France Books

Other reviewers have told the story of this memoir: a young American water-colorist goes to France in the 1960s to study and falls in love with a handsome, caring and gifted French painter whom she marries and with whom she has a child. They move to a remote Breton village and as the husband's behavior grows more erratic, suppressive and then violent from mental illness, his young wife finds stability and a deep friendship with an old Breton peasant woman who has seldom been more than a few miles from her village, cannot read or write, and would not speak on a telephone if she had one. The friendship grows to a rare and unexpected love.

The author's tribute to her peasant friend whose support gave her the strength to go on with her life and work is absolutely beautiful. It gives me great faith in what life can be. I number this among my most treasured books and will soon be reading it again.

I am the author of MARRYING MOZART and several other novels.

This is one of those books you just don't want to put down, and my only complaint is that it isn't longer!! Price is a skilled writer who can describe a scene as carefully as I think she could sketch it (she is an artist by profession). I'll try to constrain my remarks to my impression of her book because I don't want to give away the twists and turns in the story. As mentioned in the publishers review, this is the story of a woman in the 60's who marries and has a house in rural France, her marriage falling apart at the same time her bond with a country woman who on paper she has nothing in common with grows. Her descriptions are so vivid you think you were an eyewitness, which is doubly fortunate because she is present at the close of an era. As she remarks, when she first moved there many people were living not that much different than people did in the Middle Ages, but electricity and the modern conveniences changed all that. As mentioned, a lot of the story centers around her friendship with a neighbor who lived her whole life within perhaps a 3-mile circle of the village. This is a double-edged sword. While her elderly friend is a bridge to a past that is fast disappearing in the 60's, I think the author still harbors some guilt about not being present for her friend at the end. But as the subtitle says, a memoir of love and loss. To sum up, Price is a gifted writer and I hope she is penning another book as we speak!

One of those rare books that you cannot put down, knowing as you are reading it that you will be sorry when the book ends. I don't normally keep many books after I am finished reading them, but this one is a keeper. A beautiful story of a woman discovering herself and also that of her friendship with someone you would think she had nothing in common with.

This is a profound and touching memoir of the joys, sorrows and personal growth of a young America artist. Marjorie Price's life is changed in ways she could never have anticipated when she leaves Chicago for Paris in the 1960's to enhance her art and to experience all things French. She marries a French artist, and together they buy a centuries-old farm in a tiny hamlet in Brittany. As her marriage unravels, Price and her young daughter become more comfortable with their new neighbors and their rural, unmechanized way of life. A central theme, and for me the most touching one, is the way Price forges an affecting relationship with a remarkable older woman who has lived all her life in the hamlet.

Events and dialogue are recreated in a flowing dramatic narrative, laced with elements of sadness and humor. Every scene, every venue, is real and present, drawing the reader in as if witness to a staged play. Always the artist, Price perceives her natural surroundings in their ever-changing light and array of colors and forms, and paints it all with words as effective as brush strokes.

"This is a wonderful story of the coming together of cultures and generations. A woman artist finds herself in a foreign land; in spite of facing loneliness and hardship, she finds love right where she is in the friendship with an elderly village woman, and the friendship changes the foreigner's life. She learns new tricks to survive in the ancient French village and earns the respect of the villagers as she adjusts to her new life. It is a compelling story and you feel it really comes from the heart."

Fred Andresen, Author of Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia.

Aubrey Burl's previous works were showing a wee bit of dating. As carbon dating become more accurate, you are seeing these ancient rings grow older in age instead of younger as they anticipated. While Burl's previous works were amazing, this long awaited "update" of this information, as well as addition information on more recent excavations make this is must. Yes, it expensive. But it's worth every penny. There are new insight in the the purpose of the rings of stone, a new interpretation of Calanais (sorry, as a Scot I refuse to call it Callanish!) and Stonehenge

The beautiful book is loaded with hundreds of photos, explores the ancestry, methods of construction and why they were abandoned after thousands of years of use.

Marvelous work made even better by bringing the information up to date.

I recently returned from a vacation over in Ireland/Scotland/Wales where for 4 weeks I and 2 of my friends researched and visited stone circles throughout the Isles. Aubrey Burl definitely has written an essential resource you should pick up if you have the intentions of going to see them. He touches on a great number of "out of the way" stone circles not widely known in areas and gives precise directions on how to get to them. It is almost like a treasure hunt, you never knwo what is around the corner in Aubrey's book! A definite must get for the stone circle enthusiast. Don't even think about putting this book down. Get a map, get this book, and go hunting for these great spiritual centers.

My husband and I are very interested in ancient cultures and especially stone circles; this book told us where they were, what to expect to see, and how to get there (which wasn't always very easy!) We were able to pick an area of England with a heavy concentration of good quality circles based on his descriptions and pictures, and with book in hand, see many of the ones we chose. Mr. Burl is kind enough to mention when the going is tough, and he was always right. The only thing that could make this book any more invaluable as a field guide would be inclusion of Surveyor's Maps of the areas...but those can be purchased easily in the countries in question. (Color photos would've been nice, too!) Highly recommended for real trip-planning, or just for inspiration!

Just what it says on the box - an excellent reference, whether planning your trip or on the road. Complete with location maps and National Grid references.

I am not accustomed to purchasing so expensive and specialized a book, but in the early autumn of 1979, I had the privilege of working on a Scottish dig run by Dr. Burl, and I have long admired his scholarship and dedication---and this revision is, simply put, GREAT! The depth of information is astounding, and I found the the presentation engrossing, the subject fascinating, and the style quite readable---certainly NOT only for students or devotees of archaeology. I can't recommend this one highly enough---it may seem like something of an indulgence for your personal library, but it's worth every penny. Alas, the book is far to heavy to carry about in one's luggage, but I've already marked at least two dozen sites that I want to visit the next time I cross the Atlantic. In the meantime, settle back in a comfortable chair and get ready to cast your mind back a couple of millenia...

HOW TO WOW is like having a trusted adviser/wise friend whispering in your ear and guiding you along. This book is a refreshing addition to this genre, and can be read cover to cover, or, thanks to the incredibly detailed and helpful table of contents, you can dip in and out, and easily find the topic that best suits your immediate needs. Frances Cole Jones provides advice that is smart and savvy, but most important of all, TIMELESS. Do yourself a favor and buy this book.

Frances Cole Jones knows how to deliver. I wish I had this book 10 years ago. Truly helpful. I love when she says : "What 3 words would you use to describe yourself? ".

I've read a dozen or so books of this type, usually when I'm looking for a mental primer or reminder of sorts of what I should do, just before I have to present in front of a crowd or be particularly persuasive in a written presentation. While most books of this genre are useful, I find many are either difficult to read and absorb in an afternoon or two and so I lose most of the message without intense study, or, alternately, they are so light and easy that they provide little new useful information beyond the obvious.

How to Wow, is neither of these extremes, but strikes just the right balance, and represents the best in a crash course in presenting ideas and being persuasive - in making presentations, in "one on one" encounters, in meetings, in interviews, etc. It's full of useful, usable ideas but written in a concise format, using persuasive language (the author puts in practice what she talks about in the "Put It in Writing" chapter). From the "don't-leave-home-without-them" general principles at the beginning of the book, to the "question and answer" information at the end, there is a lot of good useful advice and information in just 200 or so pages, presented clearly, and including a concise summary at the end of each chapter. It's hard not to take a away a lot of good new information, whether you're a seasoned veteran at presenting yourself or brand new in the business world.

If you have a limited amount of time and want to brush up on how to write and present a speech (or powerpoint), make a "one on one" pitch, conduct a meeting or interview, or just be at your best in a social situation, this book is well worth reading.

John Possumato
Possumato.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpossumato

How To Wow is spot on about how to burnish you presence in the world. Spoken with a humorous and a non condescending tone, Frances Jones easily presents and diffuses some of the most basic yet vexing conundrums of the business of life. Whether you are titan of industry or intern with your first toe in the door "How to Wow", like any good encyclopedia, reminds you of what your mother, teacher or mentor taught you and more importantly explains what they didn't.

Excellent read, open to any page and walk a way a little sharper for it.

I really appreciated how the author cut to the chase with much of her advice. It's all very practical and, though I'm just getting started implementing the advice, it gives me confidence just knowing that I have her tips to get me started when I think about presenting or business-socializing in an unfamiliar environment.

In volume five of Proust's massive and perspicacious `a la recherché,' we find the narrator Marcel, slowly, yet surely, falling out of love with Albertine. Proust is extraordinarily masterful at evoking the painful (and yet very real) feeling of gradual disaffection, which all lovers must inevitably face with each other. Marcel pontificates endlessly and relentlessly on Albertine. He loves, her (or maybe we should say him), he doesn't love her, he loves her, he doesn't love her, etc. etc. Until, finally, the moment of decision, he tells her that he does not love her and wishes her to leave, insisting that she will be happier without him. Of course, the moment Albertine departs, Marcel is in despair, he has lost has love, and Albertine is reduced to the status of the `fugitive.' This volume is one of the most beauteous and thoughtful unfolding of the loss of love, and the painful convalescence that transpires in the subsequent period. Marcel goes to Venice, and explores that wondrous and ancient European city, and he sends help to find Albertine, only to discover that she has died in a horseback accident. In addition to the tragic loss of Albertine, Marcel grows continually disenchanted with the aristocratic world to which he belongs. Proust is brilliant in his ability to sustain this massive web of characters, as he reintroduces figures from the early stages of the search, such as Gilberte (Marcel's first love), and Mme Verdurin. This book evokes the meaning of life as it unfolds temporally, and the meaning of relationships throughout the course of a lifetime, and how they change and drift in and out of focus at different stages. It is one of the great works of Western literature.

The 7th of March I found this book, ISBN:0713996048. Now it's the 12th and I've returned to buy the book,except I can't locate it on the site! What is going on? Where's the first volume in the set? I'm so frustrated by this. I waited for years for the new translation to be completed.Help me!

This is volume five of the superlative new translation of "In Search of Lost Time," containing the two books of the Albertine cycle, which are now titled "The Prisoner" (translated by Carol Clark) and "The Fugitive" (tr. Peter Collier). Though I haven't yet read their translations, I have found the new editions to be a wonderful improvement over those done in the 1920s by Charles Scott Moncrieff. So I have no hesitation in giving them five stars.

Unhappily for American readers, current U.S. copyright law prevents Viking/Penguin from publishing the last two volumes of "Lost Time" in this country until 95 years after Proust's death, or 2018. The first four volumes have been published here in handsome hardcovers (more handsome than the British edition), but the only way to obtain this and the final volume ("Finding Time Again") is to find an imported British hardcover or paperback. -- Dan Ford

Modern Library's Volume V deals with the relationship between Marcel and Albertine. It is a complex, psychological relationship to say the least. In the Captive, Albertine lives with Marcel in his apartment in Paris and in The Fugitive one wonders who is, in fact, more captive -- Albertine or Marcel. It would seem to be Albertine for whom Marcel possesses an obsessive love and concurrent fear of her sapphic penchant. But it is also Marcel who will sacrifice experience if he makes a commitment to her. Who is more free, the captive or the fugitive? Proust raises questions about how to serve best the artist's quest for beauty. In fact, how does one really ever "capture" the beauty of life in art or music or literature? Even in a masterpiece, is it not beauty the fugitive that usually dwells just beyond one's capture? Or like Vinteuil's septet or the music of Wagner or the painting of Rembrandt, is the best for which one can hope of fugitive beauty only a brief fleeting experience? Are the vast tracts of time spent to understand the beauty and meaning of life worth it? As a writer does he not habitually surrender life in order to capture it? Or is the pursuit of the capture of the beauty of life in fact where one realizes its most sublime value? One sees in Proust toward the end of The Fugitive a member of society who respects it but chooses by reasons of health not to position himself so visibly within it. Despite his family name and vast but dwindling fortune inherited from his beloved grandmother, he seems to become somewhat ultimately disenchanted with the intricacies of Faubourg-St. Germain society to which he devotes so much of his writing. He recognises society's shallow obsession with materialism and rampant snobbery but his own place in society is captured by its complex history and tacit rules and Marcel is inescapably a captive of his own culture. When Albertine is lost to him toward the end of the volume, as in the prior volumes, the story line's serial intrigue advances most. Characters from prior volumes reappear, reminiscent of Balzac, whom Proust adored, but like him they change,too, and usually for the worse over time. The great tapestry of the characters of Proust -- Albertine, Gilberte, Swann, Brichot, Bloch, Charlus, Morel, Saint-Loup -- ultimately surprise and usually disappoint him. As to nagging questions about Proust's own orientation, "Personally I found it absolutely immaterial from a moral standpoint whether one took one's pleasure with a man or a woman, and only too natural and human that one should take it where one could find it." I found myself wishing that Proust had written more about Bloch and Saint-Loup and Gilberte, and less about Albertine. But she was, like his work, the one obsession, the endeavor of which understanding he could never escape and never quite marry -- she was his beauty and his art. She was the breath of life itself from his pen and from his experience of life as seen through the eyes of a true genius.

The Albertine episodes make more sense if we assume this is a homosexual ralationship. Albertine's independence, and her being allowed to live in a young man's apartment, and other aspects of her social life do not seem likely for a young woman in the nineteen hundreds. Marcel's (and incidentally this is the only volume where he refers to himself as Marcel) suspicions then become the gay lover's fears that his lover prefers heterosexuality. Albertine is the only female in the Recherche who never gets married.
Apart from these external clues there is quality about the the affection Marcel feels that suggests a gay rather than a straight relationship.
This volume marks a turning point in the narrator's fascination with the aristocracy. From here on disenchantment sets in, and the references to homosexuality become almost homophobic.

I very much enjoyed Michelle Caffrey's honest and fresh account of the agony and ecstasy of barge life. Being a fellow bargee, I can well relate to both the fears and the exhileration she writes about in her account of their first year of barging. It also made me long to cast off the ropes of my own barge and go travelling again - something I will be doing very shortly too. Thanks for a fun and inspiring read, Michelle.

This review was posted on Amazon Canada by Jan Rehner:
You don't have to know anything about barging or boats to love this book. All you need is a desire to learn about Burgundy France from a unique perspective. Michelle Caffrey tells her true-life story of buying and refitting a lovely barge and lets you drift with her along the tree-lined canals of one of France's most beautiful regions. Textured with fascinating characters and the rich detail of food, wine, and countryside, this book lets you "just imagine" an intriguing and peaceful life style--with a good measure of surprise and humour mixed in.

Most books of this nature are re-hashes of the same story, but "Imagine...." goes a few steps further. It is well written and, for me, it was a good one-day read; not because I couldn't put it down....because I wouldn't put it down. It was that enjoyable. If you have ever thought about owning a barge, a boat, or even an RV, you will be able to enjoy this tremendously. This is a story of their first year. I hope there is a follow-up coming.

John Hardman

Like many of us, the Caffreys have a gipsie hidden deep in their soul. They were able to set theirs free. I'm extremely jealous. I've lived in Europe before and would love to find a way to return for extended stays. Barging is a recent lifestyle discovery for me and Just Imagine, has shown me the way to return to the old country and free my inner gipsie.
As something of a technical geek, the descriptions of the boats they looked at and the buying process they went through to find Imagine was of most interest to me. I now have a better idea of not only what kind of boat to buy but how to go about finding one. I did enjoy reading about the places and people they met but I'm also an explorer at heart, looking forward to my own discoveries. Their sense of entrepreneurship in starting Barge and Breakfast was also of interest as my wife and I both are involved in teaching entrepreneurship at Colorado Mountain College. My exposure to Roma people in Eastern Europe taught me that if you are going to be a gipsie, you also better be an entrepreneur. Sharing my boat with strangers in close quarters is not my idea of fun but it works for them. Proving that there are many ways to fund your dreams if you are creative. Seems like that is what "Just Imagine: New Life on an Old Boat" is all about anyway.
If there are any criticisms of the book it would be that the closer I got to the end of the story, the more grammatical mistakes I found. Not serious stuff but an indication that maybe barging is really more fun than writing about it.
Sail on friends. Some day we will gather by a campfire on the same riverbank to share a bottle of fine wine and a story or two.

I have been to france many times and Michelle's story brought it all back to me. Her descriptions of the trials and tribulations made me wonder if I could ever be as brave as they were to take all this on. It was fabulous as her words helped me to remember the beauty of the landscape and the thoughts of the food and wine made my stomach growl. What a great story and a very easy and fun read.

I absolutely loved this collection of her letters, journal and diary entries, as well as letters by suitor and future husband John Love, and her friends. It's at times a very emotional read. You don't want the book to end and you definitely are itching for more info about their life together after they were married at the book's end. Author John McPhee, who wrote the forward , mentioned I believe that more of Ethel Waxham Love's writings exist and are still unpublished. Hopefully they will be published soon. Check out McPhee's Rising From the Plains which is a combination history and geology exploration centering on John David Love, John and Ethel's son. He was home-schooled by Ethel, Yale-educated and became a preeminent geologist of the Wyoming and Rocky Mountain region. There is quite a bit of info on John David's early years growing up on the Love Ranch in Wyo. and further info on his Mom and Dad's life after marriage. It's an interesting blend of geology lesson interspersed with J.D.s personal and family story. J.D. shared his mother's letters and such with McPhee and his book was the first time they were published- though he used only a small portion of what was available to him. Then Lady's Choice was published about 10 years later if I'm not mistaken. Director Ken Burns and Co. then later featured excerpts of the Love's story in their PBS series and book, The West.

This is one of the best books I've ever read and the subject matter is really interesting and engrossing. It's much more than a bunch of dry letters and diary entries that's for sure.

The book was compiled and edited by two of the Love's grandaughters, Barbara Love and Francis Love Froidevaux, with a forward by John McPhee.

I love stories of women in the American west. Ethel's limited diary entries are insightful and often funny. I also loved the letters from her varied group of friends, most of them educated women who were pursuing the only career choice available to them: teaching. John Love's determined, romantic letters to Ethel were poignant and irresistible. As her options narrowed, his steady offer became more and more attractive, but unfortunately, he could not deliver on many of his promises. I could have read much more about her life after their marriage! If letters and writings exist, I wish another collection could be published. For me, this book was a page-turner.

If you are looking for a book that captures the real-life essence of the hardship and romance of the American West, look no further; this book has it all. A wonderfully written story of the lives and loves of the ordinary pioneering people who made America great.

This collection is truly wonderful. Ethel Waxham and many of her correspondents are of such intelligence, perceptiveness, spirit, and wit that they are, as John McPhee says of Ethel Waxham in the Forward, irresistable. The jounal entries and the letters make it clear that the story of Ethel Waxham's journey from Wellesley to the ranch on Muskrat creek just south of Moneta was deeper and more complex than the story of the PBS series. The endnotes are particularly good -- a story in and of themselves. I do wish there were more pictures of the ranch itself and its surroundings (even from today), "where the gray hills lie, Eternally still, under the sky," and the people, and I wish that I could know more about Ethel Waxham and the authors of the letters. I also wish that the unpublished sources were available -- as they are by "EPW" and J. D. Love, both of whom are of indisputable eloquence, they would make wonderful reading. And finally, as stated by McPhee: "I will wait impatiently for the sampler" -- the collection ends in one sense where the adventure just begins, and I long to see more of the correspondence and hear more of the story of the life at the Ranch on Muskrat Creek.

When John McPhee published his now-classic RISING FROM THE PLAINS, he introduced Ethel Waxham Love in the first paragraph. All through the rest of the book he interwove her story with that of her son, Wyoming geologist David Love and the geology of the Great Plains. When fan mail came rolling in, readers wanted to know more about the "slim young woman" who stepped down from a train in Rawlings, Wyoming one fall morning in 1905.
LADY'S CHOICE is Ethel Waxham Love's story. Her granddaughters, Barbara Love and Frances Love Froidevaux, have collected her writings -- journals, letters, poetry, essays, stories -- present them in combination with letters from her friends and classmates as well as from the man she would marry.

Her story begins in the Fall of 1905. She has graduated from Wellesley and spent the Summer working as an assistant to her doctor father in Denver. When she gets the opportunity to teach in a log cabin schoolhouse in Wyoming, she accepts the offer. Her first journal entry describes her journey into the wilds of Wyoming by train, stage coach and wagon. With a sure pen and a sympathetic eye she records her impressions of the land, the people and events. Her observations are those of a sharp mind (she had earned a Phi Beta Kappa key at Wellesley, specializing in Greek, Latin and French), her descriptions are those of a major literary talent.

Of one acquaintance she writes, "Mrs. Butler. . .is a little war-horse of a woman, with a long, thin husband. I'm telling you about her because she has been improving him for twenty years and it is beginning to tell on him."

Her year in this community is surprisingly eventful, considering the isolation and the seeming lack of resources. But Ethel is a resourceful person, full of imagination, the kind of person who makes things happen. She visits friends, attends church services and "sociables," and dines in local restaurants. There are dances and suppers and school entertainments. And there is John Love, the man she will marry after the five-year courtship that is recorded here.

She is enchanted by her surroundings. "The color of the white hills against the pale of the blue sky is most exquisite i the world. The cedars are gray with snow, the sagebrush white clumps of crystals. Where a long way off the sun touches the tops of the snow-covered hills there are shines a streak of silver. A whole white world was there, rising around us, as far as we could see; there did not appear to be such a thing as direction. Everywhere the whiteness, everywhere the hills. Where the stubble of the fields of the range rose above the snow,there was a shading of gold over the white. . .and when the full moon shines out of the deep dark night sky, the hills are like shining silver."

You, too, will find a lady to love in these pages. Her journal begins as she stands on the threshold of her life, emerging from the chrysalis of a protected girlhood toward the challenge of womanhood. Here she records a land, a people, a life, a love, welcoming them as unequivocably and eagerly as only the young do.

LADY'S CHOICE eclipses others of its type. It not only showcases the lady's life and the choices she made, it reveals a true literary talent and a rare human being. Wallace Stegner (ANGLE OF REPOSE, SPECTATOR BIRD, CROSSING TO SAFETY)once spoke of the "inextinguishable western hope" expressed by writers of history as they look at the world and at humanity's place in it. Ethel Waxham Love's letters and journals provide a major contribution to that hope as well as to the history and the the belles lettres of the American West.

(c)2002 Sunnye Tiedemann
(Ruth F. Tiedemann)

1. The leader can create a new organization with new procedures, but the formation of culture requires collective learning and repeated experiences of success or failure.

2. It is no accident when a "turn around manager" arrives, the top layers of management are usually replaced and massive reorganization occurs. These drastic measures destroy old culture and initiate a new culture building process by removing the people who carry and represent the old culture. The destruction of culture is extremely costly on human level. The new people have to start building process all over and it is not even clear whether this is possible.

3. An organization built on individual incentives cannot become a set of teams simply because the CEO announces that teamwork is now necessary and launches a team-building program. However, if the CEO understands culture dynamics, he or she will begin to reward individuals for helping others and for contributing to other projects, thereby acknowledging the deep individualism of the organization but broadening the concept of individual competence to increasingly include "working with others".

4. Leaders cannot arbitrarily change culture in the sense of eliminating dysfunctional elements. Leaders can evolve culture by building on its strength while letting its weaknesses atrophy over time. If an organization is successful over time and has evolved mental models based on these methods, they will not abandon the mental model. The leader jobs is too broaden the Mental models. Focus should include developing new standards of judgment and evaluation so that competitive behavior is viewed as more negative and cooperative behavior more positive.

5. Management development is typically very function in young organizations. For example, the organization may promote the people most likely to be entrepreneur or who are technically the most competent, rather than seek out people who have managerial talent. Founder builders often glorify the technical functions such as research and development, manufacturing, and sales and demean managerial functions such as finance, planning, marketing, and human resources. Potential successors may be blocked from taking over and gaining learning experiences. Successful leaders at this stage grow with the organization and change their own outlook or recognize their own limitations and permit other forms of leadership to emerge.

6. The leader builds culture in one of three ways: a) by hiring and keeping subordinates who think and feel the way they do; b) by indoctrinating and socialize subordinates to think and feel as they do; c) by establishing a role model that encourages subordinates to identify with them and thereby internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions.

Additional Thoughts about building culture: 1. Culture is not arbitrarily changed. Culture is evolved by building on strengths, broadening mental models of successful methods and processes 2. Get back to understanding what the product is about and focusing on customer oriented strategies. 3. Increasing vision and comprehension communication between top management and employees 4. Pushing data to unexpected places, encouraging participation and intrepretation of the data, and getting feedback that will cause temporary formation of teams and engineering of new processes 5. Creating new procedures that transform the organization 6. Creating and environment of learning 7. Getting people to thinking and value the same things the leader does.

7. Healthy, open minded skeptics can become effective leaders and, eventually, champions at work. If they find new approaches to enhance results, they will commit time and energy to them.

8. Local line leaders focus is at a business unit level. They may not think much at learning within the larger organization.

9. Leaders can use free-market choice inside an organization to liberate the entrepreneurial spirit of their people. As organizations move toward indirect leadership, the key role of senior leaders is to increase their people choices in ways that still focus the organization on its mission. Organizations viewed as economies.

10. In the future, most employees will work in intraprises that provide services to the core businesses. The core business will be run by small groups of line managers who will buy much of the value they add from internal intraprises.

11. What is leadership? Leadership is the process of empowering subordinates to learn from their mistakes, make changes, adjust to new circumstances, and preserve. Leadership brings into play elements of planning, commitment to innovation and problem solving, and energy ensuring dynamics of the organization are fair. The group looks for leadership to unlock paralysis in the direction to move. Leadership establishs policies, identifies targets, set priorities, and allocate resources and money. Leadership job is to create a feeling of security for their employees and influence young talent to come and work for them. Leadership creates blue oceans by creating a utility proposition. Leadership is gained by competence not position. Leadership creates conditions of comfort for their employees. Leadership talks openly about a wide variety of issues, sponsors democratic forum where creative members are reward for initiative, ingenuity and bravery. Leadership leads by example. Leadership uses work exchanges to show how things are to be done, giving each job a sense of dignity and enhanced standing with the crew. Leadership values the individual. Leadership creates free market choice inside their organizations to liberate the entrepreneurial spirit of their people. Leadership gets difficult projects started and results in long-term impact.

Leaders inspire confidence, fight fear, initiate positive and productive actions, define goals, and paint brighter tomorrows. The character of society's leadership may substantially determine how that society fares in an environment of change. Leadership values must be based on standards that benefit society.

12. The ethnic, cultural, and gender characteristics of America's population and labor force is rapidly changing. The emigration of nonwhites from Asia and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and West and East Africa, represent people in the America's melting pot rising relative to that of Americans of European descent and represent an estimated that one third of all new entrants to the labor force.

13. Leaders must be willing to accept five fundamental challenges in the work force: a. They must be willing to be more sensitive and understanding with respect to ethnic, cultural, and gender differences. B. They must have a vision for the workplace that will result in significant broadening of the corporate culture and environment. C. They must craft and implement new and different employment and communication processes to enhance and promote perceptions of fairness and equity. D. They must bring a commitment to the effective utilization of a diverse work force. E. They must establish a place where people want to work and be productive and to develop new markets and maintain existing ones.

14. Effective leaders do not earn their role by position or Herculean work efforts, instead, effective leaders nurture dignity in those around them; their area of expertise are listening, propagation of values, and assurance of dignity; they foster relationship as a source of their power.

15. When people are experiencing fear, dread, foreboding, and exhaustion, people have an emotional need for a leader. A leader combats fears, instills confidence, and moves the group forward.

16. Leaders lead because they create a passionate commitment in other people to pursue the leaders strategy and succeed.

17. Leaders are the keepers and shapers of the company culture and constantly communicate these held values.

Frances Hesselbein is currently editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader quarterly. Previously, she served as CEO of the Girls Scouts of the USA and then as chairman and founding president of the Leader to Leader Institute, formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. Her published works include this book as well as its predecessor, The Leader of the Future, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard, and Be*Know*Do (an adaptation of the U.S. Army's leadership manual) to which she and General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Ret.) co-wrote the Introduction as well as Hesselbein on Leadership for which Jim Collins provided the Foreword.

Twenty-seven individual essays comprise this volume. The material is organized within five Parts:

A Vision of Leadership (Chapter 1)

Editors' Comments: "[Our] book begins where it should, with Peter Drucker's vision of leadership...[His] thoughts on creating organizations that have a spirit of performance built upon the `theory of the business,' creating a positive social impact and demonstrating consistent effectiveness, challenge the reader to both embrace change and become a change leader."

Leading in a Diverse World (Chapters 2-5)

Excerpt: "Leaders of the future will be progressively more cosmopolitan, progressive, diverse, and values oriented. They increasingly will come from countries with enormous growth potential outside of North America and Europe, such as the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), places where leaders must also address daunting obstacles such as poverty or environmental depredation, regardless of the sector or the focus of their enterprise." Rosabeth Moss Kanter, "How Cosmopolitan Leaders Inspire Confidence"

Leading in a Time of Crisis and Complexity (Chapters 6-11)

Excerpt: "Leadership becomes necessary to business and communities when people have tough challenges to tackle, when they have to change their ways in order to thrive or survive, when continuing to operate according to current structures, procedures, and processes no longer will suffice. We call these adaptive challenges. Beyond technical problems, for which authoritative and managerial expertise will suffice, adaptive challenges demand leadership that engages people in facing challenging realities and then changing those priorities, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to thrive in a changing world. Ronald A. Heifetz, "Anchoring Leadership in the Work of Adaptive Process"

Leading Organizations of the Future (Chapters 12-19)

Excerpt: "Leaders will need to go beyond looking at the work to be done and consider the human doing the work. They will need to understand the incredible pressures that have been brought about by globalization, technology, and competition. They will need to appreciate the hard work and sacrifice needed for professional success in a much tougher world. Leaders will need to realize that as work becomes even more important, and organizations become even more important, they will become even more important - in helping to shape the quality of life and the futures of the professionals they lead." Marshall Goldsmith, "Leading New Age Professionals"

The Quality and Charter of the Leader of the Future (Chapters 20-27)
Excerpt:

"Leaders who think like anthropologists would realize several things. First, they would realize that they are leaders by virtue of their basic fit into the cultural milieu in which they grew up and in which they are now operating. It is all well and good to note that leaders "create" and "change" cultures, as I have argued in the past [i.e. in Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2004], but first they must realize that to change culture you must thoroughly understand the culture that created you and legitimized you...In other words, leaders must be culturally self-c0njscious and be aware of the cultural layers in their own personalities. Second, leaders who think like anthropologists would be conscious of the cultural variations among countries and companies, and among occupational subgroups within their companies." Edgar H. Schein, Leadership Competencies: A Provocative New Look"

Note: Schein then explains in his essay that in addition to thinking like an anthropologist, effective leaders must also have the skills of a family therapist and cultivate and trust artistic instincts.

In the city where I live, we have a number of outdoor markets at which slices of fresh fruit are offered as samples of the produce available. In that same spirit, I frequently include brief excerpts such as these from a book to help those who read my review to get at least a "taste" of the material in question. All of the material in this volume is of a very high quality. The value of each article, however, will be determined by the needs and interests of each reader.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Hesselbein's The Leader of the Future published earlier, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard and Be*Know*Do (an adaptation of the U.S. Army's leadership manual) to which she and General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Ret.) co-wrote the Introduction; also Hesselbein on Leadership for which Jim Collins provided the Foreword.

The Leader of the Future 2 is a labor of love and a gift to all those who enjoy the study of leadership. This is the first book published by the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly The Drucker Foundation) since the death of leadership patriarch Peter Drucker. All proceeds support the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. This book follows the publication of the international bestseller, The Leader of the Future.

This meditative work is the collection of 27 essay chapters that contemplate the kind of leadership needed for the future of the world. Each chapter is written by a respected leadership consultant or educator who provides their unique and challenging perspective on the kind of leader our world needs now and will need in an uncertain future. This collection of "thinkers" has varied experience in all sectors of modern society. As it states in the foreword of the book, "This book delivers a "battle cry" that will mobilize the leaders of the future to build viable, relevant organizations that will sustain us in the times ahead... Planning in the past was rigid, inflexible, and hierarchical, but planning for the future will require leaders to be fluid and flexible, and move easily across their organizations. The Leader of the Future 2 is indeed part of a blueprint for planning in a dynamic new world."

The genesis of the book was the tragic events that occurred on 9/11. Since that event a lot has changed in the world, and will continue to change in our uncertain future. The Leader of the Future 2 divides its 27 chapter into 5 interesting parts. Each part focuses on a certain aspect of leading in the future like vision, diversity, complexity, change and character. This is a book for serious thinkers and at times is not easy to read. Some of the gifted contributors would be the first to admit that writing with clarity is not their greatest personal strength. But in all fairness, they are looking back on the past with eyes toward the future and this is always an ambiguous rehearsal. The Leader of the Future 2 is brain-candy for anyone who likes to step outside of everyday thinking and ponder the "what-if" of tomorrow!

In a 1964 obscenity court case, then U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote that pornography was difficult to define, but noted, "I know it when I see it." The same might be said of leadership. Since 1990, the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management) has dedicated itself to examining, defining and elevating the art of leadership through books, educational materials and its respected journal, Leader to Leader. This book is a sequel to the Institute's The Leader of the Future, an international bestseller published in 28 different languages. This follow-up volume features 27 essays on being a leader in today's complex, challenging world. We confidently recommend this leadership treatise, which presents the informed thoughts, insights and opinions of respected experts from academia, the media, business, the military, the nonprofit sector and numerous other venues. Thanks to such contributors as Stephen Covey, Howard Gardner, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, this collection of essays clearly addresses the challenges of modern leadership.

Once again, Marshall Goldsmith and Frances Hesselbein have provided readers with an essential guide to the biggest challenges and the best thinking of thought leaders and practitioners in the field of leadership. In a world in great need of leadership, this book provides an array of outstanding contributions from those who have shaped and inspired this field. This book provides a superb addition to the libraries of all those who care deeply about leadership -- and who among us does not (or should not)?

Rachelle J. Canter, Ph.D.

I like teaching this novel, but I don't have time to teach the full text. This abridgement does a good job of capturing the fullness of the story and the characters in about 40% of the pages. I like the historical timelines at the beginning and the Notes sections at the end. My students find the novel easy to manage, too.

If you ever thought Hey, it must be easy to be an actor, just pay attention to Michael York, who's using only his voice! He keeps separate several characters, male and female, with nuances and accents that we can understand instantly.
Pity about this abridgement is that the translation was never edited. There is no distinction between that and which, for instance. "Which" is used exclusively.
But I'll keep listening to M. York, c'est formidable!

If you are the kind of person thirsting for the image of Man as a being to whom nothing is impossible - and to whom everything great is possible, then "Les Miserables" is the novel for you.
With a few exceptions, such as Ayn Rand, there is no writer in world literature who has portrayed such a grand, noble, sublime and inspiring image of man as Victor Hugo.
In "Les Miserables", Hugo has given the best expression that his genius could to this element.

The theme of this masterpiece is : "The projection and glorification of a moral-spiritual force based on Love, Compassion and above all Conscience, aimed at overthrowing the existing order of human existence and establish a new world where these cardinal values will guide human life."

Such an important, profound and philosophical theme could only have been selected by a visionary such as Victor Hugo - whom I consider the greatest novelist of the 19th Century.

Other than Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" I do not know any single novel in world literature which seeks to present a unique philosophy to change the world and give a new direction to human existence.

According to me, the plot-theme is : "The step-by-step purification of a man's soul and his achievement of spiritual perfection."

Jean Valjean is the hero of the novel. The best years of his life have been wasted because of the iniquities and injustice of the prevailing social order. Emerging from prison after 19 years, his soul is immersed in anger, bitterness, hatred and a feeling of vengeance against society. How he acieves spiritual perfection, as viewed by Hugo, is what the story is all about.

However, this point has not been recognised by many. While most say that the theme is : "The injustice of society towards the lower classes", Hugo's intention was to dramatise "Man's struggle against the laws of society".

Keeping this in view, the accepted plot theme is (as best defined by Ayn Rand) : "The lifelong flight of an ex-convict from a ruthless representative of the law", this representative being Javert.

However, the struggle of Jean Valjean continues long after his conflict with Javert is resolved.
Victor Hugo is not just showing that Conscience is above Law, but this: what is the highest level of selflessness and self-sacrifice a man is capable of and what makes it possible.
As far as I can see, the accepted plot-theme has been identified the way it has been, because it defines a specific purpose(i.e., Javert's pursuit of Jean Valjean). Perhaps critcs would dismiss my point of view because neither is it Jean Valjean's explicit goal to become perfect nor does he set himself an objective which would symbolize his attainment of perfection.
But I look at the plot to have been construsted in a manner which inevitably leads Jean Valjean to perfection.

Bishop Myriel is the guiding image for Jean Valjean:his role represents how love and compassion can resurrect a man's conscience.

Fantine is the symbol of the woman and Cossette is the symbol of the child who are the victims of social evils.

Javert-the implaccable, ruthless and awe-inspiring policeman who shall never compromise on his values - is the symbol of blind conformity to the existing legal and social order.

One of the greatest achievements of "Les Miserables" is its sweeping sense of drama. What I love most about Hugo is the superb dramatic situations - suspenseful, thrilling, emotionally intense - he creates.
The scenes are so breathtakingly grandiose and mind-blowing that one can only think : "How did he get such a brilliant idea??!!"
The best part of the novel is the fighting at the barricades during the July Revolution in Paris - led by, perhaps the most admirable hero in 19th Century Romantic fiction - Enjolras.
Enjolras - despite a minor role - made a greater impact on me than the two central characters - Jean Valjean and Marius. One also cannot forget the lovable, heroic, 12 year old Gavroche.

The greatest drawback of "Les Miserables" is the plethore of esssays on various social, historical, religious and other issues, which are exasperatingly long, which interrupt the plot, make the novel cumbersome and the reader impatient.
However, they give the reader a picture of the world which Hugo had in mind (and which he wanted to revolutionize-and how) while writing the book.
They may not be directly related to the plot, but are certainly related to the meaning of the novel.

Further, the plot tends to become loose at times. The coincidences are rather naive and force the reader to conclude that they are meant solely to bring coherence in the story or to present a particular aspect of Hugo's philosophy.
Some may find the descriptions unnecessarily meticulous, though in poetic terms they are stunningly beautiful.

However, all this seems irrelevant if we concentrate on the profound pschycological analysis of the value-conflicts of Jean Valjean (and Javert) rarely matched in world literature; the scope and intellectual value of the novel; its immense social and philosophical significance and its wonderful portrayal of man as a heroic being.

But above all is the unsurpassable dramatic treatment rendered by Hugo's genius : the sheer artistry, the incomparable ingenuity, the soulful emotional content, the startling originality and compelling suspense-there is NO OTHER SINGLE WRITER IN THE WORLD who has equalled Hugo in this aspect-make, in addition to its numerous merits, "Les Miserables" one of the greatest achievements of the human mind.

I have had the CD of the Original London Cast Musical of Les Miserable for about 10 years and have been a huge fan but nothing could prepare me for the book which although a long and hard read, is the most amazing book I have ever read. Everyone has something to learn from it and if you are looking for a reason to read it heres a reason: in the words of the great Victor Hugo himself : "As long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this can never be useless."

You look at this book cautiouly, circling it warily. 1,260 pags?!! (Do not even consider an abridgement, for that is wicked) To read this massive work, you must be brave and determined. It is not easy or light, and, although it is far and away my favorite book, there were many times when I would lay it aside and blink with that slow, "God give me strength" air. Yet what epic journey worth its scratch is fluffy, over-in-a-day fun? Jean Valjean has hardship, so does the reader. One doesn't so much read as inhabit Les Miserables. I lived with this book for an entire semester, and had been dipping my toes into itt for over a year. When I finally read the last pages, there were tears streaking my face. That is a rare compliment to Hugo. My tears were not only for the sad fate of the convict-saint, but for th completion of such a long journey. I never rea Les Miserables to finish it. Perhaps this is merely an indication of insanity, perhaps an accurate reflection of the mind set necessary to read and enjoy Hugo. Get lost in his page-long sentences and revel in the vrebiosity! Be brave, and don't give up.

The Lumiere Affair was an easy page turner. I agree with the poster that said it made you feel like you were tagging right alongside the journalist. It had a twist I didnt see coming either. Fun read.

Once you start reading, be prepared to finish Sara Voorhees' delicious mystery novel in one sitting. It's about a Hollywood entertainment journalist who lost her mother at a young age in France. Full of haunting memories and the still fresh feeling of devastating loss, Nattie Conway reluctantly travels to the Cannes Film Festival on assignment and finds herself on a startling journey of self-discovery and romantic awakening as she unravels the dark mystery surrounding her enigmatic mother's life and demise. Nattie's wonderfully wry sense of humor helps her navigate through her often paralyzing fear of vulnerability and abandonment on the "rue" to a healthy connection to life and love. Using movie lingo (which is so delightfully intrinsic to Nattie's vocabulary), will there be a "sequel" to the first novel and when? I sure hope Hollywood is paying attention because this novel needs to be made into a movie!

Like others who have already written, I found it hard to put this book down. I was literally amazed that the book entertains on so many levels. A long-time movie buff, I had no idea what the film festivals were like, especially for the critics that work them, and I enjoyed the insider's view. The writing is clever and funny, reminding me of Maupin's Tales of the City series. As a mystery, it kept me surprised. And amidst the pure entertainment, there is wisdom and growth in characters that you get to know and care for. A great read!

I got this book yesterday and couldn't put it down. The pacing is fast, the characters appealing and real, and I loved the peek into the Cannes Film Festival. I'd love to read more about Nattie Conway.

I loved this book so much I read the ending twice and cried both times. It's been a long time since a book was as fun to read and emotionally satisfying as this one--maybe Secret Life of Bees. Plus, I can never pass up a great love story. It's pretty much the perfect summer read (especially since Grey's is on re-runs...) and no one should miss out!

Neither fawning priests, ossified traditions of la vielle France, nor a sister's corrosive anger can shake the love that unfolds between Mlle. Benoir, a woman of a certain age, and Tim, a young American artist. A lovely story, one that takes you away with rich descriptions of the people, the landscape and, of course, the food, in little-known region of France. A wonderful story to read and to give as a gift.

In her novel, "Mademoiselle Benoir," woman's health issues author, Christine Conrad arranges with the deftness of a Japanese floral artiste, a seemingly simplistic tableau of colors and textures that when assembled creates a rich and introspective insight into the realm of the human heart.

Written as a series of letters spanning a two year period, the plot focuses on thirty-eight year old Tim Reinhart, a former professor of mathematics who decides, on a studied impulse to sacrifice his solid academic life in New York to realize his dream to oil paint in the South of France. At first, Tim's letters reflect the typical American fascination with the cultural differences between the older French civilization and that of the socially fledgling United States/ As in other novels and travelogues, Conrad showcases not only the French love of food but presents an amusing portrait interplaying the idiosyncrasies of pastoral life with caricatures of centuries old French "types." She moves into more philosophical ground when she abandons the usual tedious albeit exuberant descriptions of chateau, farmyard and countryside and approaches the bigger more nebulous question of what ultimately delivers happiness in the realm of human existence.

When Tim meets Catherine, a woman over twenty years his senior, the tone of his letters waxes contemplative. With great proficiency, Conrad enlightens the reader to Tim's growing affection for this regally beautiful woman prior to his realization that what he feels for her is more than just respect and admiration. In fact, this illustrates but one example of Conrad's forte as a writer; her ability to depict nuanced personality traits through the medium of letters allows her audience to understand each character's perspective without a third person description of physicality or motivation.

Complimenting the pleasant cadence and development of her plotline, Conrad successfully weaves in meaningful quotations, ideas and appropriate French factoids without allowing these to become contrived or unnecessary eye-rolling displays of too thorough research asides or "isn't that interesting" minutiae that shows off the writer's knowledge of subject matter yet detracts from the overall presentation. Indeed, this women's health advocate truly understands the importance of proper balance in life---hormonal or otherwise. Her sublime working of her own personal philosophy through the mouthpieces of her characters speaks well of her transition from youth to wisdom.

To this reader's great pleasure, Conrad reworks the usual American living abroad scenario to address larger issues that face all of us as we mature and realize that "stuff" and its accoutrements belong to a material world and have little to do with the unconscious drive for further development, both artistic and spiritual, that ultimately facilitates a human life worth living.

As the fox in Saint-Exupéry's Petit Prince dictates, one can only truly see with the heart. Conrad's "Mademoiselle Benoir" bypasses both the material and the physical world and operates solely in an ideal world where essentials count as the true pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Bottom Line? "Mademoiselle Benoir" surpasses my expectations, covering more ground than I thought possible in it's prettily packaged 230 pages. Each of the players through a thoughtful revelation and analysis of fact reveal themselves as fully fleshed our individuals. The events that link their lives together form a cohesive story to which the reader connects automatically, alternately through smiles and tears. If she fails she does so only in attempting to facilitate the scenery as an additional character. Her strong portrayals circumvent this need and perpetuate in the mind of the reader Balzacian models for human vice and virtue.

Hopefully Conrad will not ruin this effort by revisiting the characters in a sequel. In this instance, Conrad has written a near perfect story which needs no reprisal. Recommended highly.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

This is a novel written entirely in the form of letters -- and it's a romance. "Mademoiselle Benoir" by Christine Conrad is at once an old-fashioned love story and a completely modern one. At the age of 33, Tim Reinhart buys an old farmhouse in France. Once an assistant professor, he has removed himself from the "American treadmill of success" to concentrate on his drawing. But mom and dad back in New York City aren't happy that their son has moved to France. So they write, he writes, everybody writes. As Reinhart explains, "Sometimes it is easier to pull up the deeper layers of what's going on in one's mind in a letter," so we get to see intimate details of his life.

When he falls in love, he has to deal with disapproving relatives, French laws and the Catholic church. Through the epistolary format, we witness the same event from different people and, as we see more than one side of the characters, they become very real. Reinhart describes the lively, quirky personalities in the neighborhood and the clash of cultures. He shares his love for the French countryside, "the way it spreads itself out before you in great waves, so you can appreciate every turn in the road."

The book makes the reader think about relationships, how everything changes when one's needs and priorities change. It's an enchanting story packaged in a lovely little book.

When Tim Reinhart leaves the stress and complications of his life in New York for the rural countryside of France's Lot Valley, his family is mystified but ultimately supportive. This new-found simplicity is exactly what appeals to him, an unfolding landscape, "bend by bend, layer by layer, field by field, gorge by gorge", early inhabited by Goths, Vikings, Romans and Celts, an inspirational boon to the artist, whose sketches fill the letters he sends home to parents and sister. The story told through these missives, Tim describes his tiny, one-room farmhouse, surrounded by trees, his eccentric neighbors, the French love of food and discourse over meals and the budding romantic relationship with a young woman in the neighborhood who is at times effusive, then taciturn, certainly unpredictable, her changing circumstances an added pressure on the couple. Tim is ambivalent, drawn to her, but protective of his expanding interior life, learning by attrition the French obsession with marriage and family.

While sorting through his romantic conundrum, Tim meets a dynamic and opinionated artist, Pauline LeDuc, part owner of the 15th century Chateau de la Rive, who encourages him to meet with her sister, also an artist, thinking them kindred spirits. Indeed, they are, the twenty-years older Catherine Benoir immediately enchanted with her new young friend, offering cogent advice on his relationship dilemma. Tim basks in the hospitality of the Benoir clan, the three sisters, Pauline's children and grandchildren and their decaying family chateau with its inherent problems, stimulated by this inside view of French life at its most dynamic. As much as Tim appreciates his creative discussions with Catherine, his girlfriend is adamant that a commitment to her means the release of the older woman, a fact that both saddens and confuses Tim, for Mme. Benoir has been more than gracious to both of them.

After a four-week vacation with a college friend from New York, Tim returns a changed man, the charms of his old life receding, replaced with the stimulation of a renewed artistic career. Both Tim and Catherine are appalled to realize that their evolving friendship has turned to love, what Catherine terms "a love without tyranny". Tim breaks the news to his parents, working through their natural objections. More shocking is the Benoir's reaction to the proposed marriage, orchestrated by a vitriolic Pauline, who spares no opportunity to block the religious ceremony that is critical to local society's acceptance of the couple's union: "Even a little happiness attracts a great number of enemies." Although the opposition is hurtful and prolonged, Catherine and Tim rise above the fray, withstanding the ill intentions of others, reinforced by adversity. In this most unusual novel, two people step beyond the conventional in a union born of mutual respect and an unflinching commitment to become man and wife. With the strength of character to forge their own happiness, the couple proves that, "in the end, life requires continued acts of bravery." Luan Gaines/ 2006.

Christine Conrad's intimate novel told in letters of a young man who moves to rural France to be an artist and the much older woman he finds as his soulmate and life's love is simply exquisite. Not only is it a beautiful portrait of France, but a radiant and deep portrait of an unpredictable and rich love. This will find a growing audience by word-of-mouth alone. Sometimes I had to put the book down because tears filled my eyes. Beautifully done! I am already recommending it to friends.