Paris

Paris is a rich musical capital where composers have conducted their finest works. Paris: A Musical Gazetteer is a classically-oriented guide to Paris provides a tourist's documentary of Paris music spots; from locations of composers' monuments, Paris addresses and favorite meeting places to information on sources of concerts and musical institutions. Classical enthusiasts and Paris visitors alike will relish the details on Paris music history.

I want to impress my friends and neighbors, so I always keep large, glossy books on my coffee table. "Paris: la Defense" is a perfect book for this! First it is about Paris, which is always fashionable. Second, it is about art, and that makes my friends think I am intellectual. But mainly, it is so heavy! When my Aunt Ruth comes to visit, she can barely pick it up! It's better than the Sears catalog.

This book is fascinating. I have taken my copy to Paris and back several times. Lots of great pictures of old Paris scenes. The NYT says "... it is not a guidebook at all but a study of urban planning. It is about what makes Paris work and, as such, makes fascinating reading fro any lover of the city."

Ian Littlewood has collected sketches of visits to Paris by authors dating back as far as any can be found, and of writers who lived in Paris. He gives you their reactions to Paris, and tells you where they lived, what adventures they had, and what Paris was like in those days. This book is indispensable to all who love Paris and love to read. It is sad that it is out of print, but it is definitely worth any effort in searching for it. Littlewood is an enchanting writer, and the paperback edition will greatly enhance a visit to Paris. I recommend it over all other books I know on Paris. Even if you don't go to Paris with it, it will charm you at home! Harmon Crai

Hurlimann is an outstanding photographer---one who realizes that photography is more than point and shoot. Paris is about the best of his work that I've yet seen, and his plates are incomparably composed and prepared.

Beautiful artwork,fascinating words,mix and match your favorites to design your own "odd couples"! So,besides being a visual delight,this book is also very informative.

Anne-Marie Villefranche's books have been published and re-published as stand alone novels, and, most vexingly as mutliple book novels such as this book Passion D'Amour, with, a new title that has a tendency to obscure the original titles. So, if your are like moi, an afficionado of erotica the chances are excellent that you will have multiple copies of this authors' book ..... that may be the bad news, but, the good news is that her books are fabulous enough that you'll always have a copy nearby to read when you want to while away solitary moments.

This book has two full novels....

1) Palisir d'Amour 2) Joi d'Amour

In Plaisir the author takes us on a rollercoaster ride of 10 short stories with different characters, plots and settings. Each story of approximately 20 to 30 pages is so well written and so well developed that the reader does not feel cheated after finishing the story and demnding more. Each story has its own climax (so to say) and the characters are so well developed to make the tale viable.

The author very masterfully is able to tell a story without having to get into lengthly set-up before the story even begins. She does this by very deftly tying all the characters together as the sons, daughters, wives etc of a large well known and libidinous Parisienne family in the 1920's .... absolutely marvellous ....

To give you a flavour of the book, in the first story, Jeanne Takes A Lover' we find the young Christophe Brissard (some think this is the author's family) meeting the very married Jeanne Vernay (another well known Parisienne family) at a family dinner. Jeanne visits Christophe in his bedroom, after everyone went to bed, and our two lovers waste little time in tasting the fruits of the flesh. Jeanne however keeps warning Christophe that during his lovemaking he takes her to heights she has never been before and she is very scared. Their secret encounters continue while Christphe and jeanne slowly teach each other to let loose their inhibitions.

In Joie d'Amour we find a similar number of scrumptios short stories. In 'A Lesson for Bernard' a young Bernard Gaillard meets a married Simone Lebrun at a Brissard family dinner. Since taking a lover is such a very very French thing to do Simone and Bernard eventually find themselves together in bed where
Simone is more intersted in using her hands to make love to Bernard than other parts of her body. Although she gives in to Bernards requirment to complete the sex act, Simone simply explains to him that this does not give her the ultimate
pleasure she yearns for, but, she would just rather play with him using her hands. The young Bernard is so disconcerted he seeks the advice of more learned friends to be able to reconcile Simones wants and wishes to his desire to continue the clandestine affair....

Wonderfull works of erotic literature I recommend any of Veillefranches book highly ....

Before the negotiations to end the Vietnam War, before the negotiations to end the First World War, there were negotiations in Paris to end the American Revolutionary War, and all the related wars between Britain, France and Spain. The late Richard Morris, in this book, has written the best account of these fascinating, important negotiations. The American team, perhaps the best diplomatic team we have ever fielded, consisted of Franklin, Jay and John Adams. The other players in the drama include King George III and his ministers, negotiators and spies, and King Louis XIV and his team. Great history, easily accessible.

You know right away that de Balzac is an author of realism when, at the start of the book, he takes you on a five page tour of the first floor of Madame Vauquer's Parisian boarding house. One immediately realizes that sanitation standards for such accommodations were seriously lacking. The dining room "table [was] covered with oilcloth so greasy that, if a waggish diner wanted to, he could write his name in it, using nothing more than his finger as a pen." We then quickly learn about the overwhelming contrast between the boarders' life style and that of aristocratic Parisian society..

The protagonists of the story are Eugene, a young and poor law student, and old man Goriot, the aging father of two narcissistic daughters who live in the upper strata of Parisian society. While many mediocre authors manage to make cardboard characters out of real people, Balzac has the task of making cardboard people real. Eugene is invited to a ball held by his cousin, a countess, and falls in love with the beautiful people and their world. He is determined to be a part of it. Vautrin, a fellow boarder, a wise street philosopher, and prototype for modern day CEOs, tells Eugene that money is everything. Eugene promptly appropriates every cent of his family's savings to buy the clothes that will allow him to blend in with the aristocracy. Soon he meets Goriot's aristocratic daughters and falls in love with one of them. These two grasping young ladies, in their need for the necessities in life (fine clothing and jewelry), have taken so much money from their formerly wealthy father that he now lives in abject poverty, sleeping on a moldy straw mattress in Madame Vauquer's boarding house.

By now I am sure that you have discerned Balzac's attitude toward the socially elite. He has no love for people who are famous for being famous. We should resist the urge, though, to shake our heads in wonder over these strange 19th century Parisians. If Balzac were alive today I am sure he would loosen his poison pen on our own celebrities whose meaningless lives are constantly being spotlighted during their fifteen minutes of fame. Balzac is a lively writer. He supposedly drank huge amounts of coffee every day, and his writing often seems to be the product of a highly caffeinated mind. If the highly stylized writing of some Victorian era writers numbs your brain you might want to dip into Balzac.

I strongly recommend that you consider purchasing the Norton Critical Edition of this novel. It provides an additional 150 pages of commentary on Balzac, this novel, and his oeuvre in general; an extra dollar or two well spent.

This book is my favorite devotional ever! Twila does not only encourage listeners with her songs of encouragement, but she also has a way of encouraging her readers through her books. This is her 3rd book/devotional to date. She tells of life experiences and lessons learned with scripture and biblical stories. Also, if you like her music, she has lyrics to many of her songs that pertain to each devotion. In addition, Angie Paris, Twila's sister is the beautiful illustrator of this book. I recommend this to any Christian who needs daily encouragement.