Best of
France

1983

A Farewell to France


Noel Barber - 1983
    And Larry Astell, heir to a champagne fortune, knows their passion is the most important part of his life. Until war places in jeopardy all they held dear - love, family and country.From the Left Bank of the 1930s to Nazi-occupied Paris, A FAREWELL TO FRANCE is a magnificent epic, played out against the tumultuous background of the time: a decadent French government, the life of a foreign correspondent, the grandeur of the champagne regions and the glory of the French Resistance.

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties


Noël Riley Fitch - 1983
    The story of Sylvia Beach's love for Shakespeare and Company supplies the lifeblood of this book.

The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert


Joseph Joubert - 1983
    Edited and translated by Paul Auster, this selection from Joubert's notebooks introduces a master of the enigmatic who seeks "to call everything by its true name" while asking us to "remember everything is double." "Joubert speaks in whispers," Auster writes. "One must draw very close to hear what he is saying."

That Mighty Sculptor, Time


Marguerite Yourcenar - 1983
    The title esay consider's time's transforming effect on arrt, meditating on the erosion of a statue and the resulting production of a new, sublime work of art.

The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus


Jean-Denis Bredin - 1983
    Here he began a twelve-year ordeal that included imprisonment on Devil's Island, trial, and long delayed pardon. This book is an account of the Dreyfus Affair, the scandal that rocked 19th century France.

Katerina's Secret


Mary Jane Staples - 1983
    "As always Mary Jane Staples has written a very good book that takes you back in time." - 5 STARS*********************A WARTIME HERO AND A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN...1928: Edward Somers, passing the winter at the Hôtel de Corniche on the French Riviera, happens upon a nearby villa within which lives the elusive and beautiful Countess Katerina. Despite the fact she does not seem to be allowed visitors, he manages to forge a friendship and the pair grow closer and closer.But Edward cannot help but wonder: why is she confined to the villa, guarded by a man with a rifle? Who is observing her with a telescope? Why is she so reluctant to be photographed?A sinister chain of events unfolds: is Katerina's life in danger? Must she always be on the run and forced into hiding? Will she ever be allowed to find the love she craves?Katerina's Secret was previously published as Shadows in the Afternoon.

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art


Charles S. Moffett - 1983
    Now, in one volume, the Museum has gathered together 146 of its finest works.

On the Manner of Negotiating with Princes


François de Callières - 1983
    In today's business world, those same princely principles can make or break corporations and launch careers. Written in 1716 by the "envoy extraordinary of Louis XIV," this sage and charming study of the art of negotiation is reputed to be the best manual of diplomatic methods ever written. Now, newly introduced by the leading management philosopher Charles Handy, On the Manner of Negotiating with Princes is certain to be a classic among business people around the world. The reason is simple: whether it's palace politics in eighteenth-century France or office politics in a twenty-first-century global market, you need to know how to deal with people effectively. In these pages, de Callieres sets forth a model for doing so both in business and in life -- a model that has stood the test of time. As entertaining as it is educational, this trusted handbook contains a wealth of useful advice, with sections including "The Personal Qualities of a Good Negotiator," "The Fitting Mode of Address," "The Cool Head," "The Perils of Deceit," "The Fatality of Bad Appointments," "The Use of Compliments," "Genius No Substitute for Good Manners," and, of course, "The Value of Good Cheer." On the Manner of Negotiating with Princes should prove as valuable in today's business world as it was in the days of princes and paupers.

French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th Centuries


Jean Bony - 1983
    Jean Bony, whose reputation as a medievalist is worldwide, presents its development as an adventure of the imagination allied with radical technical advances—the result of a continuining quest for new ways of handling space and light as well as experimenting with the mechanics of stone construction. He shows how the new architecture came unexpectedly to be invented in the Paris region around 1140 and follows its history—in the great cathedrals of northern France and dozens of other key buildings—to the end of the thirteenth century, when profound changes occurred in the whole fabric of medieval civilization. Rich illustrations, including comprehensive maps, enhance the text and themselves constitute an exceptionally valuable documenation. Despite its evident scholarly intention, this book is not meant for specialists alone, but is conceived as a progressive infiltration into the complexities of history at work, revealing its unpredictable vitality to the uninitiated curious mind.

The Stakes of the Warrior


Georges Dumézil - 1983
    

The Crazy Years: Paris in the Twenties


William Wiser - 1983
    74 illustrations.

Air Battle for Dunkirk: 26 May - 3 June 1940


Norman L.R. Franks - 1983
    The air forces were there, as Norman Franks proves, detailing the outstanding achievements of the Allied pilots who had earlier had easy victories over the Polish, Dutch and Belgian air forces. The RAF’s achievement reminds us just how close Britain came to disaster in June 1940.

Rome: The Book of Foundations


Michel Serres - 1983
    The beginning of Rome but also about the beginning of society, knowledge and culture. Rome is an examination of the very foundations upon which contemporary society has been built.With characteristic breadth and lyricism, Serres leads the reader on a journey from a meditation the roots of scientific knowledge to set theory and aesthetics. He explores the themes of violence, murder, sacrifice and hospitality in order to urge us to avoid the repetitive violence of founding. Rome also provides an alternative and creative reading of Livy's Ab urbe condita which sheds light on the problems of history, repetition and imitation.First published in English in 1991, re-translated and introduced in this new edition, Michel Serres' Rome is a contemporary classic which shows us how we came to live the way we do.

Journey to Mauritius


Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre - 1983
    It was a huge critical and commercial success in France and abroad, a precursor of the Romantic movement. The novel's author, Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, had previously spent 28 months in the French colony of Ile de France (now Mauritius) in 1778-80. This extended exposure to the island not only inspired Paul et Virginie, but also led to one of the period's fullest and most fascinating accounts of a colonial society and its daily life.First published in 1773, Voyage'a L'Isle de France is now available in this newly translated and annotated edition -- Journey to Mauritius. Mixing indignation with a lyrical appreciation of the island's beauty, Bernardin provides us with one of the earliest examples of a walking guide as he details Mauritius' sights and landscapes. An introduction sets this travel account in its historical context, discussing Bernardin's life and ideas.

Quebec, 1759: The Siege and the Battle


Donald H. Graves - 1983
    The dramatic battle on the Plains of Abraham not only set the course for the future of Canada; it opened the door to the independence of the American colonies some 20 years later. Stacey's account is regarded as the best ever written. This new edition contains all the text and the pictures of the previous edition, in a smart and generous new format.

Travels with Zenobia


Rose Wilder Lane - 1983
    

The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe


Pierre Riché - 1983
    It was during this time the first contours of a broad new civilization and the first visible signs of European unity are discernable.Until the seventh century Europe was simply a geographic term; as Isidore of Seville defined it, Europe was the space that extended from the river Don to Spain and the Atlantic. By the ninth century, however, Europe had gradually acquired a collective being with a shared identity. The political, cultural, and spiritual activity of laymen and churchmen had fostered the creation of a common European fold, which stretched from the Atlantic to the Vistula, and the plains of the middle Danube.The transformation was due in large part to the Carolinians, their relations, and their allies, who together became the masters of Gaul and then much of the West. Rich� traces the destiny of the Carolingians and the parallel history of Europe, stressing the roles of the leaders who imposed themselves by force, diplomacy, and culture.

Gentlemen of Adventure


Ernest K. Gann - 1983
    and onward, at an everquickening pace, to a near-present that only a few dared to dream.

The Taste of France


Rob Freson - 1983
    With 375 full-color photographs, 100 recipes, and a narrative description of the culinary customs of the fourteen great food regions. The Taste of France conveys a sense of the color, flavor, variety, and imagination of a meal in France. From Brittany to Lyons, Provence to Normandy, The Taste of France is a tribute to the legendary pleasures of French cooking.

The Mad Mosaic: A Life Story


Gael Elton Mayo - 1983
    The author, a painter and journalist, describes her childhood in America, education in Europe, marriage to a Russian count, escape from Nazi-occupied France and her subsequent experiences.

Professional Ethics and Civic Morals


Émile Durkheim - 1983
    This is not only careless it is also negligent for the book makes a seminal contribution to our understanding of the State. Durkheim's characterization of the State as the ultimate moral force in society is an important contrast to the views outlined by both Marx and Weber.

That Voice


Robert Pinget - 1983
    The different themes are intermingled. One cuts into another point-blank, then the other resumes and cuts into the first, and so on until the end. The first example of this procedure, at the beginning of the book, is the theme of the cemetery, cut into by that of the gossip at the grocery, then resumed shortly afterwards.Apart from this peculiarity, as from the middle of the book the themes are taken up again in the inverse order of their appearance. The last themes of the first part, that is, become the first of the second part and are thus retold in reverse. A procedure resembling anamnesis.Robert Pinget(from the Preface)