France Books

I purchased this book as a gift for my husband for Christmas. He is interested in Military History from the French and Indian Wars down to the present. He is also a military collector. He has read it and enjoyed it! For those who are interested in Military History - this book will make a nice addition to your collection.

The Millionaires' Unit is a very good book with a great story to tell: an elite group of Yale students took it upon themselves to prepare as pilots for the United States' entry into World War I. Not only is the story remarkable, it is remarkable that it hasn't been told before, (except in a privately published history in 1925). Starting as a privately funded militia, the First Yale Unit trained as pilots without recognition from the Navy until the U. S. officially entered the War. The young pilots were then among the first aviators flying for America to see combat over Europe.

The book is very good at setting the tone and profile of upper class Americans before the Great War, then shattering the romantic ideas of our isolated country about industrialized warfare as the young men struggle to uphold the highest ideals of duty and honor. The book evocatively portrays Yale as more of a social club than an academic institution, the difficulty of maintaining and flying primitive aircraft, and the nascent attempts of the Navy to come to grips with the importance of aviation.

Above all, The Millionaires' Unit is a human story told mostly through the correspondence of these erudite, passionate, and committed pioneer pilots. Those that survived went on to serve the country at the top of their fields in politics, finance, and aviation. Those that died elicit some of the most heartbreaking reactions from friends and families in wartime literature. It's a well-rounded book, touching on social, aviation, and military history as it delves into the personal reactions of a young America coming of age at the dawn of the 20th century. I found it a great read.

Darroch Greer

As a kid, my favorite book was, "Iron Men with Wooden Wings" by Lou Cameron. Stories of World War I pilots doing battle in the skies over France and Germany in primitive, cloth covered biplanes ignited my imagination. Years later, I earned a pilot's license and have enjoyed flying my own cloth covered plane.

Recently, I was delighted to learn about and read Marc Wortman's title, "The "Millionaires' Unit", which documents the grass-roots formation of a flying squadron of fresh-faced Yale boys almost a hundred years ago. A war was raging in Europe and America was decidedly unprepared for their eventual involvement. Their experiences together at Yale gave them a deep sense of duty to a greater cause. Their privileged upbringing and family connections gave them access to the money to fund their own military flight school and to the captains of industry and state to endorse and champion their mission. Millionaires' Unit is not simply a tale of "iron men with wooden wings", although we certainly grow with each of them from boys to men.

Much less a documentary and much more a narrative, Wortman weaves their personal ambitions and flaws together with their collective mission to fly and to serve. Not since "The Blue Max" has such a complex story of class, ambition, romance and defiance - set against the exhilarating and dangerous backdrop of the pioneering age of aviation - been told.

The Millionaires' Unit recapitulates in beautiful prose the story I first learned about as a child. It was the story, in part, of my grandfather, Erl Gould whom I called Grandfeathers, as he was Naval Aviator #68.

Marc Wortman has combed historical and private records to harvest the best picture of Trubee Davison and his family, flying boats, 1916 and Great World War, and these intrepid young men from Yale. It is simply a terrific read but also an inspiration at a time when few Americans rise above the fray and dedicate themselves to something larger than their own self-interest. As a former Naval Aviator myself, I wore Grandfeather's wings of gold with an inexpressible pride and humility.

Marc Wortman should be congratulated on this fine piece.

It walks the line between history and adventure and achieves a tremendous blend in the process. Not only does it recall the origins of a fledgling form of warfare, but it also provides a tremendous insight into the world of Yale and American aristocracy as it existed in the early twentieth century.

Highly recommended.

Owen Zupp
Author of 'Down to Earth'. (www.owenzupp.com)

While I love reading books, audio books have been the very convenient for me on those long commutes home. This audio book has been the best I've heard in a long time. The author ability to weaves both stories of Marie and Berenger along with Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene are simply riveting. While an author can put so much time and effort into researching and writing a wonderful book it's a terrible waste when the Narrator does a poor job of reading the book. I was delight that that was not the case for The Priest's Madonna. Anna Fields does a superb job of telling the story to the listener. She gives each character their own voice and personality and well.... it was captivating!

I'll be frank, had I purchased the book and tried to pronounce any French words I would've been discouraged and wondered if I was saying them correctly. Anna certainly had no problem with French or Hebrew pronunciations. This was wonderfully written and beautifully told. A must for audio book lovers!

Hassinger does a great job presenting a clear, absorbing story centering on a relationship between an enigmatic priest who has committed himself to supporting the church, and a young woman who finds herself increasingly skeptical. The young woman's voice and the life of the 19th-century French town are convicing, and the author never lets the real-life mystery of Berenger Sauniere lead the story into ridiculous speculation. The pace never drags (a real achievement for a book with open religious themes), and the book's mysteries kept me hooked.

This is a beautifully written book. An absorbing, well-researched novel filled with mystery, romance and touches of humor.

Set in southern France in the late 19th century, the novel tells the story of young Marie Dernanaud and her life in the village of Rennes-le-Chateau, her family, friends and fervent love for Father Berenger Sauniere.

The forbidden romance between Father Berenger and Marie is believable and is one of the most striking aspects of this book. Their relationship was not an easy one, but rather full of confusion, anxiety and guilt. Beneath these struggles, however, was an unyielding love that neither could deny. This moved me significantly. Together, they embark on a journey of faith that leads them to question the bond between the divine and things of worldly origin.

Entwined with the story of Father Berenger and Marie is a narrative of Mary Magdalene set at the time of Christ. Here, the author appears to jump on the current bandwagon of considering a royal bloodline originating from Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. I am Roman Catholic and do not take the notion of such a bloodline seriously. However, it is with this fictional aspect that the author neatly ties in the mysteries in the village of Rennes-le-Chateau.

It is worth mentioning that Father Berenger Sauniere and Marie Dernanaud are not complete works of fiction. Though their legacies are interspersed with rumor and mystery, they indeed lived in Rennes-le-Chateau in the 19th century.

The Priest's Madonna is a captivating read. Very few books will I consider rereading, but I will most certainly revisit this one.

Do you like a good mystery? A love story? An historical novel? A theological inquiry? In "The Priest's Madonna" Amy Hassinger manages to give us all of these in a well-paced and lush novel that never suffers from an identity crisis. This book deals with some of the same themes as Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," but in a very different way. While Brown's book satisfies in the way an order of salty French fries satisfies after a night of overindulgence, "The Priest's Madonna" satisfies like a five course French meal with an excellent bottle of wine. Sophomore novelist Hassinger writes with a maturity that is extraordinary. She uses parallel and paradox to unfold the stories of Marie (and Berenger) at the end of the 19th century and Miryam (and Yeshua) at the time of Christ. Her female protagonists have that same quality of combined strength and vulnerability with which Margaret Atwood imbues many of her most interesting female protagonists. At times I found that I wanted a bit more development of Berenger's and Yeshua's characters, but in the end I concluded that because Marie's story was told from the first person and Miryam's story was told from the personal third person, the development of the male characters was just right to evoke that sense of mystery that the female protagonists found attractive in them. Reading this book left me with the same feeling and question I had years ago when I read "Snow Falling on Cedars" - how can a book that is so descriptive and literary make me want to turn the pages so fast?

When I first saw this on Amazon I thought ick. They couldn't find a better picture for the cover? I know people should not judge a book by its cover, but lets face it pretty covers attract people, and this one aint pretty.

That being said, I have to give this book a glowing review. The writing was outstanding and the story was solid. I enjoyed the sexual tension between the characters. Each character was well done. The plot moved quickly. I had a hard time putting this novel down and finished it in two days. This book has interesting twists and turns and I believe anyone who likes historical fiction will like this book.

This is a wonderful book - one of my grandaughters favorites. It's a great one to read aloud.

Great Xmas book for the cat lover, and anyone who loves cat will recognize their cat and the Christmas tree.

author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

Our family sets out A Pussycat's Christmas every year when dressing the house for the holidays. Last year our copy got dropped in a bucket of water. A calamity that required immediate purchase of another copy and express shipping.
It's a charming tale. The illustration is excellent. Especially if you have a "Pussycat" look-a-like as we do this little book will become a part of your Christmas too.

As usual, Margaret Wise Brown is as tuned in to animals as she is with children. She uses a kitten's viewpoint to describe the wonders of Christmas-sights, sounds, smells, and the way cats delight at playing with everything-wrappings, ribbons, ornaments, decorations. A beautiful, descriptive story.

Ann Mortimer's illustrations are outstanding. Margaret's word's capture "cat" PURR-fectly!

I love the way Margaret writes - I have MANY of her books.

For anyone who has a cat and Christmas: "...She went POUNCING around in it... and she ATE some it..." "... she waited for something to fall, ...to crash and to break" SO Cat!

This book is great fun to read outloud with kids listening!

I really enjoyed this book. The photo foldouts are really great-they feature reenactors in full dress. This book provides for a great reference to anyone interested in a Grunt or special operations uniform.

The text is also good, although alittle too technical at times.

Overall, a great reference book for any WWII reenactor.

This book is a fine companion for someone who is already familiar with the overall story of D-Day. It has a larger than usual section on amphibious landing craft, and on the function of specific battalions and units too often overlooked in most discussions of D-Day. It has one to five quality pictures or diagrams on every page (not the ones you usually see). Focuses on the equipment used and apparel worn and gives lots of detail on each.

Just when you think that this is another re-hashing off all the often-copied stuff that's in every D-Day book you've ever seen...
Guess again, Skippy. This isn't your Daddy's D-Day book!
Gawne thankfully dusted off UNPUBLISHED information on largely ignored subjects regarding the Normandy landings, and I for one am glad to have this book in my collection.
Amphibious forces, Engineers and even Navy Beach Masters were all there, but you never see them in other books. Gawne takes previously unknown information, couples it with outstanding graphics and puts them together in THE BEST book on the subject to come out since.... well, I can't say when another such book was ever written!
And even though I'm a huge Airborne fan, I have to say this:
"Thanks, Jon, for not having half the book on Airborne forces! We needed another book on the subject like we needed more holes in our heads!"

My father was a D-Day medical officer June 6, 1944. Historians who write definitive books about Americans at D-Day and fail to mention the Army/Navy gap assault teams, LCI sailors, Army Engineer Special Brigades and attached Naval Beach Battalions, have left out the "backbone" of the Normandy invasion. Jonathan Gawne's Spearheading D-Day: American Special Units in Normandy set the record straight in 1998. Military authors should not feel bad if their books were published before Spearheading D-Day. Up to 1992, when Gawne first wrote about the "forgotten sailors of the invasion beaches," most naval historians were unaware that their own were some of the first ashore on D-Day. Spearheading D-Day, covering American forces in France, is simply the best invasion book published since Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day.

didn't buy this book earlier!!! Absolutely top notch history of the special sea-bourne American units at Normandy. Maps & photos and narrative all combine into an informative and captivating tale. Even if you are a D-Day buff with a large reference library, you will learn much from this excellent edition. It seems pricey, but it is worth all of it & more. You will not regret getting this one!
I hope this sets a pattern for books about the British & Canadian units and their efforts and successes that day. When you realise the scope of just the American beach landings, you will see the huge, multi-volume collection that would be needed to address *all* the units involved. Buy it and and spend some time with it.

The needs assessment helps you prepare the job description and interview questions. The pdf files allows you to print the forms without bothersome tempplates. Getting the tax forms through the abcnanny.bizland.com links was very helpful

The needs assessment really gives you an idea of what to look for and what to ask. The forms are great, and the format of the book with a disk to reproduce forms is terrific. The childcare reference form tells you at a glance what you want to know about your prospective's employment experience and history. We saved time by down loading the forms from both IRS and INS. Also if you are looking for an agency out of your area, the web site has a directory(abcnanny.bizland.com)

Many of us interview candidates for various positions in the workplace on a daily basis and this book shows us we should use the same techniques when hiring a nanny. The forms are helpful throughout the process and are easy to use. The author was more interested in passing on information that would be useful to parents rather than share her experiences as a nanny. Parents need to know just who they are entrusting their children to and can't assume they are leaving their child with a nice person that wouldn't dream of hurting a child. The links to IRS and INS allows you to download all the forms you need, saving phone calls and snail mail time.

The needs assesment and the forms on the companion disk were very helpful in our first search for a nanny. We did not find the consumer information about agencies to be offensive, and in fact felt the author was giving us a choice to hire an agency or do an independent search. We found an agency that met our criteria and the agency found our nanny. We thought the author's experiences as a nanny was the reason the book was written. On the author's web site abcnanny.bizland.com she makes it clear she is not against nanny agencies and is announcing a directory of nanny agencies to be posted on the site in June. The book is a handbook and gets down to business quickly which we appreciate and did not consider a cold approach.

Although this book contains useful information, there is also an underlying sense that the author of this book (1)Truly dislikes nanny agencies (2)Doesn't actually appear to like nannies either. She covers the basics in a very 'cold' fashion virtually never stating the numerous benefits of hiring a nanny. The fact of the matter is that most nannies are terrific people who would never dream of hurting a child. As far as her obvious contempt toward nanny agencies, most parents use nanny agencies because they are so helpful. You do have to be careful when choosing however, it really doesn't matter if they are small (even home-based) or very large and expensive. What matters is how they make you feel when you approach them. What does your 'gut' tell you? Although the author's intentions were good, her book could have been better. It absolutely could have and should have had more feeling.

I purchased this book for my daughter so she can read that anything is possible if you truly believe no matter who you are. We are now Big Grace fans !!!

I got the book as a gift for my grand daughter who likes to draw. The vivid colors and expressions on the characters faces should keep her interested for a while. The story line is an added bonus.

Do you need a book that confronts racism, appreciates theater, and shatters stereotypes on a primary level? If so, Amazing Grace, by Mary Hoffman, is the book for you. Not only does this book cover the above topics, but is also highlights on key items for younger readers, such as reading about individual achievements and moral dilemmas.
Grace, a first grade African American female, has an imagination with no boundaries. Grace loves to act out stories that she is told. At school, Grace's heart runs with excitement when her teacher announces that the class is going to do the play Peter Pan. Everyone wants to be Peter Pan, which highlights the enthusiasm for theater among these students. However, as Grace wants to be Peter Pan, her classmates tell her first that she can't because she is not a male. The second reason her classmates say is that she can't be Peter Pan is because she is black. Here lies the racism in this book.
The teacher allows each student to take home lines and memorize them to try out for roles. The best would get Peter Pan. In the mean time, Grace's grandmother takes her to a Romeo and Juliet ballet that features a black Juliet. This inspires Grace to go home and learn those lines as best as she can so that she will be the best one in the class. When it is time to try out, Grace is by far the best Peter Pan and the class votes to let her fill this role. This is where the shattering of stereotypes comes into play.
Past the social issues, Amazing Grace also fulfills the requirements that the Temple textbook states are good children's literature. First, children's literature must speak to the child. Children, especially that would read Amazing Grace, are extremely egocentric. Therefore, they want to read about the potential for individual achievement. Any child that is repressed for any reason could identify with Grace. There are a lot of things that Peter Pan was not, not just simply black. African American students could truly identify with Grace, having to deal with their differences that are spawned by their skin color and culture.
The last noticeable characteristic of good children's literature apparent in Amazing Grace is the presence of in depth thought, especially on morals. This book spawns thought on all the social issues mentioned above. This book would most certainly cause students to re- evaluate their thoughts and stances on racism, stereotypes, and maybe even theater. So many times, students think that what their parents believe is what they have to believe. However, educating students can help not only in letting them make their own decisions, but also educating their parents as well.
Finally, this book is an excellent book for teachers because there are many activities that can be done to accompany the reading. Perhaps this would be a great book to lead into their own class play. Another idea is to place this in a unit on racism and segregation in the upper elementary levels. Also, a teacher could do dress up day and the students could be whatever they want to be. All stereotypes are shattered for the day and each student can be free to be who they are. Amazing Grace may be one of the most influential books that I have ever read on racism and the way that Grace and her family handle this issue is admirable.

I liked this story because Grace can be Peter Pan if she put her mind to it. My favorite part is after the ballet. I would recommend this book to a friend because its about your imaginery. The book is amazing.

By: S.J.
Los Angeles
Age 5

This is a great story with a great message. It tells children there are no limits to what they can be. It tells children not to be deterred by sterotypes or opinions. You can be anything you set your mind to. I bought copies for both my son and my niece.

This book was very touching. It was also funny and made me laugh out loud at the things that two ninteen year old girls did. Although it was set in the 1920's and I could not catch every person to which they referred, I still got the point of the book and enjoyed it immensely. I would definitely recommend this book to other teenagers and older because this book was one of the best books I ever read. The things they did I would never have done and the people they met were werid, yet I felt that without being able to relate very much to the book made it all the more interesting to read. I hope this book is read by others so they can all laugh as much as I did.

This book was very touching. It was also funny and made me laugh out loud at the things that two ninteen year old girls did. Although it was set in the 1920's and I could not catch every person to which they referred, I still got the point of the book and enjoyed it immensely. I would definitely recommend this book to other teenagers and older because this book was one of the best books I ever read. The things they did I would never have done and the people they met were werid, yet I felt that without being able to relate very much to the book made it all the more interesting to read. I hope this book is read by others so they can all laugh as much as I did.

I've never read the entire book (I'm working on it!) but just excerpts from my eighth grade lit. book, but what I've seen of it is FUNNY! Cornelia Skinner and Emily Kimbrough get into such hilarious circumstances! This is one of the few books I've laughed aloud with!

If you enjoyed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, but thought the heroines slightly too worldly, you may be delighted by this autobiographical account of two relatively naive girls off for their first continental jaunt.

It's a delightful, charming little book about their misunderstandings and misadventures, and certainly introduced me to historical ladies' undergarments in an unforgettable manner!

There are sequels (like "Forty Plus and Fancy Free") if you find you particularly liked this one, but the first is the best, as sadly firsts so often are. This is a funny little treasure of a book.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.

Cornelia Otis skinner is the real comedienne of this pair of authors and injects a lot more humor into this book, as opposed to most of Kimbrough's solo works. You cannot imagine two more naive college girls traveling about Europe in the 1920's. It was a simpler time, and today has great appeal to one's nostalgic side. If you get a chance to pick up a used copy, do so!

The author calls this book, "Near Fiction," i.e. "a futuristic story that ping pongs somewhere between non-fiction and science fiction." It is certainly all that and much more.

The book is about the US-UN War. Far fetched?

It is Book 2 of a trilogy and Books 1 and 3 have not been written yet. Odd?

Ask George Lucas.

I have to admit that it took me several chapters to wrap my brain around the author's concept of a near fiction war between the US and the UN, but the further one goes into the story, the easier the idea is to accept.

The thing which makes this all work for me is that Michael Mannske can flat out write. His characters come alive, his scenarios become plausable and his knowledge of the military gives the book an authenticity that near fiction and science fiction need in order to remain plausible.

Mannske says in the Afterword that he wrote this book because he was bored. That he wanted to escape the post 9/11 world and be "mesmerized again by cataclysmic clashes and superpower showdowns...where military strategies are brought to life and age old SIOP [Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol] war plans dusted off and tested in the crucible of the imagination."

The crucible of this author's imagination is white hot. If you are looking for a book that is not boring and quite mesmerizing, Foreign and Domestic is just the ticket. I promise you it will make you think and probably keep you up later than is good for you. It did me.

Great book! In the "against all odds" tradition of great novels this book really got to me. A glimpse at a not too hard to imagine predicament and "Hobson's" choice we could be faced with. Solzenitzen warned us - Mannske has too. Love the characters and their development - I can't wait for the next one. This book would make a great movie.

With the support of our president the UN has placed large areas of the US under the control of its political forces and a civil war is raging putting friends and family on opposing sides. The Sovereign Forces are fighting hard to preserve our Constitution and save our one remaining asset - the missile silos in the Middle States. The action is non-stop in the field and on the home front as well. Technical descriptions and gritty put-down comraderie among the SF men crackles with authenticity - perhaps straight out of Mannske's own Gulf War experiences.

Can't wait for the rest of this triology - how could the UN get this power and how do we get it and our country back? Hope Mannske doesn't make us wait very long. It's a sure fire movie hit - heads up on this one, Hollywood!

Written by a former Air Force fighter pilot, Foreign and Domestic: Campaign II - Battle for the Middle States is a dark, suspenseful novel set in a near future where the United Nations has become the world's next superpower and the president has turned traitor against his own country. When the UN invades America, an army of patriots rises up in rebellion, seeking to repel the invaders and the remove the president who invited them. Ex-Air Force pilot John "Spiderman" Trent and his band of Sovereign Forces is harassed at every turn, and his wife is targeted for internment; he is one of many called upon to sacrifice all for home, family, and the dream of a struggling nation. A thrilling political and military novel that resists being put down until the last page is turned.

The book was very timely for it portrays a likely senario of what the UN might do if it had the power. It also shows the complacency of the American people to accept whatever is handed to them without question. We as Americans need to question what our leaders are placing on us and either reject or accept it with clear minds and be willing stand up for what is right, according to the Constitution of The United States as written and understood by the framers of that document, and not based on the interpetation of any group, court, or other entity. This book may be fiction, but it has so many true facts that are relevant to today's enviroment, that only the story line may prove to be fictional. I thought the book was great reading and had trouble putting it down. I would recommend it to anyone with a conservative view. I look forward to this author's future books.
Shelby G. Lowery
P.O. Box 73
New Albany, MS 38652

We read this book in our friends' apartment in Paris. It is the most wonderful and comprehensive book for cheese lovers and foodies. Looked through many book stores in Paris and were told it is out of print.
Most spectacular find at Amazon. Thanks.

This is great. Shows cheeses at different ages which is one of the most interesting points and makes this very unique as a reference book. If your in the business its a must have.

I collect field guides and what attracts me to some is the clever layout and design. This volume is in a class by itself and unlike some guides, the text was so informative that i could not put it dowm.
Should receive 6 stars out of 5.

As mentioned in previous reviews, this book does a great job of referencing hundreds of cheeses from France, providing photographs, descriptions, and wine recommendations. In these areas, it does a fantastic job. I've learned a lot reading it and I can't wait to take it with me on my next trip to France.

I wish the book gave more guidance on the tastes of the different cheeses and how you might select them. For example, if I like Brie and wanted to try a different nice mellow soft cheese, what might be recommended? This book isn't organized to help answer questions like that.

Overall, an important book for anybody serious about cheese.

Living in France, I am always making the acquaintance of cheeses I had never before known existed. I always scurry to find this book, and look up the tasty morcel I've just consumed. It's great for learning the basics about various cheeses -- and, as noted by other reviewers -- the photos are divine, but it's not the sort of book one takes into the bath to pore over for hours at a time. Put it on your shelf next to your dictionary and thesaurus; it's that useful!

The photos take me back to the French countryside where I enjoyed painting landscapes in the late afternoon light.

Beau Morgan

Exactly what I was looking for...an engagement calendar that keeps us on schedule from week to week, and has the added advantage of lovely photos from France that remind us of our trip last year. Only thing I would like to see added is a monthly calendar view at the beginning of each month.

Book arrived in excellent shape. We have purchased this calendar in previous years so the content was not in question. Excellent purchase.

I have been buying these diary/calendars for years and love them. Their layout is excellent, the photographs are charming, and they are easy to work with. Merci mille fois.

I have been getting this calendar for at least 4 years now, and the beautiful photos of life in France always put me in a dreamy mood. There is one for every week. They come up with all new photos every year, too. I am always amazed. The cover pattern reminds me of the fabric of Provence and is alway colorful and looks lovely on my desk. It comes in a similarly patterned cardbord sleeve, which I cut up and use as bookmarks, as I can't bear to throw it away.
The paper quality is also good and it even feels special when you write on it. My pen just glides. I don't know how I could start a new year without it!