Freedom's Moment: An Essay on the French Idea of Liberty from Rousseau to Foucault

Freedom's Moment: An Essay on the French Idea of Liberty from Rousseau to Foucault Review

What kind of freedom, and what kind of individual, has the French Revolutionary tradition sought to propagate? Paul Cohen finds a distinctly French articulation of freedom in the texts and lives of eight renowned cultural critics who lived between the eighteenth century and the present day.

Arranged not according to the lives and times of its protagonists but to the narrative themes and structures they held in common, Cohen’s study discerns a single master narrative of liberty in modern France. He captures these radicals, whose tradition bids them to resist the authority of power structures and public opinion. They denounce bourgeois and utilitarian values, the power of Church and State, and the corrupting influence of everyday politics, and they dream of a revolutionary rupture, a fleeting instant of sometimes violent but always meaningful transgression.

An eloquent and insightful work on French political culture, Freedom's Moment also helps explain how France, even as it has oscillated between political stagnation and crisis, has held onto its faith that liberty, equality, and fraternity remain within its grasp.

Examines the ideas of Rousseau, Robespierre, Stendahl, Michelet, Bergson, Peguy, Sartre, and Foucault.

POUR LA FRANCE: A Guide to the Formations and Units of French Land Forces 1914-18

POUR LA FRANCE: A Guide to the Formations and Units of French Land Forces 1914-18 Review

For many years serious students of the First World War have lacked a detailed English-language guide to the French Army. Apart from the British guide to the French army that was published in 1914, no such guide has been produced. In this comprehensive study, the authors seek to fill this gap through the provision of detailed information on the infantry and cavalry divisions of the French Army. The French Army expanded from 43 active infantry divisions, and 10 cavalry divisions, in 1914 to a total of 140 divisions of infantry, and to 12 of either mounted or dismounted cavalry. The vast majority of these formations served on the Western Front in defense of France itself. Coverage includes a listing of those divisions of the Allied armies, British, American and Italian, serving under French command at various times.

For each division, the authors provide a full listing of all the constituent components, whether they were infantry, artillery, cavalry or engineers. This will enable readers to reconstruct the composition of each division on any given date. In addition to a list of commanders, a detailed narrative of its operational history is provided.

This full treatment of the divisions is complemented by a series of detailed lists of all the metropolitan and colonial regiments from which the divisions drew their manpower. These lists cover infantry, artillery, cavalry and engineers. The large number of regiments raised and employed operationally precludes coverage as detailed as that provided for the divisions, nevertheless, a much useful data is provided.

In the second part of the study the authors build on the coverage of divisions and regiments, providing a detailed history of higher formations of the French Army: the army groups, armies and army corps. It is rare to find adequate coverage of such formations for any of the armies of the First World War. The authors hope to remedy this neglect. The higher direction of military operations, especially on the Western Front, was conducted through these three levels of command, which linked the commander-in-chief to the front line divisions and regiments under his command. The French army, at various times, employed four army groups on the Western Front. In addition, it formed 10 armies, a variety of temporary army-level detachments, and 36 corps, plus various temporary corps-level commands.

The coverage of each higher formation includes information on leaders, troops under direct command, and a narrative history, which includes all divisions assigned to the relevant headquarters. From this information the reader can reconstruct the French order of battle for any given date between August 1914 and November 1918.

After an alphabetical listing of French generals, the authors provide an extensive series of orders of battle which includes both overviews of the entire Western Front, such as 11th November 1918, and of individual battles and campaigns such as Verdun in 1916. This coverage includes the French contributions to the Allied cause in Gallipoli, Salonika and Italy.

The book concludes with two guest contributions. Peter Abbott provides an overview of the contribution of those forces raised in the French colonies. Duncan Rogers provides a bibliographic essay designed to stimulate further study.

Pour la France is destined to become a landmark First World War reference work. It is being produced in a strictly limited printing of 750 hardback copies, each individually numbered and signed by the authors.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (2 Volume Set)

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (2 Volume Set) Review

The perfect gift for any follower of Julia Child—and any lover of French food. This boxed set brings together Mastering the Art of French Cooking, first published in 1961, and its sequel, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume Two, published in 1970.

Volume One is the classic cookbook, in its entirety—524 recipes.
“Anyone can cook in the French manner anywhere,” wrote Mesdames Beck, Bertholle, and Child, “with the right instruction.” And here is the book that, for nearly fifty years, has been teaching Americans how.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking is for both seasoned cooks and beginners who love good food and long to reproduce at home the savory delights of the classic cuisine, from the historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. The techniques learned in this beautiful book, with more than one hundred instructive illustrations, can be applied to recipes in all other French cookbooks, making them infinitely usable. In compiling the secrets of famous Cordon Bleu chefs, the authors produced a magnificent volume that continues to have a place of honor in American kitchens.

Volume Two is the sequel to the great cooking classic—with 257 additional recipes. Following the publication of the celebrated Volume One, Julia Child and Simone Beck continued to search out and sample new recipes among the classic dishes and regional specialties of France—cooking, conferring, tasting, revising, perfecting. Out of their discoveries they made, for Volume Two, a brilliant selection of precisely those recipes that not only add to the repertory but, above all, bring the reader to a new level of mastery of the art of French cooking.

Each of these recipes is worked out step-by-step, with the clarity and precision that are the essence of the first volume. Five times as many drawings as in Volume One make the clear instructions even more so.

Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of this volume is that it will make Americans actually more expert than their French contemporaries in two supreme areas of cookery: baking and charcuterie. In France one can turn to the local bakery for fresh and expertly baked bread, or to neighborhood charcuterie for pâtés and terrines and sausages. Here, most of us have no choice but to create them for ourselves.
Bon appétit!

French New Wave, The

French New Wave, The Review

"Here is a lavish history of the film movement that spawned the careers of Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and a number of other important contemporary filmmakers. Douchet... considers his subject from almost every possible angle."--Library Journal. "A landmark in film scholarship."--Cineaste

Complete French: The Basics (BK) (Complete Basic Courses)

Complete French: The Basics (BK) (Complete Basic Courses) Review

Learn French in 4 Simple Steps.

With Living Language Complete French: The Basics, you’ll start by learning words, and then you’ll progress to phrases, sentences, and conversations. This simple four-step building block approach will have you speaking with confidence right from the beginning, and you’ll be able to learn gradually and effectively. If you’re confident in your pronunciation, then this coursebook includes everything you need - vocabulary, grammar, culture, and practice. But you can also use this book along with the four hours of recordings included in the Living Language Complete French: The Basics compact disc package, which also includes a handy learner’s dictionary.

This comprehensive coursebook includes:
•40 step-by-step lessons
•Practical vocabulary and authentic everyday usage
•Simple explanations and plenty of examples
•Supplemental sections, including e-mail and internet resources
•A comprehensive grammar reference section

Reprise: A Review Workbook for Grammar, Communication, and Culture (French Edition)

Reprise: A Review Workbook for Grammar, Communication, and Culture (French Edition) Review

A French workbook for intermediate through advanced students

Reprise is a powerful tool for review and progress in French. This book offers clear, concise, and well-organized grammar explanations, examples of everyday conversational usage, realia, cultural information, French language and writing conventions, thematic vocabulary, and oral activities.

Organized into 28 grammar chapters and four culture chapters, Reprise is an excellent resource for Advanced Placement preparation. It is the only grammar review that takes vocabulary review and expansion as seriously as grammar.

French Seaside Style

French Seaside Style Review

The fourth title in a successful series, this new book celebrates the enduring popularity of nautically inspired interiors, with a French twist. Azure blue skies and sparkling waves on the horizon are the perfect counterpoints to the bright and cheery interiors inspired by life at the seaside. Sun-drenched terraces are accessorized with nautical details including smooth bits of sea glass, rows of sand dollars, and miniature sailboats on the windowsill. Driftwood centerpieces remind us of the beauty and simplicity of nature. A collection of oars propped in a corner forms a rustic sculpture, and the wide stripes of the lounge chairs beckon, evoking the laid-back allure of warm weather. Stepping inside, the rooms are equally inviting with earth tones and bright touches, accessorized with the classically popular icons—anchors, buoys, lighthouses, seashells—that carry the theme throughout the home. Natural wood finishes set the tone and are the perfect complement to canvas-inspired upholstery and crisp linens in the fresh colors of summertime. Miniature vials of sand, each labeled with the date and location where they were collected, bring back memories of carefree holidays spent by the sea, while frosty gem-colored goblets cool us down even before the first sip of mint julep. The overall sense of these interiors creates a relaxed sense of well-being that feeds the soul. These interiors are brimming with inspiration for how to bring serenity and joy into any home.