France Books

THIS STORY WAS REAL BEAUTIFUL
AND IT FEELS SO REAL.
THE STORY HAS MANY TWISTS
LOVE,PAIN,LAUGH AND TEARS...I STRONGLY RECOOMMEND
THIS BOOK FOR ANYONE WHO
APPRECIATES HEART TOUCHING LOVE NOVELS.

This is NOT your typical "romance". This is not sentimental fluff without substance. It will make you laugh and leave you crying.

Gil and Sunny's love for each other is one which is often viewed as scandalous, taboo, and yet absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching... They are first cousins.

This is certainly nothing new. Cousin romances have existed since the beginning of time, and are not all that uncommon, even in today's world. However, the subject is one that few authors have the courage to write about. Cindy Bonner handles a difficult subject with grace, compassion, sensitivity, and realism.

Set in the early 1900's, Sunny and Gil face tremendous prejudices against them. Yet love is something that can not be denied, and is worth sacrificing everything for. The couple overcomes every obstacle imaginable, and their love endures through the best and worst of circumstances.

Never has a story touched my heart like this one, and never has one echoed the thousands of voices of cousins who find themselves in similar situations so clearly.

I am writing this review because very few books and movies can leave me in tears. From the first page I was drawn in. I read this book in a day and a half and when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it or dreaming about it. You know a book is good when the characters continue to haunt you long after the last page. All through this book I felt the same happiness, sorrow, anger, frustration and a slew of other emotions Sunny and Gil went through. This book was brillant and if you're looking to read a love story that will move you and make you feel as if you are experiencing the same emotions as the characters and not just watching from the sidelines this is the book for you.

I thought that this book was incredibly well written, and very original. I picked it up in the library never having heard of the author, and I didn't put it down until I finished the entire book in one day. In a day where it is hard to find something new and fresh, this book meets those expectations. I highly reccomend this book, and it's author to anyone looking for a fresh mind!

This story of forbidden love between first cousins was so tragically beautiful. Although Sunny and Gil tried to go their separate ways, they always came back to each other, leaving a trail of hurt and pain behind. So many years wasted...I only wish they would have had more years together in the end.

The Saint-Tropez is an excellent diet book, or better yet, a way of life.
It's very easy to follow, once you read the book.
The recipes are out of this world! Who thought of cooking spinach with pine nuts and raisins ? There are no rare ingredients, everything is at your grocery store.
This diet combines two nutrients in every meal, omega-3 and foods rich in beta carotene.
Some of the recipes have two parts like "Marinated grilled vegetables", The marinade part for this recipe could be used also as a salad dressing.
Also the recipes are not complicated,they are simple, but different.

I am so glad that I bought this book. After a fast food diet of KFC and Big Macs and with the extra pounds packing on this was just what I needed!

After just one week and I see results: I have lost some weight and I do not feel deprived at all. This diet should be used by everyone who is interested in not only their weight management but also those are interested in living a healthy lifestyle where processed food is a thing of the past. The food can be a bit pricey but if you use your common sense substitutes are easily found.

I loved this book. Surprised to not really hear much about it. I found it one day while playing on Amazon and reading reviews. After I read the reviews I immediately bought the book. It is an easy read. Simple and to the point. I have been trying the simple recipies day to day for the past two weeks and love most every one of them. I feel like a gourmet chef but it is so easy. My kids are still a little stand offish about trying radically new stuff but I know in time they will get more and more used to it. I love having a glass of wine now and then and I do find that I simply enjoy the taste and freshness of the food. I highly recommed. We should all shake up our diets and make them tastier and healthier.

Who knew that healthy eating could be this enjoyable? The recipes in this book are appealing to everyone in our family. The Saint-Tropez Diet offers 56 days worth of menu ideas, including snacks and desserts. Merci beaucoup!

I liked this book so much that I purchased extras as gifts for my health-concious foody friends.

The overall philosophy is sound and not extreme, and the recipes I've tried so far are delicious.

As a late boomer (47) one of my earliest memories was watching Churchill's funeral on TV. I remember feeling it was such a solemn occasion, I wasn't sure exactly why at three years old, but I felt it. Many years later I live on the other side of the planet. I met Winston's grandson, who was my local MP before I left England.
This is a fascinating insight into the situation, of decisions made and my first, first hand read from his own hand, there are many very important decisions made, on the hoof, with lives at stake, national identities at stake.
I intend to read more, from his WW1 books, to hopefully gain a clearer idea of what happened in the Dardinelles, an event which is used to create a pivot for the national identity here.

"Their Finest Hour" is in my opinion the apex of Churchill's 6-volume series on World War II. It tells the tale of the perilous Battle of Britain. At this stage in the war, victory was anything but certain for the United Kingdom, which struggled against the Nazi menace alone.

Like the rest of "The Second World War," the tale is told from the vantage point of Great Britain's indefatigable Prime Minister and War Minister, Winston S. Churchill. Few historical works that I have seen have the authority of being written by a principal player in the narrative.

Churchill makes liberal use of offical and personal documents from the period, including his ongoing correspondence with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

As a piece of literature, the series shines. Forgetting the importance of the series as an historical document, Churchill's mastery of the English language makes for worthwhile reading.

As someone who writes for a living, I find that the quality of my own writing goes up a notch when I read Churchill.

In the first half of Vol. 2, 'Their Finest Hour', Churchill covers the Battle of France. As new Prime Minister he sets up his Coalition Government to fight the 'common cause' and prepare for the War. Germany was already in France and the Western Front was under attack. The Belgian Government was striving to remain neutral and soon all was being lost in the 'deluge of disaster'. The Germans broke the Maginot line and soon the Battle of France was lost. There was the successful deliverance of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk and the preparations to defend the home front.

The second half deals with the Battle of Britain with Hitler preparing for 'Operation Sea Lion'. In order for the invasion of England to be successful, Germany first had to control the air. London and various areas were shaken but neither the spirit nor the Country destroyed. Italy was on the move, in the Mediterranean, and invading the African coast. The Battle of Britain was won and the RAF had 'Their finest Hour', but the War was far from over. This volume covers the timeline of May 10, 1940 to Jan. 5, 1941.

It should be noted and remembered that England stands in a different position militarily than France. England is a small, ancient, insular island that has withstood many centuries of assaults and attempted invasions. So when Hitler and his forces sought to make the same attempt, not only the RAF and the Royal Navy but history was standing against them. Also it wasn't just England alone that was fighting. It was also their devoted Commonwealth, Dominions and Empirical Attachments that were involved in the war. England was pulling resources from all over their Empire. For instance, Australia and New Zealand were fighting on the African coast and in Greece.

America, under FDR, was moving closer to the war with the Lend-Lease Act and Japan was watching in the wings. Hilter was changing his war direction and moving into the Eastern Front. Stalin was changing his alliance with Hitler and moving closer to Britian and the United States. The impact and weight of the World's destiny was in the balance and starting to slowly shift. Nothing was yet certain and U-Boat packs still prowled the ocean.

This is another of those 'deserves to be read' books. Churchill fills in the volume with his correspondence and hindsight. It is good to read and become acquainted with Churchill's thoughts and this fateful time, in history, so that hopefully there will be no repeating of these terrible events. Well worth adding to the Library.

Americans have a warped view of history, and little understanding of the role of aristocracy and class in history--our own or Britain's. Churchill was a card carrying member of the aristocracy; one of the small group of men who ran England up to, and through, World War II. Their Finest Hour is an amazing documentation of the very height, and at the same time, end, of the all powerful aristocracy in England.

Churchill's second volume of his Six Volume history of the Second World War begins with May, 1940, as the German army is rolling through Luxembourg and Belgium (both clinging to their neutrality right up to the minute the German tanks crossed the border), toward a woefully unprepared France (still reliant upon the Maginot Line, which in turn depended on Luxembourg and Belgium neutrality.

Churchill has just assumed the post of Prime Minister, after having spent the prior year (and several before that) as an outsider bemoaning the refusal of Britain (and France) to prepare to meet the rising German threat. Those years of exile are the subject of volume one.

The present volume focuses on the extraordinary difficulties Churchill and others in the British government faced once the war actually began. Once France was forced to surrender, Germany was left in what most of us think of as continental Europe without any enemies. It had allied itself with fascist Italy, made peace with Stalin, conquered Poland and France, neutralized Spain, and occupied Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Norway, and the Netherlands.

In this sense, Britain stood alone. There was a very real risk that Germany could invade and conquer Britain in the Summer and early Fall of 1940. The German bombing of London was increasingly effective, and the British army was in total disarray, having just been forced to abandon France, leaving most of its equipment behind. Just how worried Churchill was comes through clearly and terrifyingly in this volume. Had Germany succeeded, the world might look very different today--the Second World War would have been transformed into a truly intercontinental war, with Asia and Europe allied against North America.

Of course, Britain was not really "Alone." Greece and Turkey were firm allies; Bulgaria and Yugoslavia stood against Hitler and Italy; and Britain controlled most of what we today think of as the third world--from Gibraltar at the southern tip of Europe, to Egypt, to South Africa, India, Malaysia and Burma, and Australia. Only by adopting a firmly eurocentric view of the world (which Churchill clearly had) can he title this volume "Alone."

Churchill and the rest of his government were able to move seamlessly into power, and immediately take control of this world wide empire precisely because of the peculiarly insular class system that ruled Britain. Even as an outsider, Churchill clearly had full access to all of the centers of power. He could not bend and shape them, but he was fully in the loop. Personal relationships and lifelong associations meant that he regularly met with leaders at all levels of the power structure--including most importantly (but by no means exclusively) top politicians and naval personnel. This sort of access by "losing" politicians in the United States today is unimaginable. Can anyone seriously envision Bush allowing the head of the CIA to meet regularly with Howard Dean to review the intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

The only weakness in this volume is Churchill's over reliance on his own contemporaneous telegrams and memos. he was absolutely prolific, apparently having dictated dozens of multi-page memos daily--yet still finding time to run the government. While fascinating historically, they really are bureaucratic memos. The first volume, by relying more on narration and less on historical documents, allowed Churchill greater reign to his incredible skill with the English language. Here, long sections read like just what they are--official documents written in haste, for the historical record.

That said, his brilliant use of words shines through. The most stirring passage is toward the end--his eulogy in November, 1940, for Neville Chamberlain, who more than anyone was responsible for "appeasing" Hitler. Rather than lapse into "I told you so", he marshals some of the most stirring words ever written to praise Chamberlain; urging history to judge him on the strength of his character rather than the results of his actions, which are subject to the fickleness of history.

In sum, this is a remarkable book, chronicling a remarkable time in history, written by a remarkable man who played a central roll in events. I can think of no other book by anyone at anytime which brings together all three of these elements--and is well written!

After reading this book, you truly begin to see how narrow minded the average American perception of World War II really is. Not to discount the magnificant American battles such as the landing at Normandy or the Battle for Midway, but the Battle for Britain was absolutely the finest display of honor and courage throughout the entire war. This tiny island and it's courageous people stood alone and stood tall against not only the behemoth Nazi-German menace, but at the same time fought the Mussolini in northern Africa and awaited the Japanese onslaught in their Australasian colonies. It's an absolutely inspiring work, and it's an absolute sin that American schools don't teach the story of how the British people shined so brightly during their darkest hour.

Finding this book and getting it so quickly was just what I had hoped for!
Thanks so much

I had this series as a child and LOVED it. This particular book was my favorite in the series. I can still remember the storyline. My set had been handed down to my sister. Now that she has grown up, I'm not sure where they have landed, but I intend to get the entire set again.

My Mom used to read this to me when I was little, and coincidently, I picked it up from our library while writing my personal statement for graduate school. I also am looking for "invisible enemies" like Louis Pasteur's; I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology.

This book was a vivid memory from when I was little so I had to order it. It is humorous while it delivers the life story of rabies scientist Louis Pasteur.

Presents a good lesson featuring the best scientist in history for whom I have a deep respect, but gives me nightmares since I read it as a kid! I researched the real story and some facts are incorrect. If I liked it, yes & no for these reasons. Haunting,& it changed the course of my life.

Bruyneel's insight into the peleton is unsurpassed and his experiences towards 8 Tour de France victories and countless other wins highly entertaining. However the book is deeper than just bicycle racing and offers insights into living life effectively.

This was a great read I didn't want to put it down. I read some of Lance's books and this gives a different side of the story.

Interesting, well written book . If you enjoy cycling or just watching the Tour de France this book has a lot of the inside stories about the winninsist cycling team - Discovery and how this team director came to the team. He also talks about his winning strategies.

Fascinating stories and in-depth incites into the philosophy behind his great success. I had the pleasure to listen to Johan at a recent book signing in D.C. He's the real deal; humorous, intelligent, and genuine. I highly recommend his book.

As I married into a cycling family, I slowly learned quite a bit about cycling and the madness that is "Le Tour". I fell in love with the riders, their personalities, the traditions, and even Phil Liggett. I was very surprised to find that I really enjoyed Johan's autobiographical account of his winning ways. I knew that he was intelligent, but the man has to be near genius. He toots his own horn slightly but honestly and that can be appreciated. I definitely recommend reading this book. It provided great insight into the man with the plan and the director of the team that should have been in France this July!

This beautifully written book is a tremendous help for cancer patients, family and friends of cancer patients, and anyone interested in good health. Carol's courageous attitude is an inspiration to all. You will not be disappointed with this book!

I read this book to gain insight into what it is like to live with advanced breast cancer. It has given me a new-found empathy. The author writes in an open and extremely honest way that is both informative and enlightening. Her tone is positive and encouraging. This book stresses the importance of being involved in one's medical decisions and challenges patients to educate themselves from a variety of sources. I think this empowerment concept can be applied to many medical conditions people face. Learning about endobiogenie is intriguing. Also, the included resource and recommended reading lists are very helpful.

I found this gem quite by accident when attending a conference on breast cancer. The title caught my attention because I have long felt that the beaurocracy of the FDA and other parties in the US have reduced alternatives available to those who hear "You have cancer."

This book is informative, yet reads somewhat like a novel. It is not only applicable to breat cancer but to almost anyone who has cancer or a family member or friend that does.(this likely is the entire population)
It details that you have to be your own medical advocate and the author's courage is an inspiration to all.

We are definately going to check out the alternative method in the book. I like the fact that there is science involved. A search of the web has so many snake oil salespeople that would want you to believe they are the next Jonas Salk, this book is informative real life, real answers.

Thank you Carol!!

I don't normally write reviews, but this book warrants one wholeheartedly. My mother was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 BC and I bought the book for myself, with the intent to read a patient's own life story and learn more about alternative treatments. I read the book in one sitting and immediately sent it off to my mother. It has been a source of TREMENDOUS comfort to her because this book is like having a friend who's 'been there' and makes everything just a little less scary because she's read about it ahead of time. A lot of books out there are targeted towards women with early stage BC (1 or 2)...this is a GREAT book for women with Stage 3 and 4 BC. I wholeheartedly recommend it. My mother references it all the time...I'm buying a replacement copy for myself.

This book would not only be a very informative read for any woman dealing with breast cancer, but truly would be helpful to nearly any cancer patient. The author has written the book from her perspective and experiences with advanced breast cancer, but she touches on issues that many cancer patients face (the initial shock of diagnosis, the disparity in examination and treatment thoroughness among doctors, chemotherapy, decision making and long-term treatment options, alternative treatments, etc.). Being someone close to a cancer patient/survivor, I found the book to be very informative and helpful in gaining some insight as to what a cancer patient goes through (mentally and physically). Mechanically, the book flows nicely and is an easy read. It can be finished in an afternoon. The chapter on endobiogene is worth the price of the book alone and should be read by every cancer patient and every doctor and/or med student.

This is a very interesting and readable account of scratch building a model sailing ship. I found the descriptions of the simplfications made in constructing the model to be very interesting and this increased my appeciacion for the complexity of both the model and the original vessel. The book is also very informative on what the possible pitfalls and problems one may encounter when building such a model..things that would not otherwise have occured to me. I cannot praise the fold-out line drawings enough, excellent! This book comes highly recommended!

WOW! That was the first thing I said after opening Amazon's box containing this book. The book is a substantial size, nice and thick and the binding quality is excellent. What a masterpiece. The numerous amounts of fold-outs are excellent, full of great info on the Victory. There are a number of glossy pages with lots of pictures of the original and the model HMS Victory. The figure list is very usefull as are all the other lists to make finding your way around very quick and easy. The other reviewers have accurately depicted the content; I felt that the rest needed recognition. If you are at all like me and don't mind spending the money you will understand this next statement. Buy two, one to keep safe in your bookshelf and one to wear out during its extensive use. BUY IT you will for sure enjoy all 283 pages. Michael

This is a great book, but it's meant mainly and despite the title, for the modeler of the great flagship of Lord Nelson. There are very few details relating to any of the other ships of Nelson, but the Victory is covered like no other book...

Details abound in this marvellous book by an author steeped in his subject. I felt as if he had been on the ways at the time of building and relating his opbservations, but from the viewpoint of an educating master of this complex subject. I thoroughly enjoyed every page and can use the details provided to better my own modeling skills. If you enjoy detail and want to read about it from the pen of a master of his subject, buy this book today!

I recieved this today.. it's a must for the modeler and a wonderful read even if your not. It's a bit pricey, but worth it so far. If you can find it used then make sure all of the fold out plans are intact as I feel they are a major part of what make the book so facinating.

I remember my mother reading Frances books to me when I was little, and I couldn't wait to read them to my daughter. The Frances books are wonderful children's stories.

I work in a tutoring program for elementary children. Birthday for Frances is a good book to reinforce what the kids are learning at school.

Frances was a favorite of mine as a child, so I bought the books for my daughter who is 2yrs old. She doesn't quite get it yet, but likes listening to it nonetheless, and I've discovered that these stories are fun for the grown-up reading them too.

Our daughter is planning to be an elementary school teacher, so we are building her a children's book "library"

A Birthday for Frances by the Hobans is a magnificent addition to that collection!

This is a wonderful story, I love Hoban's books as they work well on both the adult and the child levels. This is bascially the story of Frances, a badger who is struggling with the fact that her little sister Gloria is having a birthday. Frances does not say it out loud, but rather through her actions and her little rhymes we realise that she is unhappy about it, that her sister seems to have all the birthdays and she doesn't have as many. Something which almost all children struggle with at some stage or another.

The lovely hting about this book is that the parents are so lovely and patient, and the sub-text is really fun for adults reading it. What Frances does makes for great fun. She borrows two weeks pocket money from her mother to buy Gloria a present, but then she ends up 'accidentally eating half of it - and the other half looks distinctly threatened by her justification.

I will guarantee your family will enjoy this story, and the other Frances stories as well - they are highly recommended as great good fun.

In the 106 pages of THE BURNING TIME, Carol Matas is able to take you through tremendous tragedy. And hope.

Rose's mother is a midwife who is known for her great gift of healing, and Rose oftentimes helps her mother. Rose's father dies unexpectedly, leaving just she and her mother to take care of themselves and the land he left them in his will.

Her father's relatives are not happy that they did not receive the land upon Rose's father's death. One uncle in particular feels it should be his and is willing to do about anything to get the land for himself. This is where the historical travesty against women during that time period becomes so real--Rose's mother is accused of being a witch. If you think you know what happened to women accused of being witches during that time, you will still be moved by what happens in this book.

Carol Matas has taken such a historical event and put such closeness to it with her characters. No longer is France in the 16th century something read about in a history book, but rather real people let us into their lives and we experience a different kind of world. A different kind of society.

As a teacher I recommend this book often and every student of mine who has read it absolutely loves it. It is a quick read with a powerful punch.

Reviewed by: Dianna Geers

[Quote]very interesting book but later when it got to the to tourture I thought that that like come on ok thats enough! but then again at a point I was interested in what they were doing to the women back then . overall its a very good book i reccommend it for girls and boys 12 and over[/Quote]

I dont understand what you mean by torture since there isnt alot in this book. Two quick segments and the rest of the book is child free. Your a noob.

on a winter day my teacher thought about reading us a book so she picked this one, the burning time; when she started off it seemed like a very interesting book but later when it got to the to tourture I thought that that like come on ok thats enough! but then again at a point I was interested in what they were doing to the women back then . overall its a very good book i reccommend it for girls and boys 12 and over.

A touching, sad, suspenseful and truth-filled story of a teenager named Rose, and her mother who helps to heal people. And an angry group of people against them. And a terrible, powerfull man who comes to their town.
This is story involves risk, love, betrayal, you name it... This book has it all. I highly reccomend it.
However, only for teenagers and very mature children. It is based on the horrid witch hunts and does include some disturbing things.
If you have a chance to read it, do! I could hardly put it down. The suspence will catch you and hold you. A great tale.
It also brings truth to what really happened in the witch hunts so long ago... A must-read.
Enjoy!

Carol Matas, best known for the "Of Two Minds" novels and her various Holocaust fictions, has created a shocking novella about two women who find themselves trapped in a witch hunt in Renaissance France.

Suzanne Rives, a beautiful and fiercely independent widow and skilled midwife, refuses advances from two men to live with her daughter, the main character Rose. People have already been suspicious of her herbal treatments, but when a witch hunter spreads terror in the town comes, Suzanne's fate is sealed.

However, Rose still has some allies: Sylvie, a plucky castle maid whose motives are revealed later, and Raymond, a young man. Suzanne is subjected to horrifying torture by the cruel witch hunters and fanatics.

The violence is bloody and shocking, but never goes over the top. This book is well written, taut and poignant, about a mother-daughter relationship that must overcome the cruelties of the day.

The authors have provided a visual celebration for nursing! Clearly the parades were really annual public processions, although the narrative and images demonstrate the religious nature as well. The photographs are a witness to the pride and esteem that nurses held/hold for their profession and the tribute paid to nursing by all those other groups who chose to also march as well as the crowds that lined the parade route. This is a real contribution to the history of nursing!

This book is a perfect gift for any nurse, but especially one who is over 50-ish, has any Chicago connections, and who attended a "diploma" school of nursing. It is a completely unbeknownst to me super-cool annual event out of the city's past. The documentation and photos are great. Thus, it's also a great book for a Chicago historian, nurse or not. I happen to be a nurse, and purchased this book for myself. It's nice to know that past mayors of the city honored its nurses in such a neat public way. It's also a view of how nursing has changed. In the days of this parade, practically every R.N. had graduated from a hospital "diploma" school of nursing. Now those schools are virtually extinct (mine closed over 20 years ago), and most nurses are college, community college, or university educated. The evolution of nursing education is another huge subject, but this book gives a great glimpse of the old days of Chicago and nursing in the 10 years that the parade was held.

Chicago's Nurse Parade is a wonderful easy read with incredible vintage photos deplicting this fascinating historical parade. Being a nurse, there is a pride and a wonderful history of this profession.
Hats off to the authors for showing the historical and interesting journey this profession has!
D. Emerick R.N.

A wonderful book. A very creative way to honor the Nursing profession. It is a classic.

The problem was a serious nursing shortage--one giant step in the solution was to have a parade! Initiating an annual Nurse Parade in Chicago was a very imaginative way of raising awareness for a serious problem. With a minimum of text, this visually delightful book explores, through reproductions of documents, newspaper articles and photographs, the history of Chicago's Nurse Parade. We can learn a lesson from the success of this initiative. When we utilize our creative resources (and remember to have fun!), effective solutions can come in unexpected and interesting forms. The authors, passionate advocates for nurses and the nursing profession, have offered a story relevant to us all.