France Books

I haven't read much yet. I've been too busy browsing through the pictures. Beautifully detailed. Amazing how this art was created by people that we think of as primitive. There has always been a need of humans to express themselves through art.

I have always be fascinated by this type of art work. Lately I have bought a half dozen books on the subject, This book is by far the best for photographs and illustrations. It gives real insight to the art and way it was created. The wealth of photographs is amazing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in cave art.

This is an amazing book! I don't think I've ever lingered over a book as much as I have this one. The incredibly detailed descriptions of the artwork draw you to repeatedly examine each photograph. I find this book even more fascinating because it includes a study of the cave's floor as well as the parietal art.
This book is a fascinating journey into the past depicted by the most extraordinary photographs!
I highly recommend this book for your personal collection.

It's dark in there. Deep in the caverns located in cliffs of the Ardeche River gorge somebody left images of a world unseen. Bears, ibexes, lions and more are depicted in over three hundred complete and and partial imagery along the rock walls. Some have even been "erased" by smudges overlying the originals. In some cases the animals are probably fighting. The rutting season? Others are massed together as if migrating or hunting in packs. To depict these fauna so precisely required immense talent. Yet they could only have been drawn in the flickering light of oil lamps or torches. The very walls must have seemed to flicker with life as the painters went about their craft. Who were they? Why did they put so much effort into these images? What can we learn from them?

Jean Clottes, leading a team of researchers, has been examining the Chauvet caves for over a decade. In this book, the images are catalogued, defined and analysed for age and content. More than anything else, this book is a fantastic depiction of the images, in both panoramic and in close detail. It has been an immense task and the work has barely begun, as Clottes notes. Access to the cave, even when permitted, requires patience, dexterity and allows no tinge of claustrophobia! Yet some of the photographs show the researchers at their work or examining their surroundings. It's a vivid contrast to see but the boots of one crawling through an access tunnel, then standing almost lost in an immense grotto.

A compilation of the work of several authors, Clottes' book offers more than the images of our ancestors' paintings. It's made clear that whatever the painters' drive to convey their views of lions, mammoth or bison, it wasn't an evolving aesthetic sense or the expression of a leisure class. Among the collections of photographs, analysts attempt to derive some meaning from the depictions. To Joelle Robert-Lamblin, the closest approximation to these Palaeolithic artists are the Inuit. In an essay pointing out similarities and differences, attention is given to the role of the cave itself and known shamanic practices. For both societies, the bear is a figure of significance. At Chauvet, paintings are done over cave bear scratchings, and in one place a bear's skull has been carefully positioned. Were the skull and the many paintings of bears an appeal for their power, or an attempt to ward off predation?

Interpretation of these images isn't easy, but Clottes explains some of the patterns and practices involved. Reading his text requires a bit of page flipping, since the cave has so many chambers, all named for some factor or another [although "The Sacristy" at the far end defies explanation]. In the "earlier" part of the cave, the images are rendered mostly in red ochre. In the deeper chambers, the dominant colour is black. Certain animals abound in some grottoes, while others are nearly devoid of images. Many surfaces which almost cry out for use remain blank. Clottes suggests these divisions are based on initiation levels of those allowed within the sacred confines - a practice common in many of today's religions. Further, the mystery of the lack of human figures remains unresolved.

Beyond the glorious photography, Clottes provides maps of the various chambers and a table of dated artefacts. The dating, as he notes, was a shocking revelation. The images were depicted over thirty thousand years ago. And their creation wasn't continuous. A five thousand year stretch, a distance in time equal to that of the Old Kingdom of Egypt to today, separates the two major periods of occupancy. Was the location lost, or simply visited without adding new graphics? The notes and bibliography for this account are thorough, but are limited to the immediate work. Clottes is still working on the images and their meaning. He may produce another book on Chauvet, but it will not truly replace this one. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

It would be easier by far to climb Everest or to plunge into the Marianas Trench than to gain access to Chauvet Cave, which is restricted to a mere half dozen archaeologists by the government of France. There are very good reasons for the restrictions. Human activity in limestone caves is inevitably destructive; both natural features and artifacts are quickly degraded. This is hyper-critical in Chauvet because of its uniqueness and scientific significance. Fortunately, there is this magnificent book of photos of the cave and its art. There is also a spectacular virtual tour of the cave on line, maintained by the French government.

When the cave was discovered by spelunkers in 1994, it had not been entered by humans since roughly 22,000 BCE (or 12,000-14,000 years before the Creation of the Earth, according to Biblical fundamentalists). Yet to the astonishment of archaeologists, some of the art and artifacts in the cave were soon dated reliably as even older, perhaps 15,000 years older, from the Aurignacian era, thus being the earliest known cave paintings as well as the oldest known footprints of an anatomically modern human. Even more astonishing is the sophistication of the paintings, both technically and aesthetically. No words can describe the impact of seeing such skillful representations of horses, mammoths, rhinoceroses, elk, and cave lions, representations that seem as vivid and impressionistic as our own modern iconic images of the Wild. The Chauvet paintings are in no way "primitive" in comparison to the images in the caves at Altamira or Lascaut, yet they are as much as 750 human generations older!

I've personally visited a dozen of the cave-art sites of France and Spain. Some of them are over-toured, yet a few of the best, like Peche-Merle, are solitudinous. Photographs and even moving pictures do little justice to the sensations of seeing the paintings and sculptures in situ. You can't just walk into the gallery and stand on a flat floor and see the stuff on the walls. These are real caves, narrow, cold, full of sharp spikes of rock and jagged corners - head-bangers, crawly holes, slime, and ankle-twisters. Likewise the artists didn't stand and sketch; they crept and crouched, and sometimes hid their images in the weirdest crevices! Whatever they were doing, whatever it meant to them, it was no casual graffiti; it was full of lost intention.

Jean Clottes, the author of this book and one of the chief archaeologists of Chauvet, writes lucidly and modestly about the project he heads, the history and significance of Chauvet, and the whole context of the presence of early modern H. sapiens in Europe. His text is not for specialists only; it's accessible to "armchair" archaeologists like myself, though I can't help regretting that my armchair is as close as I'll ever get to this first known masterpiece of human artistic impulse. Wouldn't a few million euros (or dollars)be more usefully spent on conserving and studying Chauvet than on building another freeway overpass or a fence to keep workers out of a country where work is wanted?

Anyone in love with and charmed by the beauty of France (as I am) will love this book. The illustrations are absolutely lovely.

Already in love with Margaret Hall Hoybach's painting style, I should have known that once I opened her book, both the words and the brush strokes would carry me, faster and faster, through to the very last page. Margaret enables the reader to see, hear, smell, taste, and experience her weeks traveling and painting across France.

It's 10:30 P.M. and I just finished Colors of France: A Painting Pilgrimage. I couldn't put it down---the book is a phenomenal experience. The reader journeys with Margaret while Joan's text flows from Margaret's perceptions. Both women are exceptionally talented. This is a wonderful book.

Feasting and fasting, reflection and spontaneity, fellowship and solitude - all the elements of a pilgrimage are contained in this intimate account of Margaret Hall Hoybach's journey to paint Monet's gardens. Her sketches and paintings convey the wonder of her journey. Joan Brown captures the creative spark that propels an artist forward and the moments of conversion that await those willing to embrace their dreams. Colors of France is filled with rich, inviting textures arrayed for any traveler, regardless of destination. Hoybach's willingness to share her experience leads me to examine my own path. A good book to share with a friend.

I very much enjoyed this delightfully personal and emotional journey through the backroads of a France not previously known. The beautiful illustrations by one of my favorite artists gave the reader vivid images of this gorgeous landscape. For a non-artist, it was especially interesting to experience the journey through an artist's eye...an artist very worthy of the invitation to paint Monet's gardens. The book is a wonderful collaboration by a gifted painter and a talented writer.

A few additional remarks besides the excellent review by Mr. Marold:
Even if you are not up to cooking these great dishes, this book is one of the most useful books if you plan on going there. Wolfert covers many specific places you may want to visit. She locates some important restaurants and chefs (even in San Francisco). She tells you what to eat in many cities. She tells you about things you may want to bring home, including some of the specialized pots which are very hard to obtain here; one exception is the U.S. maker of the pot on the cover. You can order the "Diable Charentais" by Googling and selecting the translation of the potter's page. Wolfert shows you how much diversity there is within short distances across this region.
For the cook as well as the traveler, no book in English is so perceptive, comprehensive and accurate. With attention, you can reproduce "the truth". She is also helpful to those of us who cannot assemble the authentic equipment and ingredients.
The importance of this new edition is the current information on people and places, and especially on the sources now accessible from home.

I would join with the other reviewers here in recognizing this work as a tour de force in the field of authentic, regional French cooking. I have owned the earlier edition for a number of years and have used it to produce successful, one-of-a-kind results. I would also echo the comments of others in warning prospective purchasers not to expect any simple, quick, or uninvolved recipes in this book. Many main courses require several steps of preparation spread over more than one day. It is also true that many of the recipes still call for ingredients that are hardly on the shelves of the average (or even above average) pantry (e.g., ventreche, piment d'Espelette, rendered duck or goose fat, etc.). Having said all that, there are some wonderful recipes here. However, the changes worked into this new edition sometimes leave me baffled. To take one example, both the old and new editions include a recipe for duck "ham," an air-cured preparation that, when it works, produces a prosciutto-like result. The substantive difference between the old and new versions of this recipe call for the cook to "shave off the duck skin [from the duck breast that is used to make the ham] leaving the fat underneath intact." This really calls for an illustration or at least some additional explanation, in my opinion, because the skin and subcutaneous fat on the duck breast I examined after reading this instrucion are, as I expected would be the case, as one. Note that in the earlier version of this recipe, the skin was left intact. I've found a few more such amendments to recipes that didn't seem to make things any clearer (not to mention easier), and while I cannot say that there aren't any recipes that have been improved by revision, they haven't jumped out at me yet. A few of the new recipes look interesting, but they rise to the same level of challenge as all of the other recipes in this collection always have. Still, for those willing to invest a great deal of time and attention in the preparation of authentic Southwestern French cuisine, this is THE text in English.

After visiting the southwest of France 3 months ago, I fell in love with their rustic cuisine. This book, the recipes & writtings, is just like reliving our fabulous 10 day vacation. This is a true gem, I can't wait to use my first recipe from it!

Since we just returned fro southwest France I wanted to find some receipes to make our favorite foods. The Cooking of Southwest France did just that. Great receipes and simple to make.

A revised edition of the 1983 book, this is a very authentic tome of sw french cuisine. Paula is one of our greatest cookbook authors, and you cannot go wrong with a single one of her books. The only draw back to this book is that not every recipe is 'doable' to the average home cook, as some ingredients (mainly animal fats) are very hard to find.

Because my wife and I read our children so many books, very few stand out. COPY ME, COPYCUB, like GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU is a book that I can remember effortlessly. The story is beautiful and engaging without being overly sentimental, and the authors do not shy away from the very real danger little things face in the wild. However this is not a book that will frighten children, but rather one that emphasizes the wonderful bond between parent and child. I can't imagine anyone purchasing this book and being dissatisfied.

I bought this book for my grandson to replace the paperback book he had worn out. He's only 14 months, but he loves books. Now he has his favorite book in a more durable form.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this lovely children's book is a novel! It's charmingly told & drawn with some quite serious ideas to tell. Just who teaches us? How do we learn & why? A good book to ask questions about afterwards. ...

Susan Winter's engaging pictures accompany this very simple yet engaging story of a little copy cub who learns lessons of life by imitating his mother. A simple text makes it easy for youngsters to learn about the little cub's efforts to mimic his mother's wisdom.

This is the third time we are checking this delightful book out of the library, so it's definitely time to buy it. My just turning three year old loves this book and has us read it to him every night. The pictures are great, and he has this story down to memory also, as someone else mentioned in their review. I would recommend this book to anyone with a 2-5 year old in mind..

Rigorous research of police archives regarding murder cases ocurred in Paris in the 19 th. century. Every case is written in a narrative style that captures the reader form the beginning to the end. This is the best book I have ever read as a journalist and crime investigator. Black and white photographs compiled in this volume are unique.

Raw real life photography, if you have a weak stomache then this
book is not for you. If you think crime is bad today this book will shock you, black and white images of death from the late 1800's to the very early 1900's. This book, though, is a must-have for the true crime buff. Whether it be for the photos, or the stories of how the people were found and how they passed. I can usually look at shocking photos, but this book made me feel like the other photos were nothing, compared to these. If you want a real conversation piece AND a piece of history buy this book. The positions of some of the people are disturbing.

If you're not interested in crime, homocide, early criminological studies, or Paris or have a delicate constitution, don't read this book. However, if these things fascinate you, pay as much as the seller asks because this is a good one. The photos were discovered in Paris by Eugenia Parry, a photography scholar. The photos she found were old Bertillon photos of crime scenes in Paris. Ms Parry then matched the photos to newspaper reports. Some are grotesque, all make you catch your breath: this is what we do to oneanother. Twelve years later came WWI, the trenches, artillery, machine guns and gas. The acts described in this book were not so efficiently conducted. This is a book you won't easily forget.

I truly agree with some of the previous reviews,but let me give you an opinion on someone who knows crime photography well.this book is so well organized as far as text, bescause of the fact that it gives you complete stories behind the photos,plus early crime photos that are magnificent as well as tastefull,(believe me,I've seen some that are much worse,but still very intense photos),makes this book one of the best and most tastefully done works on crime photography I have ever owned!It's not a gore book relying primarily on shock value for it's saleability.Although the only thing it does'nt include is photo type reference,although they are all dated.Take it from a collector of early crime photography,this book is truly a gem!

This is a very disturbing book, with some extremely gruesome photographs of real-life violent crime scenes and murder victims from Paris around a hundred years ago. The author gives us the fascinatingly tragic and horrible stories behind the photographs, showing us that fact is sometimes stranger and more disturbing than fiction. From the murder of a courtesan to a limbless torso found in a suitcase floating in the river, to an infant neglected to death by his own parents, to an old bag lady found strangled in the bed of her run-down shack, to a waiter who killed a fellow waiter, to a dead body incinerated to hide its existence,--these were all well-publicized sensationalistic crimes which filled the public with titillation, fear and dread. This unique book is simply a must-read for anyone interested in criminology and the "true crime" genre.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

The definitive life, based on the official "Process of Beatification and Canonization," and thus totally factual and documented. Of humble education and assigned to a forgotten farmers' village, he attracted the whole world to Ars and was proclaimed "Patron Saint of Parish Priests" in 1929. Ate one meal a day, slept only a few hours a night, heard confessions up to 17 hours a day, converted thousands. His body remains incorrupt. A grace-filled story of total love of God!

"In the span of nearly 50 years of priesthood, what is still the most important and most sacred moment for me is the celebration of the Eucharist. My awareness of celebrating in persona Christi at the altar prevails. Never in the course of these years have I failed to celebrate the Most Holy Sacrifice. If this has occurred, it has been due entirely to reasons independent of my will. Holy Mass is the absolute center of my life and of every day of my life. It is at the heart of the theology of the priesthood, a theology I learned not so much from text books as from living examples of holy priests. First and foremost, from the holy Cure of Ars, Jean Marie Vianney. Still today I remember his biography written by Fr. Trochu, which literally overwhelmed me."  (English text of the address given at the International Symposium on the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Conciliar Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis on Friday, October 27, 1995. Text acquired from L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly English Edition.) Text can also be viewed at the Vatican web site.

This is the best biography of Vianney I have read. It is tough going at times, partly due to its length and partly due to its tendency to be repetitious, but it is well worth the time in order to learn more about the personality and life of this exemplary priest.

Often books about saints are so full of fanciful musings and imaginings that it is difficult to decode fact from fiction. This book is based on the research proceedings and interviews of witnesses for the canonization of St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney. The book examines the life of the saint through the eyes of those who lived and interacted with him on a daily basis and recounts stories based on theirs shared experiences of the man. The author presents the reader with documented accounts much like what one would hear from witnesses recounting events that had taken place in a court of law. This gives the book a certain authenticity. Clearly, the author has a tremendous amount of respect for the Cure d'Ars but I think that it is the result of what he has uncovered in the collected documents of the saint's life rather than the musings of a man who out of an admiration for a saint, whose life is documented only through fanciful stories based on hearsay or legends, has written a text that is difficult to accept because of the lack of evidence for what is being presented. I would recommend this book because it is well written, balanced and accessible to most readers. I also find that you will get of fairly clear picture of who the Cure of Ars was, how he lived and what he accomplished over the course of his relatively long life. He was truly a remarkable man!

What makes this such an amazing and enthralling book is not just the unbelievable life of this humble priest---but the quotes and thoughts of those around him; many impressions from those who knew and worked with him, etc...It also documents extremely well the historical backdrop of France in the eighteenth century; what was going on at the time; how the Church was persecuted, innocent priests guillotined by the savage Revolution; how the Church had to go underground. It was forbidden to say Mass and any priest doing so was punished; families harboring priests were likewise punished. It is a well-documented thorough portrait of a most remarkable saint placed in a historical context. It is engrossing, fascinating and inspiring.

Reading this factfilled book by Michael Varhola has again turned my thoughts to all the brave young men who came to fight far away from home to free Europe. This book has many interesting facts and figures that I have not seen in other books. The research has been thorough and put down on paper in a way that makes it easy to read. This book should be read by everyone interested or have family who fought in this battle. Highly recommended.

A well written, thoroughly researched, detailed account of D-Day. This book is a must have for anyone seeking information on this masterful invasion. More than 55 years have passed since the Allies conducted this massive operation and this book is a vivid reminder of the service and sacrific of those brave participants. A great book for veterans or for family members interested in what Grand Father did in the war.

This book is a must reference source for anyone seeking quick information on the several aspects of one of the greatest military actions in history. The authors have examined, in depth, all factors of the June 6, 1944 landing at Normandy to include Allied and enemy forces, equipment and task organizations. Whether you are a reader with only a casual interest in history, a student, or a history buff, this book is a great information guide. Packed with well-researched facts on air, ground and naval forces, brief biographies of the key leaders, detailed equipment technical data, and personal battle experience of several participants, Varhola and Holderfield have put it all together in a form suitable for ready reference or cover-to-cover reading. Small in size (219 pages), yet large in content, this book contributes to a better understanding of the single most important military action leading to victory in World War II.

This book provides an excellent by-the-numbers overview of Operation Overlord. Plenty of background on the various aspects of missions, equipment, the terrain, and the troops. There is a startling amount of information packed into this pleasantly easy to read book. I especially enjoy the way hard facts (for example the number of guns on a beach) are interspersed with interesting vignettes (the fascine tank that became part of the bridge). Strongly recommend this book.

D-Day is often presented in books, films and other media as a two-dimensional episode between Germans and Americans. In this refreshing volume, the significant roles of the British and Canadian--and even the French--forces are described along with those of the Americans, and the role of Ukrainians, old men, and boys forced into uniform is covered along with that of the Germans.

At the core of this concise, comprehensive overview of Operation Overlord--the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944--are chapters that provide detailed, minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour descriptions of the action on each of the five Allied beachheads. Sections on weapons and equipment, Allied and Axis leaders, aircraft and airborne operations, and other salient topics help to add depth and detail to these accounts. Brief but detailed introductions and conclusions clearly establish the context of the invasion and describe its effects.

Came across this book after reading another by the same author, a volume on the Korean War titled "Fire &Ice." Was pleased with it, so decided to give this one a chance. Very pleased that I did.

Norman Bogner's new novel, "The Deadliest Art", is fantastic! It is a sequel to "To Die In Provence", but it can easily be read on its own. If you read this book, you'll definitely want to read the first book anyway. The story follows French detective Michel Danton as he struggles to honor his promise to his new bride to give up his dangerous work, while being presented with a case of unimaginable horror. The book alternates between the actions of the criminals and their pursuers in a non-synchronous manner that works perfectly. "To Die In Provence" was a great mystery, plunging one into the customs and culture of the South of France. "The Deadliest Art" surpasses it, with an even deeper immersion into French psyche and attitude, coupled with an exploration of the Venice of Southern California. As you are simultaneously drawn into the madhouse of the killers and Michel Danton's increasing desperation, you won't be able to put this book down!

While agreeing with the other readers' comments, I was most fascinated by the storytelling device that Norman Bogner invented in this novel: Unsynchronized chronology of converging stories. This differs from standard thriller technique in which the point of view swings back and forth between the good guy and bad guy like the arm of a metronome or clock pendulum, with the story driven by advancing time.

The novel opens in Provence, France, where Bogner reintroduces us to Det. Michael Danton and art historian Jennifer Bowen, now in a state of prenuptial bliss. Next, a continent away in Venice, California, Bogner introduces murderous Garrett Lee Brant "and his beautiful Eve" who are just stepping out for a millennium New Year's party hosted mammary-enhanced Heather Malone, Garrett's benefactor and sometime lover. Garrett is a frustrated artist who is fascinated by Gauguin, with whom he "holds regular conversations." (His back story reveals the ability to speak in a number of voices.) Garrett has received no recognition for his work on canvas but is enjoying enormous commercial success doing tatoos on the Venice (CA) boardwalk. Eve is skilled in the art of makeup. Switch to Provence where Michael is called to investigate a girl's body washed up on the beach. Switch back to Heather Malone's party, an upscale S&M affair. Heather introduces to Mr. Jan Korteman, a Belgian photographer who specializes in high-grade pornography. Eve makes her own moves and a four-way psychological sex drama unfolds.

And thus two "parallel" stories evolve, with Michael investigating the girl's death and consoling the parents and with Jan taking Garrett and Eve to live as his house guests in Belgium where they engage in a sinister artistic collaboration. The stories evolve asynchronously: The protagonists working slowly to stop the crimes that the antagonists have yet to commit. This yarn is not driven by the beat of a metronome. It is driven by the fascination of the reader who realizes that by the end of the book the two stories must converge. As the book begins to run out of pages, the antagonists' story accelerates and catches up with the protagonists, with fascinating and deadly results. Bogner has invented a new technique in thriller fiction: Converging stories told in warped time.

And as if this was not clever enough, Bogner throws in one final twist which will make the reader pinch himself, turn back to the first page and read the story once more. "The Deadliest Art" is high art, every bit as clever as "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari."

As a Southern California mystery writer, I genuinely enjoyed Mr. Bogner's previous novel, TO DIE IN PROVENCE. I was not aware of this follow-up novel, THE DEADLIEST ART, until I read a glowing review of it in THE LA TIMES. Now that I've read this new work, I can attest that that wise TIMES critic was correct. THE DEADLIEST ART is a winner. In this novel, Michel Danton is back on the scene. He is preparing to marry Jennifer Bowen, the American professor who saved his life in Bogner's previous book. Events intervene. An acid-scarred body of an American junior golfer is found on a beach and other murders occur. The police begin their investigation, and Bogner presents flashbacks of the criminals in alternate chapters. The flashbacks begin in Venice Beach in California, near my home turf. The story works. Bogner captures his settings pefectly. His characters are vividly drawn. THE DEADLIEST ART is an excellent crime fiction work.

Some might have said that Norman Bogner was playing bad poker and attempting to draw to an inside straight when he wrote `To Die In Provence' in 1998. After all, he was a writer of mainstream fiction -- Seventh Avenue, The Madonna Complex, California Dreamers, among others - and the Provence book is a mystery. But after you read it you find it is much more than a mystery. The major characters, Michel Danton, chief investigator for the Special Circumstances Section of the French Judicial Police, and Jennifer Bowen, an American art history professor, remain with you and breathe on, as well as a host of minor characters. You find that you want to know more and that is a sign of a good book. The author filled his straight and won the hand.
What is meant by `more than a mystery'? I mean that the author has widened the scope, brought more to the table. Mysteries usually present the good man or good woman, usually a detective or cop, who then pursues the bad guy who has perpetrated a crime on usually good folks. The progression is linear from start to finish with few detours. Subplots are usually absent along with any serious reflections from the hero, minor characters appear and disappear after they help the hero, the bad guys are caught, resolution is complete, and a new book will appear next year. Along the way it is sometimes difficult to suspend disbelief because the hero carries a 25 shot 6-shooter. Examples are MacDonald's Travis, Parker's Spenser, Grafton's Kinsey, Child's Reacher, White's Doc Ford and a thousand others. A lot of these are good men and women detecting, pursuing and catching the bad folks in very good books. I've read them and like them. Norman Bogner, on the other hand, takes a lot of time defining and exploring his characters. With precise use of literary hydrofloric acid he etches very real people in glass. Because the people are real they have flaws and sometimes the glass fractures because of internal struggles within the characters, as well as cracking under the pressure of the externals not under their control. The crimes, along with the accompanying mystery/detective motif, the setting in southern France, and the pyscho-killer, presented in `To Die In Provence' act as a catalyst to bring the strengths and weaknesses of Michel and Jennifer, as well as others, to the surface and we see them struggle and reflect and we wince and fret over them and we want them to `grow out of it' and overcome. We want to know the answer to the question, `If it doesn't kill you, does it make you stronger'?
Bogner uses the same deft strokes to paint the canvas of his settings and the minor characters evolving in the background. Whether we want to or not we painlessly and relentlessly learn about the town of Aix-en-Provence, a good French restaurant, food, wine, and the friends, acquaintances, and parents of Michel, the French Judicial system, and, most surprising and different, how a killer operates and what makes him tick within the clock of the mystery. As one reads larger, more encompassing, questions surface. How is a man's behavior affected by his origin? How can a rich young girl-woman be captivated by a killer? The latter, of course, is the `Manson' question. If you want to know how the author answers these, read the book
After an intervening book, `Honor Thy Wife', a `mainstream' novel, Norman Bogner has returned with another compelling mystery, `The Deadliest Art.' The author, not content with leaving Michel and Jennifer in literary limbo, brings them back in an even more intricate plot. While it is nice to have read the previous book, it is not at all necessary for Bogner, with wide reach and skill, reintroduces you with great detail. And a whole new set of questions is asked while the `mystery' evolves. A young girl's body washes ashore near Aix-en-Provence. Her back is disfigured. Why? Thus, the mystery is triggered. Danton takes charge of the investigation and the backgrounds change, ranging from the back alleys of San Antonio, Texas, to Bruges in Belgium, the ever present Provence in France and, finally, to Venice, California. Again we relentlessly but painlessly learn about art, food, places and people, French and American cultures and, amazingly, tattoos. While the mystery unfolds and the murders pile up so do the larger questions. Bogner attacks the question of why, especially in America, are we so intent on being someone else, where is the benefit in illusion, what is art, and where are we going. Along with this the author has created a killer and his accomplices so diabolical and sociopathic and tied and knotted them to art in such a clever way that future villains may be defined as Bogner-esque in scope. When the book finally and fittingly ends, it ends with exploding revelation in Venice, California. Today, standing on the Venice Boardwalk in front of the Small World Bookstore, both of which front the frequently polluted Pacific Ocean, one can watch the unending parade of current American Culture before you in all its glory. One can only smile and nod one's head at the author's choice of a concluding locale. And one realizes that `The Deadliest Art' has presented us with a slice of American culture presented as a reflection of ourselves. Whether we want to or not. If one has read `From Dawn To Decadence' by Jacques Barzun, that giant tome, or Morris Berman's, `The Twilight Of American Culture', or watched 95% of recent American movies or television, one cannot help but see the undercurrents in `The Deadliest Art.' The author has succeeded again in giving us not only a compelling mystery but a compelling novel. More important, he has asked tough questions. If you read one book, you'll want to read the other.

This is my first Michel Danton mystery novel, and I will definitely be reading the first book in this series, "To Die In Provence" and be keeping an eye out for future Michel Danton mystery novels. Hard edged and gripping, this kind of mystery novel is not my usual fare, however I was quickly won over and found it quite difficult to put this book down. The identity of the murderer and his cohorts is known from the very beginning, so that this mystery novel is not so much about the authour engaging the reader to play armchair detective; rather "The Deadliest Art" is more of a psychological study about the workings of a deranged mind, and of the sway that this mind has over those that come into contact with it.

Michel Danton is busy preparing for his upcoming marriage to Jennifer Bowen, keeping his quarrelsome chef-parents in check, getting to know his about-to-be mother-in-law, and regretfully contemplating his resignation as commander of the Special Circumstances Section of the Police Judiciare (he had promised Jennifer that he's give up his very dangerous job for something a little more sedate), when a body of a young girl washes up on one of the beautiful Provence beaches. A check with missing persons reveals that the body is that of 13 year old Caroline Davis, an American who had been on holiday with her parents in Bruges, and who the Belgian police believe was kidnapped by unknown American woman. A preliminary autopsy reveals that the girl had been sexually assaulted, and that her body had been disfigured by some kind of acid wash. To Michel, it becomes obvious that the girl had been specially selected for whatever horror she had been put through. With little to go on, Michel and his team begin sifting through every little piece of information that they can get at, hoping for a breakthrough, when they receive news that there been two more kidnapping attempts. But the women involved in each kidnapping seems to be a different one. Is there a whole bevy of crazed women on the loose kidnapping young girls? Michel would like to be able to concentrate on his upcoming wedding, but finds his attention continuously being taken up by this strange murder-kidnapping case. Will he be able to catch the mind behind this criminal spree before another girl turns up dead?

"The Deadliest Art" has two plot-lines that work quite independently of each other until they intersect in the last few chapters, and Norman Bogner does a wonderful job of juxtaposing each plot line without missing beat. One plot line deals with the police investigation and Michel's upcoming marriage ceremony. The other plot line deals with the murderer's life, motivation, the murderer's losing grip of reality, and the spell that the murderer casts on all those around. Eventhough the murderer's identity is revealed within the first few chapters, I'll not go into too much depth about this particular plot line, because it was this plot line that was gripping and held my interest. I do wish however that Norman Bogner had spent a little more time on the police investigation of this kidnapping-murder than he had done. Uncovering the sad, bizarre and shocking history of the murderer lent a touch of horror to this mystery novel that was engrossing, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if he had concentrated more on the police investigation that he did on Miche Danton's private life.

Nitpicking aside, "The Deadliest Art" is an engrossing read, and worth all it's rave reviews.

This is both a great read and an important historical document. Fanny Trollope was the mother of Anthony Trollope, perhaps the most prolific English novelist of the nineteenth century and my favorite. Fanny's husband was ineffectual in the breadwinning department, but fortunately for the family, Fanny herself was energetic and enterprising. She took one of her sons (not Anthony) and an artistic young man to the United States. She was planning to join a friend of hers who was a mover in setting up the utopian community in Harmony, Indiana, but the place turned out to be squalid, and she didn't stay long.

Fanny spent most of her time in the U.S. in Cincinnati and in her book is very hard on the city and its inhabitants. She especially objected to the pigs' role as garbage collectors. (In those days, pigs roamed the streets freely, like sheep grazing.) Fanny felt most of the people she encountered were loud, dirty, vulgar, and fanatically patriotic. It is her vivid descriptions of the physical conditions and the people that give this book its historical and entertainment value.

While she was living in Cinci, she opened a retail emporium and filled it with rather shoddy merchandise sent from England by her husband. She also attempted to bring culture to the inhabitants. Not surprisingly, both ventures failed.

After Mrs. Trollope returned to England, she supported her family by writing novels that were quite popular at the time, though they haven't become the classics her son's have. She spent her final years living in Italy with another son and his wife.

This is an extremely entertaining commentary on American manners and well written. I agree, however, with Mrs. Trollope's son, Anthony, who commented that Mrs. Trollope is a keen observer but she understands little. Certainly her complaints about the lack of gentility among Americans is valid but she completely missed the wonderful lack of class restraints endemic to English society which afforded Americans "class mobility"--freedom of opportunity (except for native Americans and slaves).

Fanny Trollope (1779-1863) wrote over 35 novels and several non-fictions books in her effort to rescue her family from poverty. However, the most read of all her books is "Domestic Manners of the Americans" which she published in 1832. It was in that distant year that Fanny and two of her children traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. Her purpose was to join a utopian community in Tennessee whose denizens were freed slaves.
Fanny left her impecunious and feckless husband the barrister Thomas Trollope back home in England. Her famous son Anthony did not make the trip as he was a student at Harrow School. Fanny knew her husband would join her in the USA when money became available. Later the family would flee to Bruges to escape creditors. Fanny eventually lived out her life in Florence near her son Thomas Trollope.
After leaving Tennessee the Trollopes settled for two years in the Queen City of the West Cincinnati, Ohio. Fanny did not like America or the American people! She found us xenephobic; boastful, prideful and violent.She hated the hypocrisy of life in Midwest Ohio although she did attend such cultural attractions as opera, plays and lectures. She favored the state Anglican Church of Great Britain not caring for America's separation between church and state.
This book could well be read alongside Charles Dickens' "American Notes for General Circulation" based on his 1842 six month trip to the USA.
Both Trollope and Dickens found the Americans crude, lacking in manners
and eager to make a quick buck. Listen to Trollope at her most scathing:
"..among the rich and the poor, in the slave states, and in the free states...I do not like them. I do not like their principals, I do not like their manners, I do not like their opinions." (p.314).
Fanny Trollope's book is more interesting than Dickens since she discusses colorful characters and shares anecdotes about her sojourn in our young republic. Like Dickens she hates the odious practice of tobacco chewing and the mangling of the English language. Trollope found us Yankees to be too serious and viewing us as poorly read. Unlike the wealthy and famous Dickens, Mrs. Trollope was a middle-aged woman fighting off poverty with her pen. I enjoyed her descriptions of nature such as those she paints of the Potomac River, Northern Virginia and the Niagra Falls area in New York and Canada. She is aware of flora and fauna and describes them with knowledge and in beautiful prose.
Dickens and Trollope give us the eye to see America in the days prior to the Civil War when the curse of chattel slavery ruled the land. Since those days America has granted freedom to all citizens. I wish both Fanny and Charles could visit us again in the 21st century. Their remarks would be of great interest to this reviewer and countless others!

All I can say is: what a great read! Who knew? Quite frankly, upon first sight of this book I must admit a bit of dread as the puritanical artwork does not smack of fun and games. Of course, as a literature student, I should know better than to ever judge a book by its cover.
Had I been Fanny Trollope writing such an account of America in the 1820s, I would be hardpressed to say that I would have changed a single word. Trollope has been the victim of many mean spirited caricatures and accusations by Americans and it still continues today, but what is interesting is that no one can do more than attack her person. In other words, no one seems to be able to refute her claims.
Trollope's "bitchiness" seems, for the most part, merited by my standards and while she finds much to complain about concerning an American democracy in its adolescence, she certainly discovers just as many things that she likes or finds beautiful.
Plain and simple, Americans collectively have a hard time taking criticism, especially from an outsider...and at that time, political criticism from a woman was deemed absurd if not audacious.
Last but not least, Fanny Trollope is always sure to preface anything she says with the conscious realization that she can only speak for what she has seen/heard personally and is thereby not judging ALL of America.
Trollope is witty and anecdotal and I think anyone interested in what an outspoken Englishwoman had to say about the New World should certainly pick up a copy. I found particular interest in gender/religious issues but got the most laughs out of her descriptions of American manners (or the lack thereof).
It is always interesting to see how much things have changed, and better yet, how many things have remained exactly the same!

Very entertaining read of the author's trip through 19th Century America, full of wonderful description and enlightening observations. Despite the griping below, Mrs Trollope simply reports what she sees - men spitting tobacco on the floor, ladies off in another room while the guys have a good time, etc. She reports accurately on our forefathers' rugged pioneer spirit, but points out the lack of education everywhere. We want to shout "lies!" but Mark Twain wrote about the same thing, and the aspects of our society that haven't changed much are still being commented on with the same frankness by writers like Saul Bellow, Gore Vidal, Dawn Powell, Paul Theroux and Joan Didion. Many true-hearted Americans will enjoy this book no end. Mrs Trollope clearly loved America and simply wrote truthfully about; she is simply beholden to no one - the essence of good writing. A thoroughly refreshing read.

This is one of the most fun books of history you will ever be lucky enough to read. It covers some aspects of 17th Century French history, with the greatest proportion of the book centered on Louis XIV and his court, although there are chapters on the peasantry and the brutality of the galleys.

I personally enjoyed the essays on court etiquette because it was so ludicrous. Louis convinced the nobility of France to give up their private armies to live in tiny attic bedrooms at Versailles and fight over who got to sit in an armchair and who had to sit on a stool. Human nature never changes--in the 21st century people fight to achieve status by buying the correct Manolo Blahnik shoes and the right Hermes carry all.

The chapter on female education alone is worth the price of admission. Louis and Mme. de Maintenon established a school for the daughters of impoverished aristocrats, and as a result reformed education for upper class females throughout France.

As other reviewers have said, this is history in the grand manner and most enjoyable.

The wealth of detail in W.H. Lewis' book The Splendid Century is incredible, but even more incredible is Lewis' ability to see the forest and the trees, to intelligently distinguish between what is useful and what is irrelevant and to leave the reader with a definite impression of Louis XIV's France.

Like his brother, C.S., Warren Lewis has that stereotyped but still very real and precious commodity of English commonsense. His good-humored rationality flavors the book but not to the detriment of the subject. Lewis was, afterall, writing about Louis XIV's France, not 20th century England. As with all the best historians, Lewis has the ability to see the world from outside the ideologies and pressures of the present. More than once, he cautions the reader against applying current century thinking to a 17th century problem or event.

But tone is where Lewis excels. Personable without being chatty, humorous without being sarcastic, A Splendid Century is amazingly relaxing to read, especially allowing for the subject matter and Lewis' fact-filled prose.

Recommendation: Buy it.

So much of what you read about the France of Louis 14th is based on the memoirs of Courtiers, to whom Versailles was the centre of the universe. In many ways that was true. Louis built Versilles to be the new heart of France. One where *he* ruled absoultley to the glorie of France.

However, this book covers much more than Versilles. You get to see what the majority of France was like during the period outside the court. Why the country was loathed by all courtiers, the real definition of a stinking Paris. How to get caught out at dinner for wrong ettiqute. Why you *didn't* want to end up on the Galleys and what your chances of education would have been like.

The author makes it clear that it is hard to make generalisations about this period in France, but he does his best to give us examples of the confusion and differences people experienced during the period.

If you think our taxes are bad today. Read this book and thank your lucky stars you aren't living in 17th cent France.

All in all this is a very enlightening read and highly recommended to anybody who wants a real glimpse of what the *real* France was like under Louis 14th.

W.H. Lewis wrote this famous book (dedicated to his brother C.S.) in 1953, but it has stood the test of time very well and provides an excellent introduction to the history of France during the reign of Louis XIV. "The Splendid Century" is history in the grand manner, written in the style of Trevelyan, Runciman and Roy Porter. The erudition is everywhere apparent, but it is worn lightly and the story is told in fluent prose enlivened by the odd flash of sly humour.

As the author points out in the introduction, the book might have been better titled "Some Aspects of Life in the Reign of Louis XIV;" rather than present a sequential narrative, Lewis chose to structure the book as a series of essays on particular aspects. There are chapters on the king and his court, the religious situation, the organisation of the army and the state of the peasantry. Among the unexpected pleasures of the book are the chapters on sea voyages, the world of the galleys and the education of women. A surprising omission, however, is a discussion of Colbert and his attempts at administrative reform. Nevertheless, this is a fine work of history that can be strongly recommended.

Mr.W.H.Lewis, brother of Mr.C.S., projects his fondness for the 17th century with bravado in The Splendid Century. The word splendid, derived from the latin for "illuminated", allows the reader to understand his thesis of the Grand Siecle without turning a page, by simply judging the book by its cover. Here is a profoundly pious Christian man composing some of the most glorious prose about a controvertial subject and succeeding where so many others have failed.

By not limiting himself to Versailles Mr.Lewis creates honesty. But he does not stop there, he remains true to the popular understanding. The Sun King's world brought to life.