France Books

A considerable amount of history during the early Middle Ages was written by Middle Easterners, and their scholarship should be taken seriously, as shown in this book. There is a lot of information appropriate to the issues in the region even now. See other reviews in the resource library at civilsociety dot seedwiki

As other reviewers have noted, this book is an engrossing, highly informative text, that is (generally) quite an easy read. It can be gory and propagandistic at times, as some have noted. Overall, it's a very good digest of Muslim narratives of several key events.

The main drawback is that I would not consider this a stand-alone book, particularly on a lot of the convoluted political arrangements - I'd suggest Wasserman's "Templars & the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven" for that - and I really don't think one can get the full understanding of the Muslim mentality in fighting the Crusaders from it. For that I'd suggest al-Sulami's "Way of Sufi Chivalry" (for those on a budget) or preferably Sabzawari's "Royal Book of Spiritual Chivalry" (for those who aren't) to get into the mindset of the Muslim warriors. For while "Arab Historians" includes a lot personal commentary from the authors, these last two books were written as guides for the emirs and warriors, and once reading them one gets the feeling that "Arab Historians" was written by some military public relations officer.

Still a highly recommended, enjoyable read, though.

Once you've read the popular histories of the Crusades, and your appetite for the original source materials has been whetted by the excerpts in Payne, Runciman, etc., you will want this book. It's THE source reader for the Arab perspectives, better in many ways than The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Maalouf). You get the flavor of the culture as well as their particular slant on the events and personalities. And the snarky footnotes can be delicious!

A very good source, especially for those who have read about the Crusades and understand the context of the writings. This book is not an overview of the crusades or of a single crusade; it is selections from the writings of Arabic historians placed in a chronological order. Easy to read, detailed and engrossing; both useful and enjoyable.

A good book. It has many parallels with accounts of the original Muslim invasions and subsequent 700 year occupation of most of the Iberian (Spain/Portugal) Penninsula. Due to this initial Muslim invasion and occupation of Christian Europe, the Christian Crusades were launched into Spain and the Holy Land. Same story in the Balkans and Anatolia with the Seljuk and Ottoman Turk invasions of those Christian lands. First hand accounts of events always make for good reading. A good book, unfortunately I lost it.

I've been reading Asterix since I was a child, and I've never read a better comic. They're clever, silly and have great twists on words. I've picked up bits of history, Latin and enlarged my vocabulary without meaning to. These comics don't get old, even when read and reread. Now my kids and their friends read my Asterix collection and they're as absorbed as my friends and I were. The "Mansions of the Gods" is one of my top 3 picks, along with "Asterix and the Legionnary" and "Asterix and Cleopatra." Make sure to buy the Asterix written by Goscinny and illustrated by Uderzo. After Goscinny died, Uderzo continued both writing and illustrating these comics and they aren't as clever.

This is one of the best books in the series of Asterix adventures. Finally it has been translated to English so that it can be enjoyed in the US as well. This book is full of reliable historical details. For example, do you know that Caesar in his "De Bello Gallico" (translation: "About the war in Gaul") talks about himself using the third person? Well, Goscinny and Uderzo knew: this is one of the many "cultural" jokes in this beautiful comics book.
The graphic is also wonderful. I personally enjoy looking at the brochure presenting "The mansion of Gods" to possible buyers. Of course the brochure is engraved in marble.
Having read these books as a child in Italy I am looking forward to more translated adventures to enjoy reading together with my kid in the US.

Rene Goscinny, The Mansions of the Gods (Dargaud, 1971)

The seventeenth Asterix adventure, and (at least if you're going through the library system) seemingly the hardest to get hold of-- perhaps because the title doesn't have "Asterix" or "Obelix" in it. Caesar has a new plan for getting the Gaulish village to acquiesce-- develop the forest around it into Roman housing blocks called the Mansions of the Gods. All well and good, except, of course, the Gauls have some tricks up their sleeves for holding construction up, including organizing the workers. Fun stuff, this. ***

Great adventure for a great character as Asterix! Include it in your collection, it will be worth!

Originally done as a comic in a french childrens' magazine, the Adventures of Asterix the Gaul have grown beyond that small framework and can be enjoyed by peoples around the world. the idea is that in the world of 55BC all Gual has been conquored by the Romans, except for one small village which holds out against the invaders. The source of their survival is a magic potion brewed by the village Druid which gives the drinker superhuman strength. The gauls are not waging a war with the romans, they just go about theirl ives and after being thumped a few times, the local Romans are more than happy to let them do it.

in this adventure the Romans decide to try and force the gauls to intergrate with the Roman world by building luxery apartments near them. The thought is that when the guals are surrounded by woodlands, they cannot appreciate roman culture but by building Roman towns on their doorstep, they Gauls will be forced to accept the pax romana.

What follows are a series of adventures based on deforestation, colonization, and good neighbors. And if you ever thought your own building contractors were pirates or bandits...well.

I have already read the book and it was great! I found it very intersting and not wanting to put the book down until I finished it!

While this book is written for the young adult, I read it recently as a "older" adult and loved it. I have limited spare time so it was great to be able to finish this book in a day or 2. It is simply written yet gives the reader a clear, comprehensive guide to the life of a brave, determined peasant girl. All important facts of Joan's life are included, her childhood, her goal to defeat the English and secure the French throne for Charles VII and her capture and death at the hands of the British. After reading this book I now have a clearer insight into the life of this popular heroine, her call from God and her amazing accomplishments.

In "Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc," Polly Schoyer Brooks provides a biography for young adults that makes a point of separating historical facts from popular legends. One of the main strengths of the volume is how Brooks establishes the situation in 15th-century France which involved a king who suffered fits of madness and his weakling son and then tells the story of a peasant girl from the countryside who accomplished what appeared to be miracles in rallying the French to her banner. The result is a book about Joan of Arc that captures her humanity as well as her heroism.

Brooks neatly divides the story of Joan in half, with the first six chapters starting with Joan's life in the village of Domremy and ending with the crowing of Charles the Dauphin as King of France, and the last six depicting Joan's fall from glory, trial, and execution. Brooks emphasizes that the situations that brought about her martyrdom were beyond Joan's control and details the political calculations that ended up putting her in the hands of the English. However, as Brooks emphasizes, though the English burned Joan's body to ashes they could not wipe out the memory of her deeds from the French people. I appreciate that Brooks makes it clear to her readers how the effort's to restore Joan's name and honor after the English left France were just as politically motivated as the trial that condemned her.

This young adult biography is illustrated with historic prints and paintings, including a sketch by a clerk of his idea of Joan drawn in the margin of his report, as well as contemporary photographs of historic sites, such as Joan's stone-and-rubble house in Domremy and the statue on the post were she was burned at the stake in the marketplace at Rouen. Brooks has also written similar biographies of Eleanor of Acquitaine and Cleopatra. However, as Brooks notes, although more books about Joan have been inspired than any other women in history, she remains an enigma. In "Beyond the Myth," Brooks tries to answer the key questions concerning Joan's life and to restore her humanity, which in the final analysis, Brooks sees as being her greatest virtue. For students who are ready to get beyond your basic juvenile biographies of Joan of Arc, this is a thoughtful volume to which to turn next.

Like many females, I enjoy learning about female historical figures. I want to know as much truth as I can find. The author does exactly that for the reader. This book is a detailed account of the events that triggered Joan d'Arc's dedication to her country and its rightful king. The author traces the history based on documents and other works that have been carefully researched. She provides the reader with the personality traits and beliefs of the time which drove the events that led to Joan's trial and death. Accusations of witchcraft and sorcery were used by church and secular leaders to destroy the young life of a heroic woman because of jealousy, superstition, and shady business surrounding the church and state. In addition, health and medical issues of the times are revealed that are shocking and entertaining. Read this book to learn about Joan, but also about the way people lived. Just learning about the reasons for the need for all those castles made the read worth the time.

Okay, so I was on a tight budget and needed a new book...found this in hardcover at the local superstore on the bargain table...what a find! Frances Norris tells a wonderful story of a character coming to grips with the loss of her family, both recently and in the past. The characters are very believable and Norris gives a true feeling of setting without drowning the reader in description. I read this quickly, but still felt satisfied. Very enjoyable read.

Love and food are two of my favorite subjects, so how could I resist this book? I was not disappointed. The loss element keeps the story subtantive so that its not just another piece of fluff. The book has hilarious characters (including an overbearing narcissist in an amoeba jumper), but the author treats all with compassion enough to make them full and true. The food styling scenes bring together Hollywood fakery with a delicious disgustingness (photographing motor oil poured on macshed potatoes to resemble a sundae). You can't help cheering on narrator Julia as she navigates the crazies and searches out her soul in a soul-less city. Buy this book right away and enjoy!

I loved Julia's story. She finds her inner spark by overcoming her pain, loss, and depression and finding love and forgiveness in unusual ways. The characters are well portrayed and do not lack depth, even the obviously obnoxious figures are seen with irony and compassion at the same time. Highly recommended.

Dear Francie:

I just finished your book. What a wonderful story, full of feeling, wisdom, beauty and hope. I really enjoyed the characters, not to mention that you are an incredibly gifted writer style-wise. I lived the whole trip to Sedona as if I was there. And the end is so sexy, yummy, I love it!! All I can say is, keep writing, girl! And like I said, some day we may see the movie "Blue Plate Special", very attractive title to my ears. Thank you for your gift to the world of readers,

The only reason that I got this book was because the author went to my high school - so I have to admit that my expectations were not that high. But I really, really enjoyed this book, for the reasons stated so eloquently by other reviewers. It was gripping though sad.

The author of this book has a lovely way with words and weaves a spell in her book about French Style living. The experience that this American lady acquires during her lengthy stay in France is beautifully executed in her descriptions of French Decor, dining, traditions, and the lifestyle of the French in general. This book is one of the favorites in my collection.

I was afraid that this book would be too over the top for an average decorator like me---but it wasn't!

The author has done a wonderful job at showing the reader all the various FRENCH styles:.... not only the more classic French styles, but also the more natural (Cottage) French style of decorating.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I will certainly refer to this book over and over again.

Twelve years after its first publication, Cheryl MacLachlan's Bringing It Home: France is still engaging and reassuringly practical. Not only does she provide detailed instructions on how to achieve authentic French interiors for all budgets--not just chateaux or upscale "French country"--her book also contains a wealth of information about related topics, such as four common fabrics (toile, jacquard, petit point, and provencal prints) and how to set a French table.

In researching the design and decoration of French houses, I've found this book to be far and away the most useful reference.

I've had this book for a few years now and it has regularly provided me with inspiration. I bought it when I moved into my first apartment and was obsessed with french country style. I referred to it a year or two later for recipes when I learned the importance and the pleasure of foods made with seasonal, organic, whole ingredients. And this evening I am referring to it for tips on my upcoming country wedding and am reading about how to serve dinner and the art of receiving. And perhaps in a few more years (or several more!) I will re-read the section on children and family with yet another new outlook. This book has been a wonderful resource!

I have a lot of decorating books, and I am not a huge fan of french interior, but this book is great! It is full of photos of classy decorated rooms, the colors are so tastefull and it makes you wanna go and redecorate your place until it looks like the rooms in this book. It is worth having it and I still go back and look at it, beacause it is sooo cool.

I absolutely loved reading this book! It provided me with an insight into the life of Chanel including all of her successes and struggles. It really made an impression on me and I would encourage anyone who is looking for a good read to pick up this book. Not only was it very informative, it also provided a great story full of saddness, love, and many other touching and motivating elements.

I haven't read the book but I really need a picture of Coco Chanel. Is there any about? I need it for my A Level French Course work!!!! Any Help Thanks xxxxxx

This book is very good. The text isn't hard to read, and in this book are allot of pictures, only in black and white. There should have been also a few colour pictures. This book is only looking at the period that Coco Chanel designed the collections and not the Karl Lagerfeld era.

This is a spectacularly beautiful and insightful view of a woman who was the major force in 20th century fashion. It is elegantly written and sumptuously illustrated and no doubt will become the definitive book on Coco Chanel. I learned a great deal that I did not know before and I had a long career in fashion. This book will delight men as well as women because it contains many revealing stories about Chanel's sexual escapades. Buy it by all means!

I have always been fascinated by whatever's written about her ever since I received a Chanel purse for an 18th birthday present. There have been a number of books written about Chanel, I'm sure but Janet Wallach's will not disappoint any reader. It is simple and elegantly written with beautiful black and white illustrations. Even if one is not a fan of Chanel's style, you will be intrigued by her notorious life as told here. Either for yourself or a friend, a nice book to keep and look through now and again.

I think this a very nice book with a lot of gorgeous photos that can't be seen in any other book, but I could not give it 5 stars due to the poor, uneven lighting in some of the interior photos. Some rooms are lit by such harsh, extremely bright sunlight that it washes out some of the details in the foreground and then you can't see details in the background well due to the harsh contrast.

This is a very high quality book containing beautiful photos and personable, informative, text. The enjoyment of the book is enhanced by the fun, witty writing style of the Duchess of Devonshire. While the book contains a great deal if historic information, there is an equal amount of fun and entertainment, as a balance. Having restored and lived in the property for more than 50 years, the author gives a first hand narrative of this amazing British Home.

An outstanding book on one of England's stateliest of Stately Homes written in a very entertaining down to earth way by the Duchess of Devonshire. The photographs are wonderful with a balance between showcasing the grandeur of the building and humanizing the place by also focusing on the people who live and work there.

the best house review - full of history fact and much humour
photography is amazing

If you saw the Chatsworth exhibit which visited the Tyler, Texas museum, you will find this book greatly enhances your perspective. Although my daughter bought me the DVD from the exhibit, this book gave me much more indepth. I highly recommend it and, as always, Amazon has the very best price!!

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.