| Books and
Films about France and the World |
| Jean-Pierre Alaux
and Noel Balen |
Winemaker Detective
Mysteries Box Set: Deadly Tasting, Cognac
Conspiracies, Mayhem in Margaux (The Winemaker
Detective Series)
The
translation from French into English is not
stilted--hard to believe it was not originally
English. The main character is a pompous wine
connoisseur who keeps running into wine-related
mysteries that are not that difficult to solve. |
| Graham Robb |
The Discovery of
France: A Historical Geography
The story of
the mapping of the country of France, this dense
account describes how diverse were the cultures
and tribes within France. Until World War I, many
French citizens did not speak French! Rather they
spoke widely divergent local dialects, only using
the language of Paris for official government
business. |
Charles River
(Editors) |
The Tuileries
Palace: The History and Legacy of France's Famous
Royal Palace
An interesting
history of the French palace, of Louis 14th and
Louis XVI. Napoleon 3rd also lived here.
Fascinating story of the French history of this
residence. |
Charles River
(Editors) |
Vichy France: The
History of Nazi Germany’s Occupation of
France during World War II
.Quite interesting
especially for a person who has minimal knowledge
of that time and government. The book is brief
and concise; nevertheless, it is full of
information about the government and the
personalities involved. |
Jacques Trémolet
de Villers and Olivier Sers
|
Jeanne d'Arc: Le
procès de Rouen (21 février-30 mai 1431)
(French Edition)
.Unique perspective on a
remarkable event in French and Catholic
Inquisition history. It was a model for the
modern show trial in which the judges start with
the verdict and try to assemble justification for
it. |
Noel
D Johnson and Mark Kpyama
|
Persecution
& Toleration - The Long Road t6o Religous
Freedom (2019)
.The book investigates the
fascinating intersection of the state and
religion in late medieval and early modern
Europe. Rather than enduring patterns of
religious toleration or persecution, of liberty
or tyranny, they tell a rich history of change
and variation in rules, institutions, and
societies. This is an important and persuasive
book.' |
Diarmaid MacCulloch
|
The Reformation - A
History (2005)
.The book has taken a
subject full of controversy and oversize
individuals and made the book a page turner.
There are no heroes in this book, only blood,
guts, executions, trials, and internicene
hatreds.The horrors of the Inquisition are shown
not to be the sole purview of the
Catholics--after all, Calvin burned Servetus at
the stake for disagreeing with him about the
Trinity, and he beheaded a few others for various
reasons. The author's sense of humor is always
present--he tells us that the reformers liked to
sport long beards so that they would resemble Old
Testament patriarchs, and then he introduces two
pictures of reformers with cascading, curly
beards covering their chests. |
Pankaj Mishra
|
Age of Anger - A
History of the Present (2005)
.Pankaj Mishra
has named a moment and an era: His brilliant new
book Age of Anger: A History of the
Present looks at the rising tide of radical
nationalism, racism, intolerance, misogyny,
xenophobia, and fascism that's sweeping away
calmer and more measured opposition all over the
world, and he attempts to understand the
phenomena before it engulfs everybody on the
planet. . . Fiercely literate and eloquent.”From the Ruins of
Empire - The Revolt against the West and the
Remaking of Asia (2012)
The book looks
back on the 19th and 20th centuries through the
work of three Asian thinkers: Jamal al-Din
Afghani, Liang Qichao and Rabindranath Tagore.
The story that emerges is quite different from
that which most Western readers have come to
accept. Enormously ambitious but thoroughly
readable, this book is essential reading for
everyone who is interested in the processes of
change that have led to the emergence of today's
Asia.”
|
Ian James
|
The New French Philosophy
1st Edition (2019)
.This impressive new work
carves out, with precision and clarity, a
distinctive new domain within recent French
philosophy, revealing a varied spectrum of
thinkers who share a common desire to go beyond
dominant theories of signification to engage with
both the materiality of the real and the question
of subjectivity in the wake of structuralism. A
real contribution to French intellectual history. |
| Films made
in France or about France |
Frédéric Krivine
Philippe Triboit
Emmanuel Daucé |
A French Village
This acclaimed
drama is about the German occupation of France
during World War II, and its effects on the
inhabitants of a small village in Jura. In June
1940, the village of Villeneuve awakes to the
arrival of the German army - and the next four
years of occupation have a shattering effect on
the lives of all its inhabitants.
7 Seasons (72
Episodes)
DRAMA | FRANCE | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES |
| Henri-Georges
Clouzot (Director) with Brigitte
Bardot (Actor),Sami Frey (Actor), |
La vérité
(Criterion
Collection)
Brigitte
Bardot is excellent, as are the rest of the cast.
The film centers on a trial of Bardot's character
for the murder of her lover, and the story of the
relationship is told by flashbacks. Really worth
seeing.(1960) |
Solveig Anspach (Director)with
Karin Viard,
Bouli
Lanners,
Claude
Gensac |
Lulu
(French with
English subtitles - Drama 85 min 2013))
Adelightful
movie, filled with humor, sadness, and most of
all love. Lulu, needs to find a different life,
so she strikes out, on her own, leaving behind
memoires, good and bad. Soon she finds that she
is needed, and others need and enjoy her as a
person, can she find happiness, will she be able
to love again, does she have anything to offer,
so many questions, that get answered, in this
lovely movie, about creating value, for one's
self, as well as others, a must see! |
|
| Reviews
of Books about France |
Vintage
1954
Vintage 1954
is a tale that will take you on a heartwarming
journey into the past with four people from
different backgrounds who are all able to find
meaning in their lives as a result of this
journey back in time.
.
.
byAntoine
Laurain
(February 7, 2019,) |
 |
The
Little French Bistro
Marianne
decides to end her life by jumping into the
Seine. Things don't go as planned, however, and a
stranger pulls her to safety, and she is
transported to hospital.
.
by Nina George
(March 1, 2018,) |
 |
The House
of Rougeaux
The hardships
and unfortunate circumstances of there lives
pulled at my heart. The author had a wonderful
ability to transport me to the Caribbean and the
reality of their everyday lives.
.
by Jenny
Jaeckel
(March 22, 2018,) |
 |
The French
Girl
This one was
superbly written with a great atmosphere and an
ending that was not quite what I had expected. I
also loved that the author followed the
characters after the murderer had been uncovered.
.
by Lexie Elliott
(February 8, 2018,) |
 |
l'appart
Just in case
perils of renovation get you down while reading
this account, don't fret because the author has
provided numerous tasty recipes that will cheer
you up no end.
by David Lebovitz
(January 18, 2018,) |
 |
Doorways
of Paris
I would
have loved a little more text and a maybe more
historical tidbits. Having said that, I still
enjoyed this book very much.
.
by Raquel
Puig
(November 8, 2017,) |
 |
Cooking for
Picasso
This smart,
charming book is two stories in one. I have to
say it's probably one of the most interesting
books I've read (or listened to) all year. I say,
listened to because I received an audio version
of this book. It was my first experience with an
audio book,
.
by Camille
Aubray
(Decdember 19, 2016,) |
 |
Paris Nights My
Year at the Moulin Rouge
The reader
found out exactly what happened to all the
characters mentioned in the book. The inclusion
of numerous photos was a great idea. It made me
feel like I had a better connection to the
author, his friends, and family.
.
by Cliff Simon
(August 22, 2016,) |
 |
Nice Work
(If You Can Get It)
Things get off
to a rocky start when they need to come up with
money they don't have for all sorts of
renovations.
.
by Celia Imrie
(August 15, 2016,) |
 |
Every
Frenchman Has One
After
a divorce in 1953, she met and married a
Frenchman and moved to Paris. This book follows
her attempts to come to terms with life in
another country.
.
by Olivia de Havilland
(July 13, 2016,) |
 |
The
Marseille Caper
The book provides a fun, lighthearted and
utterly enjoyable read, with glimpses of great
food, culture and a relaxed lifestyle in the
south of France.
.
by Peter
Mayle
(July 29, 2016,) |
 |
The
Little Paris Bookshop
.This
mesmerizing, elegantly written story brings alive
both the sorrow and joy that fill the lives of
the main characters, especially Jean. It takes
the reader on a journey, not only through France
but through the meaning of life and love itself.
by Nina
George
(March 31, 2016,) |
 |
The
Red Notebook
.The
characters come alive in this bookabout Paris.
The author has a way of writing that is both
lively and entertaining.
by Antoine
Laurain
(January 21, 2016,) |
 |
Paris
Nocturne
The
atmosphere is heavy and dark as if one is in a
haze or a dream. The reader is never quite sure
if the main character is having memory
difficulties because of the accident or whether
he's been suffering from this for some time.
by Patrick
Modiano
(December 18, 2015,) |
 |
Marseille
Noir
In this
selection of stories Marseille comes across as a
hard, tough, masculine city full of crime but
also full of life and interesting characters.
Edited by Cédric Fabre
(November 7, 2015,) |
 |
The
Châtelet Apprentice
You
feel not only connected to the character but gain
an understanding into the workings of 18thcentury
French society. Anyone interested in France
during this period or in good historical novels
will not be disappointed
by Jean-François
Parot
(November 7, 2015,) |
 |
Nicholas
Le Floch (DVD)
If you have
read The Chatelet Apprentice and
found it interestinginteresting you might also
like the DVD series inspired by these books. Nicolas
Le Floch Volume One and Two are available at
amazon as a DVD
by Jean-François
Parot.
(November 13, 2015,) |
 |
Moon
in a Dead Eye
This
books is short but brilliant. It manages to say
so much about the human condition. The characters
are pitch perfect, the atmosphere moves from
light to dark and the location is telling.
by Pascal
Garnier
(November 18, 2015,) |
 |
Murder
on the Eiffel Tower
A
story fro, the 1889 during the Paris: Several
people have died mysterious deaths, all of which
have been attributed to bee stings. Victor, a
Parisian bookseller has his doubts about whether
bee stings were the actual causes of death.
by Claude
Izner
(October 28, 2015,) |
 |
The
Collector
A
wonderful French thriller, unique, mesmerizing
and full of rich details.
by Anne-Laure Thiéblemont
(August 23, 2015,) |
 |
Im
Licht der Normandie
Es
ist die Geschichte von Flo die einen Brief ihrer
verstorbenen Grossmutter findet. Um mehr ueber
den Inhalt des Briefes und die komische Sprache
in der er geschrieben ist herauszufinden, muss
sich Flo in die N
von Margot S. Baumann
(August 13, 2015,) |
 |
Mayhem
in Margaux
This
particular book and others in the series created
by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel Balen were used as
the basis for the TV series Blood of the Vine
which is available on DVD
by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel
Balen
(August 5, 2015,)Tainted
Tokay
It is another good
story from the wine detective series, which has
some unexpected twists and turns.
Red-Handed in
Romanée-Conti
Once again the
authors of this series have presented readers
with another winning cozy mystery full of
interesting characters, great scenery and good
food and wine.
|
 
|
Promises
to Keep
Like The
Promise of Provence, book one in this series, the
story follows Katherine on her journey to find
love and happiness in the south of France with
Philippe. It isn't all smooth sailing and
Philippe has some secrets in his past that
threaten to put the breaks on their relationship
by Patricia
Sands
(October 2, 2015,) |
 |
The
Promise of Provence
A wonderful
tale of a woman in search of herself. Katherine
is a fifty-five year old woman with a nice life
in Toronto. She has a good job as a researcher
and a happy marriage, that is until James, her
husband leaves her an anniversary bouquet with a
note saying he wants a divorce.
by Patricia
Sands
(October 12, 2015,) |
 |
George's
Grand Tour
Charles decide
to follow the 3,500 km route of the Tour de
France they were looking for adventure. In fact,
they thought at their age it might be the last
chance they had to take such a journey.
by Caroline
Vermalle
(October 2, 2015,) |
 |
|
