Paris

The next best thing to being there - great as a souvenir or research before your trip. Every building you know and love and many, many you'd like to know are here. Photographs are in romantic black & white along with a fascinating fact or two about the building, its history or impact on the city. The layout allows for 1000 buildings in less than 1000 pages - the left page has from 2 to 6 photos with their names, addresses and stories on the right. A great gift for any Parisianphile!

Kathy Borrus, the author of the wonderful travel tome, "The Fearless Shopper," has done it again. One Thousand Buildings of Paris is an endlessly fascinating romp through the architecture, history, and culture of Paris. A must for all adventurers, artists, architects, and academics, the book is both an art enthusiast's dream and a valuable reference for planning Parisian sightseeing. All in all, One Thousand Buildings of Paris is a one-of-a-kind photographic compendium and a true treat.

Ginette Paris brings a contempory feminist approach to three very different Greek goddesses. The section devoted to the oft overlooked Hestia is particularly interesting. Ms. Paris brings a social and ecological sensibility to this thoughtful, well-argued text.

I had no idea when I began to read this book how it would enter my daily life. I thought I was reading about goddesses of a long time ago, but instead it was as if the author put a mirror in front of me and pointed out each one- Hestia, Aphrodite, Artemis- all inside of me and around me.

This is a book that men and women will find a joy to read, with the reward of discovering aspects of not just one's own self, but of one's home, one's work, one's family/friends, and one's life replete with the gentle touch of each of these goddesses.

I will never again light a fire or cook a meal without connecting with Hestia. This book not only educates and enlightens, but manages to connect one with the wonderful energies of each goddess.

It was not just an excellent raed, it was a life transforming adventure. Ms. Paris is one amazing writer and person to have seen and felt so much, but even more to have been able to put words in print for us all to make that journey, each in our own way.

PAINTBRUSH IS A CAT. THIS IS HIS STORY OF MOVING TO PARIS AND GETTING TO KNOW ABOUT THE "LA VIE FRANCAISE"...RULES FOR DINNER, WHERE TO SHOP (INSIDER'S ADDRESSES), MUSEUMS AND A CUTE STORY . ADORABLE ILLUSTRATIONS: LOOKS LIKE A CHILDREN'S BOOK BUT WRITTEN FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN.

Paintbrush in Paris offers a light-hearted and insightful view of cats, Paris, Parisians and the world of art. Paintbrush himself, and his friend Mon Ami, will capture your imagination and your heart while teaching you un petit de francaise along the way. Indulge...and enjoy on this vicarious bon voyage!

Well, very unusual and interesting book. Unusual, because photos of Paris are given under different angles. Interesting, because...simply interesting to look at famous places sometimes at 360 degrees view.
However, this book has one disadvantage or may be I did not understand the idea of authors. At the end the book there are all photos in small size and black-white color (back pictures). But sometimes the pickup angles of back pictures do not agree with the same pictures in the book. For example, back picture is of 180 degree view, and real photo is 90 degree. Therefore, you feel that there is a flaw of the book. As for the rest, I liked it.

Even if you've never been to Paris, you'll still appreciate the photography in this book. If you have been there you'll also find that the book paints a beautiful portrait of the city. I bought a copy for my wife's birthday and she keeps it in the livingroom near our photo albums. We'll look at our own photos when we want to see how Paris was during the brief time that we were there, and we'll look at this book when we want to think of Paris at its dreamlike romantic best.

Secretary Rumsfeld relegates it to the "old Europe," and a recent article in the influential American publication, The Weekly Standard, questions why it should have a seat on the UN Security Council. To many Americans, the influence of France on European and international affairs is disproportionate to its size -- whether one is talking about its economy, population or geographic scope. However much one may lament it, France retains its reach. In Peter Mansel's Paris Between Empires, we see why.

The book opens in 1814 with Napoleon in Elba and closes at the Franco-Prussian war and the end of Paris hegemony. What Mansel provides in this densely-packed volume is a vivid description of Paris as its vacillates "between nationalism and Europeanism, Bonapartism and royalism, soldiers and civilians..." When Paris is not expanding militarily but is drawing inward, she seduces culturally -- in the salons, the culinary arts, in language and, yes, so Mansel tells us, in manners. I certainly derived a much better appreciation of the Salon during these years, and the multiplicity of functions it served: as "power base, employment agency, education, substitute home" and, of course, as a platform for sexual encounters.

Did Europe have a more unifying force than France between empires? Even now, with the chunnel running daily, Mansel is probably on target with his claim that "more than any time before or since, Britain and the British were part of Paris life, as Paris was part of British life." It was in France, fostered by anxiety over her, that Louis XVIII, Orleans, Talleyrand, Pozzo di Borgo and others found themselves united on behalf of the common interests of a greater Europe.

Paris Between Empires is not "Paris-for-dummies." Mansel does little on the surface to cater to the ordinary reader. But the rewards of keeping pace with him are significant, and important. He has a remarkable wealth of detail in these pages. (He seems to know the occupant of every seat in the Opera the night the Duc de Berri was stabbed to death "by a lone fanatic seeking to revenge Waterloo and exterminate the Bourbons.") The impact of Paris during these years remains. Long after France was no longer the capital of Belgium, Rhineland`, Northwest Germany, Northern Italy and the Netherlands, her presence could be felt. The influence of France, as Mansel shows, is tighly woven into the fabric of Europe -- old and new.

This book is a history of Paris between the two Napoleonic Empires (1814-1852). It starts with Napoleon's initial defeat, the first occupation of Paris, the Hundred Days and the second occupation. It is indeed extraordinary that Paris was not treated by the Russians in 1815 like Berlin was in 1945. Of course, Napoleon was no Hitler and Alexander I was no Stalin (although the French occupation of Russia was also quite violent, if less protracted than the German one), but then again Paris was no Berlin, and one doesn't treat the most beautiful city in the world like any other place (the point was accepted by the illustrious General and Field Marshall Von Choltitz, who chose to betray his führer rather than raze lovely Paris).

The story picks up its pace during the restoration. Building on his successful biography of Louis XVIII, Mansel shows that the familiar dismissal of the Bourbons (who supposedly had neither learnt nor forgotten anything) was unfair, at least during the reign of Louis XVIII, the former Count of Provence and younger brother of the slain Louis XVI. Louis XVIII went out of his way to reconcile the people with the monarchy, and he was genuinely popular during his short reign. It is interesting to see how biographers are attracted to their subjets. Antonia Fraser in her biography of Marie-Antoinette regards the Comte de Provence as a traitor who waited abroad for his brother's family to be slaughter in order to inherit the throne, whereas Mansel's Louis XVIII is a peaceful, clever, if slightly cynical, man.

The author brings to life the verve with which the Parisians enjoyed their lives after nearly thirty years of revolutionary and Napoleonic wars (according to Mansel, the Restoration's most reliable supporters were women, who did not want their children, husbands or lovers to be sent out to war). He recalls the literary, philosophical and political salons, which were not just gathering points for like-minded flaneurs, but essential nerve endings in the city's political life. In many cases, political decisions were made not in government offices, but in the salons themselves.

The murder at the opera of the Duc de Berry, Louis XVIII's nephew is brilliantly described. Mansel conveys the shortsightedness of Charles X (Louis XVIII's brother) and his advisors (including the brilliant poet and diarist, but terrible politician and rather unpleasant person, Chateaubriand) which managed to alienate the Parisians in six short years and led to the mercenary and unloved bourgeois monarchy of Louis-Philippe, who was always suffering attempts on his life (it seems to me that he is unnecessarily beastly to Poiron, as Louis-Philippe was known due to his pear shaped face- Louis-Philippe was a pleasant, apparently decent man, who did much to bring bourgeois propriety to France, and preferred to let people enrich themselves rather than get them involved in international wars- I would much rather be governed by a man like Louis-Philippe, than by an arrogant trouble-maker like his successor, Napoleon the Small). The end, when it came, was swift and epical, as 1848 unfolded, the dress rehearsal for the Commune of 1870.

The book is full of loving detail that only someone with several books about the main people of the era could achieve. I was fascinated to read about the most influential man in Paris during the restoration, Count Pozzo di Borgo, a brilliant and cynical Corsican general who hated Napoleon and threw in his lot with the Russians. It's not the Belle Epoque, but it's not far off. By the way, Pozzo di Borgo ended his days as one of the richest men in France, and his descendants are still around, and still doing very well indeed.

I am a professional Chef in Boulder, Colorado. My apprenticeship included nine months in Paris and during that time I was entranced by Bistros of all types. This book not only captures the spirit and the essence of the Bistro experience, but also serves as a very useful guide to eating well, looking well, and being seen well while in Paris. I am ordering a second copy today since the first has met the demise of most loaned out books.

Neighborhood bistros of Paris have a charm and ambience all their own. Linda Dannenberg captures their flavor in her picturesque book Paris Bistro Cooking. Photographer, Guy Bouchet, captures their appeal with his delightful photographs, which whisks you into the amicable atmosphere of savory meals and congenial company. Coquille Saint-Jacques, Sole Grenobloise, Cassoulet Toulousain, Gratin Dauphinois, Pots de Creme au Chocolat, Galette de Pommes de Terre au Chevre en Salade, and Tarte Tatin--are just a very few of the mouthwatering recipes included. Ms. Dannenberg also lists sources for bistroware, supply houses, furniture, mail-order emporiums, etc., in a directory at the back of the book. Paris Bistro Cooking is bound to bring pleasure. But, beware! This book inspires hunger!

For all its faults, this is an engrossing and valuable history. The Revolution and the Commune are brought to life particularly well and the broad scope of Parisian life between the two is portrayed in a painterly way, or in as painterly a way as possible in a book almost totally devoid of pictorial illustration and, more damagingly, worthwhile maps. For all intents and purposes, this book ends with the Commune. The rest of the story -- it purports to take the reader up to the First World War -- is dealt with in 9 pages which feel like an appendix. The most important social/political crisis of the period, the Dreyfus affair, gets half a sentence, two lines, which is inexplicable even under the circumstances. There is a problem with continuity. Following the excellent discussion of the Revolution, we are plopped down in the middle of the Consulate without a word about the rise of Napoleon. All of a sudden Charles X is king. What happened to Louis XVIII? This may not have much import for the story of Paris but it sure does for the continuity of the telling. A man's name appears without description -- we're supposed to know who he is. But he only appeared once, with his function, 30 pages previously. Fortunately, his name appeared in the index, but much else that should does not -- the index is inadequate. A glossary is needed; one forgets what the many French words and phrases mean and some are not translated. The one phrase we're all familiar with, however, "Ancien Regime", appears colorlessly only as "Old Regime". The text had, apparently, a good translator but needed a good editor and publisher to make it the book it could have been. These are not quibbles. But for all its inadequacies Paris: Capital of Europe is nevertheless a vivid in-depth portrayal of a fascinating city during a time when events there periodically gripped the attention of the world in a way unique among modern cities.

While Paris in not my alltime favorite city, I do have to admit it's special. This book, written by a German historian and journalist, traces the development of Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries and its transformation into the intellectual and artistic capital of Europe. Meticulously researched, Paris, the Capital of Europe, covers the years from 1789 to the First World War. The author presents the city to us in detail: the street life and repression, social customs, architecture, the growth of trade and commerce, health and hygiene, class problems, morality and art and entertainment. Willms then weaves all these threads together to show the reader why and how Paris became the capital of Europe. Anyone who loves Paris, European history or both should love, Paris the Capital of Europe. Paris! There really is no place like it!

This softcover is full of gorgeous home furnishings sourced from flea markets presumably from France. It is more of a pictorial study of lovely furniture, room layouts, antique details, drapery and linens rather than a 'how to guide' to furnishing a home in this style - it is provides some inspirational ideas for decorating and thoughts on furnishings and color combinations - although some furnishings and abodes are a little out of reach for most of us (the essential paris apartment with french doors, parqued floors and mammoth marble busts) it is fabulous to look at it and is a nice coffee table addition. Enjoy.

As a collector of decorating books, I found this fresh and exciting! Although I can't afford a giant plaster head, the use of color, objets d'art, antiques and everday found objects lends itself to immediate inspiration. Tres European, tres chic! My favorite section is the apartment left untouched by the 2oth c. It is so rare to catch a glimpse of an actual abode left intact from so long ago. Inspiration can be taken from many different sources such as a unique fabric, even something as mundane as peice of cardboard. This book is a treat creatively and visually. Highly recommended.

This book is so delightful. As a city dweller in Manhattan with a large roof deck of my own, I needed some inspiration for growing plants upwards on several trellises I installed. This book was perfect! The designs a gorgeous, and the writer gives you enough information to duplicate some of the marvels. Also, if you love Paris as I do, you'll love daydreaming over the photographs.

Yes, I have a deck built over my garage roof which is accessible from my kitchen/fam. rm. So, I was looking for inspiration on what plants to have there this summer when I happened upon this very attractive book about terrace & rooftop gardens just yesterday at my local bkstore! I am getting lots of ideas from the pics on color combinations, styles and accents. The photos are detailed & altho I haven't read the text yet, it appears to have lots of quotes from the owners perspective on why they chose their plants. The author embellishes this with clear descriptions as well. Photo descriptions usually name the plants shown & I've seen 2 or 3 already of interest that are new to me that I can look up in a gardening guide & perhaps incorporate into my own roof top garden. Ea. section of the book shows several examples of private terrace gardens; i.e. A section on "Open-air dining" showing several terraces planted around tables & chairs for delightful outdoor meals. Another sec. called "Hanging gardens" using bamboo & cascading plants in unusual planting combinations. A thoroughly delightful feast for the eyes; and, one would never guess that all these various styles are within one large city and thusly all in the same approx. climate. I will be devouring this book this spring and enjoying it for many years to come!

This book tells of an American woman and an English woman who are in Paris when it falls to the Nazis. The writing is a bit naive but one gets used to it and the story told catches one up. It reminded me of a Helen MacInnes novel, with the big difference: this account is real! It was published in 1943 and I understand was a selection of the Book of the Month Club. There is good propaganda in the account, but that does not really detract from the story, and I found that the book was pageturny. I see it was republshed in 1988 and I wonder if the republication included an account of what happened to the people who were caught up in the daring and courageous work the women were doing.

Perhaps this book is special to me, because it was written by my very dear friend's Great Aunt. A few weeks ago, this friend lent me an old copy of the book- well worn, and well loved, by the looks of it. "Read it." She insisted. "It means so much to me." Read it I did, and I was completely awed.

The story is simply told- Etta was- by no means- a professional author- but the story was penned with heart, and that was all she needed to possess. This woman, and her friend, Kitty, succeeded in doing something we can only dream about from history books. They 'changed the course of the world'- and they were simply ordinary people, living extraordinary lives... that is what means so incredibly much.

Through this book, it seems I am right beside Etta, in the German torn Paris- I only wish I had known this amazing woman.

If you ever get a chance to read this book- I urge you to do so. You will be amazed with how much you walk away from it with. You will be amazed at their hearts- and exactly how strong a woman can be.