factual presentation.

This guide will not only give you all the maps, directions, tips, and hints for success on your trip to Southern France, but will actually teach you enough so that you don't HAVE to feel like a tourist.

Witty, insightful, and affordable, Cadogan Guides remain the best buy for your money. They will also work great as a cultural supplement to any bare-bones guides you're taking.

If you are looking for a travel guide that not only provides an overview of the most important sights, places to eat, stay, etc., but does so in a contextualized setting where you also have at your fingertips a detailed description of the region's history, art, architecture, culture, and cuisine, then the Cadogan series will be the perfect match. This is the kind of travel guide that you can read just for fun, to learn about a place and its history, even if you have no intention of or opportunity to visit the place in person. Once you've flipped through its pages, though, chances are it will have whet your appetite to get on the next plane and explore everything you've just read about. As with the Cadogan books on Italy and Spain by the same authors, this book gives an excellent detailed summary of the political and social history of southern France, along with chapters on the area's different cultures, languages, and arts. This introductory material is followed by a series of chapters devoted to each sub-region, including an unusually strong emphasis on the Languedoc in addition to Provence.

My husband and I are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel once or twice a year. I always plan for our trips by buying and studying 3 guidebooks, one with lots of pictures, the Blue Guide to the site in question, and if available, the Cadogan guide. Most guide books contain practical information and cover the major tourist attractions almost like a top-ten list. The Cadogan guides, written by individuals who have lived in the region, delve much deeper, providing coverage of smaller, little known places that are fun to find and explore. I know of no better way to discover and experience local life and color. We are independent travellers, almost always booking flights, cars, and reservations on our own on the web. We also enjoy delving into places off the beaten track. The detail in Cadogan is much more encompassing than that in any other guide we have used. The driving directions are usually right on the money. Its literary, architectural, and historical information is particularly helpful. We have discovered many little known gems because of these guides. If you prefer group tours that stop for short periods at several locations, Loire and other Cadogan books are too detailed. But if you have the time to wander a bit, these are the guides for you.
Regarding South of France specifically, its coverage of artists, writers, ancient ruins, food and wine, history, villages, beaches, and local color is superb. Vignettes are provided for each area on topics of interest unique to the site. An added bonus is the enjoyment of rereading the guide to stimulate memories of where we've been. Can't recommend South of France highly enough if you have the time for an extended visit.

Vernon Johnson is today one of the least well known of a fabulously gifted circle of English Catholic writers of the 1920s through the 1940s which included G.K. Chesterton, Hillaire Belloc, Ronald Knox, and Abbot Vonier. Johnson was not as prolific as any of those men, but what he did write is choice.

"Spiritual Childhood" is the product of some 20 years of meditation on the subject of St. Therese of Lisieux, whose spiritual legacy inspired Johnson's conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism (as chronicled in his wonderful book One Lord, One Faith, recently reissued by Ignatius Press).

Written in a beautifully lucid and simple style, "Spiritual Childhood" reflects the distilled wisdom gathered over a lifetime by a faithful priest and pastor of souls. Where the book is most helpful and profound is on the question of suffering. Not everyone suffers to the same extent. But some have been given to know all too well what Jeremiah meant when he wrote: "The Lord our God has doomed us; He has made us drink a bitter draft... we looked for relief, but instead there is terror" (9:14-23). Or the words of the Psalmist: "You have crushed us in a place of sorrows, and covered us with the shadow of death... Why do you hide your face and forget our oppression and misery?" (43:20, 25).

To taste of this is to know how crushing, how soul-shattering suffering can be -- and how inviting the option of despair becomes, and how tempting the dark alternative encompassed in Hamlet's question.

It is very hard to find spiritual writing that can provide consolation in the midst of the spiritual desolation brought on by profound suffering... but "Spiritual Childhood" is one such book. Ultimately, the logic of despair can only be escaped by dint of a new perspective. But the power of despair lies in its capacity to destroy such alternative perspectives, to see through them, with a kind of demonic ingenuity, as meaningless charades or sophistry. For the heart, too, turns hard and cold, bitter both towards grace and the Savior who would bring it. One may hear a knocking, but the response is: Go away. Leave me alone. Or worse.

I do not know what Johnson experienced in his life, but this book reflects a very deep and sympathetic understanding of the problem of suffering, and with it a capacity to offer a fresh perspective that can allow one to see one's suffering in a new light, like the sun rising in the darkness. And too, there is some special grace associated with Therese of Lisieux, and her doctrine of spiritual childhood, that has a way of penetrating the heart, even the heart embittered by despair, and allowing grace to enter in.

There is much wisdom in this book for all Christians -- it is very fine, and should be more widely known. Any Catholic book reader will find much to cherish on these pages.

But "Spiritual Childhood" has a special value for those who may happen to be in a state of intense suffering or despair -- for such souls, I truly believe that reading this book can be a form of spiritual therapy, a real channel of healing grace -- a living embodiment of Fr. Johnson's kind, wise, and generous priestly ministry.

St. Therese of Lisieux is one of my favorite saints. You will love reading about her life. She is truly inspiring.

This book is essential to anyone seeking to follow Christ's call to be like "little children." Vernon Johnson, a convert from the Anglican church, magnificently distills Therese's sublime insights without distorting her.

One cannot read this book without coming away with a greater understanding of what being a child of God means. Yet, this is not a book about the intellect but rather a book about the heart. It will certainly inspire every reader to want to love God like Therese did.

I have owned a copy of this for 30 years (when the full retail price was $2.00). I am helping coach someone taking a Stats course, and I wanted to see if we could get them a copy. I am delighted to see it is still available. It is a very clear description of statistical methodology (The underlying mathematical theory is NOT presented.) I have found some of the charts in the appendix to be unique--and very helpful in UNDERSTANDING the inter-relationships. (One graph shows the confidence intervals for the correlation coefficient showing how more data points are needed for rho close to zero.)

This is an outstandingly clear handbook of basic, traditional statistics. There's no theory here, but there are large numbers of practical procedures, including significance testing, regressions, and simple experiment design. Each chapter cover a wide variety of circumstances, and forces a reader to think very hard about just what information is available and just what answers are expected of it.

If you're used to books that list the tests, the procedures, and the tables of p-values, this will probably offer more choices and more detailed discussion than usual. It won't help a lot if you have an unusual circumstance that requires customized analysis, though, and doesn't talk much about the principles under the procedures. Also, it makes almost no mention of non-parameteric techniques.

The one warning I have is that it dates back to pre-computer days. It's full of slick tricks for pencil&paper calculation, with approximations that let you skip a step or two. Back then, computational tips were very welcome. Today, though, they just put a false face in front of the actual operations being performed. The insight available in the basic statement of a computation is often lost.

If you just want basic answers to basic problems, this is about the most useful book I've seen. It won't make you a statistician, but will put you well ahead of most stats users.

This is a superb 'How To' book for all basic statisticsl tests, methods. etc. Simple explanantions, lots of examples, step-by-step how-to do many statistical analyses. I used it during grad school and for 30+ years thereafter. Very useful and useable. If you are trying to buy a book to explain, use, practice statistics, then definitely buy this one!

This book came to me as a gift. It had never occurred to me that I'd want to see Southern France. Nevertheless I eased into it, and very soon this writer's lyrical prose drew me into his narrative. I began to not only see this place Mr. Christensen and his family had fallen in love with, but I could smell it, feel its warm breezes -- and I began seeing myself touring Provence.

Here's a prose master, a writer at the top of his craft, and whether or not you are interested in this part of France now, soon enough you'll find yourself pulled along, eager to see and feel and smell the old hills and tiny hamlets that are the center of this memoir.

Paul Christensen is now on my list of writers to be read for style as well as content. A wonderful find!

Most travel stories don't have the depth. This book was more philosophical and spiritual. There were passages worth remembering and reflecting upon. I better understand my keen interest and attachment to France and nature. It was food for my soul. I especially related to the idea of the three types of people on the planet. I'm now reading a novel by Gustaf Sobin who befriended Paul in Provence. I too love the Luberon and all it signifies and offers that's not available in the U.S.

Anyone who has already fallen in love with France and its South or may want to, but has dared not, order in this beautifully written memoir of the author and his family's love affair with the French and Provencal people and cultures. Travel guides about Provence abound. This book is much more than a sight seers handbook, intended to lure us to the villages, marketplaces, restaurants, and ruins of one of the most interesting, beautiful, and ancient regions of France. Its uniqueness lies in its author's careful crafting of his philosophy of life and how Provence has supported his ongoing search for meaning, value, satisfaction, true pleasure, and spirit. Those of us who have been torn between two loves, in this case, the love of our own country and that of some foreign land, will find validation in Professor Christensen's self-disclosure and exploration of his ambivalence, which he did not allow to interfere with his family's choice to make France their home, while honoring that choice and his commitment to teaching at his Texas university. As a frequent visitor to Provence and to the area in which Professor Christensen and his family made their home, my own senses and memories were stirred--the sights, sounds, aromas, tastes, and grace of my favorite place to nurture my soul. If you have not shared this experience yet, you just may want to, if you read this inspiring book.

Stephen Walsh has done a job of research that boggles the mind. Revelations on every page about an elusive composer who projected so many personas and opinions he seemed almost a chameleon. Can't wait for Volume two.

This major British musicologist has produced the most significant piece of work on Igor Stravinsky to date. It has changed our views of the man and his work as well of some of his associates. When will the final volume appear?

Stravinsky was a fine composer who contributed to the development of modernism in art, but little about his personal life reveals his background. This biographical sketch evaluates both his music and his art, examining his contributions with a critical eye to revealing how his past influenced his creations and eventually his world. An excellent, in-depth critical profile evolves.

After having purchased almost all of Amazon's collection on sundials, I eagerly awaited this book's delivery. From the first page, I regretted not having bought it before as Sir Mark Lennox Boyd has produced a masterpiece. Anyone who has an appreciation for gnomonics should get this book. Although it contains technical information, it's the historical journey which is most engaging.

This is an excellent book for the layman as well as for an accomplished sundial expert. It shows the evolution of humankind's interest in the passage and the marking of time. And if you look on page 123 you will see photographs of Kate Pond's contemporary sun-aligned public sculptures.

You are used to seeing a sundial in the middle of a garden, and if you are like me, you look at the shadow, then compare the time to a wrist-borne chronometer, and note that the sundial is off by however many minutes. In _Sundials: History, Art, People, Science_ by Mark Lennox-Boyd I learned that this is at least doubly wrong. The author quotes Hilaire Belloc: "I am a sundial and I make a botch / Of what is done much better by a watch." He complements the wit of the couplet, and shows the errors. Firstly, he points out, sundials tell time perfectly well; they simply measure time differently than watches do, but neither of them is objectively "right". Secondly, sundials are not merely garden ornaments, and only one in this profusely illustrated and colorful book is from that category. The dials shown here are often scientific instruments and elaborate works of art that sometimes do not look like sundials at all. Not only are many styles of sundial illustrated here, but the science and history of making them is summarized; the reader will come away with a much better idea of how the solar system runs from the contemplation of these not-so-humble instruments.

Lennox-Boyd (or actually Sir Mark, since he has been, besides a Patron of the British Sundial Society, a Member of Parliament and a Foreign Office Minister), says that the association of the dial with the garden began in the Renaissance, not because the dials were ornaments, but because teachers of the time often used the garden as a place where lessons of science could be delivered. There are pictures here of artwork and architecture that one would not expect to be sundials at all. The Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento River in California is a suspension bridge, suspended on one side of the river from a huge, slanted support. The support just happens to be slanted at the correct angle to make it a gnomon, and its huge shadow sweeps along the ground beneath. The huge sundial at Jaipur in India has a gnomon that is big enough to walk up, fifty steep stairs. A Dutchman has designed beer glasses that you turn until the sunbeam through a circle on one side of the glass hits the date line on the other side; you can then tell if the time is after 5 p.m., the time when the inventor says the glass ought to be filled. There is a picture of a spherical sundial invented by Thomas Jefferson. The Disney World offices in Florida are "entertainment architecture", and part of the fun is that a central room is shaped like a truncated cone and has gigantic sundials visible on the outside and the inside, with quotations about time on marble plaques from such notables as Albert Einstein and Donald Duck. Sir Mark himself designs sundials, some of which are shown here. The most ambitious is one in Oliveto, Italy, within the stair tower of a house; a system of mirrors sends a sunbeam during different times of the day to different walls of the stairwell, each intricately crisscrossed with lines to read time, date, times of sunrise and sunset, and more.

Sir Mark points out that since we now have clocks accurate to more than one second in fifteen million years, sundials ought to be obsolete, but they are not. There has been a resurgence of interest in them, both in the historical forms and the modern ones which come in strange and undial-like shapes. "There is a particular symbolism in an object that does something helpful but requires no power and performs indefinitely," he writes. He is clearly fascinated with his subject, and this lovely and colorful book conveys the fascination perfectly.