Paris

This is a beautifully photographed book and a great adjunct to anyone who has, or is presently reading Proust, or just interested in the Belle Epoque or reading Edith Wharton etc.

Forget every article you've read about Euro Disney's dire financial problems. For true Disney fans, this European park may well be the most beautiful, the best crafted, the most artistic Magic Kingdom Disney has ever built (and will probably build since they prefer to do it cheaply now). Several years in the making, this coffee table book is truly a work of love. Lavishly illustrated, it offers detailed comparisons between concept drawings (many of them never seen before) and the actual lands and attractions. The text, written by a respected Disney connoisseur, provides tens of interviews with Imagineers (many of whom have now left the company) and exclusive anecdotes. Its only drawback may be that, having been released before the other Park (Disney Studios) opened, it is short on information on this second Gate. But, considering how awful this new Park is, is it really a problem ?

If you've ever wondered why the French have embraced Disneyland Paris in spite of their famous contempt for anything American, read this book !

Robert Doisneau is probably best known for his photo of a couple kissing-on-the-fly on a Paris street. Another of his greeting card images is of a line of boys, back to the camera, peeing at urinals, with a white dove on the head of one of the boys.

Doisneau was one of the very best "street photographers" ever, who documented Paris life from the 1940s to the 1970s in classic black-and-white. His ability to capture candid moments was first rate. His photos maintained a whimsical mood, for the most part, which probably kept him from being as famous as his contemporary Henri Cartier-Bresson. Personally, I think he was better than Cartier-Bresson, in terms of timing, composition, and consistency. But Cartier-Bresson emphasised subjects with more gravity, so his pictures get the nod of history, and deservatively so. (See Cartier-Bresson's monumental retrospective "The Man, The Image, & the World" -- Thames & Hudson 2003) But Doisneau documented the ordinary, with a sense of gentle irony, so his imagery gets relegated to greeting cards.

As a portrait of Paris, as a representation of Doiseau's work, and as a lesson in photographic timing and composition, this book is better than you could ask for. The opening essay by Brigitte Ollier is overly emotional (overly French?), though informative. The pictures, however, speak for themselves, and I'd bet Ollier would be the first to say so.

The price of this book is a bargain, with 665 pages of some of the best photographs by a photographer who deserves more than greeting card consideration. Truth be told (and as a HUGE fan of Cartier-Bresson), I didn't know how absolutely incredible Doisneau was until I got this book. So you should get it, too.

Having just returned from her performances in Francaster, Drina tackles another term at the Dominick. Soon enough, she and Rose are asked to reprise their performances as Clara (from Drina Dances Again) in Casse Noisette... with the Dominick in Paris! The portrait of Drina trying to find herself as an individual is realistic and engaging... highly recommended, along with the rest of the Drina series.

Essential Paris was with me every moment during the week I toured this incredible city. I found Essential Paris to be ... well ... ESSENTIAL in exploring, searching, viewing, and wandering the rich and varied Parisian landscape. If you're going to Paris, ensure Essential Paris is in your briefcase or backpack.

After the end of the Second World War, a number of African Americans, including many of our most talented intellectuals, decided that America was just not a sufficiently hospitable home. Those who could left for Europe. Many, landed in Paris, which provided a far more civilized society.

Literary giants like James Baldwin, Richard Wright and other intellectuals found a place where their worth was determined by things more significant than skin color. This is the story of their experiences.

Another book worth searching for.

This excellent book fills the gap in autism literature, by providing comprehensive yet easy-to-read explanations of the problems encountered in the autism spectrum and provides specific intervention strategies. It provides an integrated approach to looking at the problems. Treatment strategies address behavioral intervention, sensory integration, neuro-developmental treatment techniques, augmentative communication as well as traditional OT, PT and ST.

It is the first book I have found that tells you what you are seeing, why you see it and what to do about it! The case studies are wonderful and the pictures help clarify the treatment ideas.

This book is a must for anyone working with children in the spectrum of autism. It is critical for all professionals, therapists, teachers, and parents.

Exteriors is Ernaux for Ernaux fans - this is not a narrative but rather a collection of entries regarding every day life observed closely. This is also the first book I read by Ernaux - I was hooked by the writing style. Ernaux has the unusual ability to write prose that appears on the outside to be highly descriptive of the exterior of events. Yet in this careful observation, she portrays a highly interior response to the externals.

The description of the clerk in the shopping mall has remained in my memory for years as has her description of the changing landscape of transit stations. Few authors could make such details interesting, even fewer make them significant. Ernaux succeeds at both.

This map was definitely key in my recent quick trip to Paris. I must warn however, skip the Metro map and pick one up at the a station. The one provided on the map is small and often confusing. The Metro lines on the Eyewitness map are not numbered (only in color) - once you go to connect trains the stations refer to the train numbers. Still, the major streets, monuments, and Metro stops are clearly marked on the Eyewitness map, making it easy to use the street and Metro maps together. The added bonus is that this map is laminated and folds in several different ways - making it easy to pull it out of your bag for quick reference.

"The Fall of Paris, June 1940", by Herbert R. Lottman, sub-titled, "A Dramatic Narrative of the Final Weeks in Paris Before Its Capture by the German Army". HarperCollins, 1992.

This is a lengthy, (410 pages), well written book, describing the last five weeks or so of Paris as a free city before occupation by the German Army. The author, Herbert Lottman, a Native New Yorker, has written on other French subjects, including Marshall Petain, Albert Camus and Flaubert so Lottman is well prepared for this book. Each day from May 9, 1940 to June 23, 1940 is covered in a single chapter. The author did exhaustive research for each chapter. The book is exceedingly complete. After some reading, the reader can be so overwhelmed by the wealth of information that Lottman provides, that the temptation is to sneak ahead to the June 14th Chapter. June 14, 1940, is the day that German troops actually entered Paris.

Lottman brings to life the main actors in the French government, including Premier Paul Reynaud, his ever-interfering mistress, the old general Philippe Petain, and newly promoted general, Charles De Gaulle. By referencing their writings, the author also tells the tales of famous people, such as Jena-Paul Sarte, the philosopher, Maurice Chevalier, the actor, and many different journalists, including William Shirer and Clare Booth Luce. He does not, however, limit the personal reminiscences to the rich and famous, but includes recollections of the common people, including the French sergeant ordered to blow up the Eiffel Tower. Interestingly, one of the more memorable individuals in the book is the American Ambassador to France, William C. Bullitt, a friend of President Franklin Roosevelt. I wonder if H. Lottman chose some of the statements and actions of Ambassador Bullitt to provide a form of comic relief for the serious subject in this serious book.

Even in such a scholarly work, errors creep in. On page 341, he writes, "There were policemen here and their along their way." Clearly, too many possesive "theirs" are present. He wanted, "There were policemen here and there along their way". On page 394, in describing the visit of Adolf Hitler to a conquered Paris, Lottman terms Hitler, "Reichsfuehrer". Hitler was just simply "Der Fuehrer" and it was Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945) who had the title of "Reichsfuehrer". Overall, though, the book is well written and complete to the point of exhaustion.