One of the seven in the series of "The Accursed Kings", it is accurate and colorful historical chronicle and superior literature all in one. Druon is one of the great historians and social and political observers that France had, and his extraordinary insight and talent as a writer make reading these books, like any of his books, a rare pleasure. If you can find all books in the series, or any of his books, you are a lucky one. Here's the others of "The Accursed Kings", although I can't remember the right sequence:
The Iron King
The Strangled Queen
The She Wolf of France
The Lily and The Lion
The Poisoned Crown
The Royal Succession
Definitely worth the search.

"Art Nouveau Designs in Color" is a wonderful reprint of a portfolio first published in Paris around 1900. The book collects the graphic designs of Alphonse Mucha, Maurice Verneuil, and Georges Auriol.

The many colorful designs in the book contain a number of different motifs: flowers, peacock feathers, seahorses, birds, butterflies, various geometric creations, and other elements. These decorative designs are often playful, often elegant. Overall, a fascinating and delightful book.

We've been reading and re-reading arty dogs since last Christmas. Just couldn't give it away. Delightful humor, delightful art. Especially recommend for artistic dog lovers.

The poetry here is stunning: Kilwein Guevara leaps from image to image following the rise and fall of prose syntax as easily as a mountain goat climbs thin ledges to scale impossible cliffs.

This is a pricey but invaluable memoir by one of the few individuals who can claim to have grown up right in the center of the action during Hollywood's Golden Era. Maurice Rapf knew all the great legends personally and is in fact a living legend himself. His father founded MGM along with Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg, and since Mayer had only two daughters and Thalberg's children were not born until the 1930's, Maurice was the natural crown prince of MGM during the 1920's and 1930's, and the studio backlot was literally his playground. Though his father, producer Harry Rapf, remains best known for discovering Joan Crawford, the enduring excellence and genuine appeal of Harry Rapf's film output has been much better appreciated in recent years due to the frequent revival of early Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery and Crawford talkies on Turner Classic Movies. Although the author could easily have moved up through the studio system to become a production mogul himself, his own personal sense of civic responsibility caused him to reject this opportunity, embrace the Communist Party, and buck the studio system. Along the way, he left his own indelible imprint in Hollywood history by his screenwriting contributions to such Disney classics as Cinderella, but his career was interrupted by the Hollywood blacklist. After many tribulations the author became a beloved professor at Dartmouth College and now tells this long-awaited story.

Mr. Rapf tells it calmly but very entertainingly. He avoids gossip, but discloses details and insights which no one else could provide. He is unapologetic for the ideological decisions he made in his youth, and makes it clear that his embrace of Communism was not simply a gravitation towards the Russian Marxist experiment, but also a reaction against the Nazi Germany he personally eyewitnessed, as well as the chicanery he saw emanating from much of the Hollywood management. He isn't afraid to buck the prevailing views on historical figures he knew personally-for example, he found Walt Disney to be neither anti-semitic nor a Red baiter during the years they worked together. All told, this is a fascinating and moving account of an individual born literally in the middle of the Hollywood dream.

When I was a medical student, I was frustrated by the lack of a good source for learning the things that I somehow seemed to be expected to know on the first day of my surgery rotation, in particular how to tie good knots of an appropriate type, reliably, quickly, and almost automatically.

This wonderful little book fit the bill admirably. Several of my friends at other medical schools subsequent bought it and thanked me for the tip.

This catalogue has excellent photographs that gives one a sense of the attitude of the Beat Generation. Everyone is familiar with the writers of the period, but not everyone knows about art generated during those years. This catalogue gives a review of art, film, and writing being created at the time. Not only that but it devotes a chapter to women and a chapter to minorites working during the time period. A good source of information for anyone interested in the 1950's to the early 1960's.

The Bee Gees best friend David English has a talent for writing children-style books (i.e. The Bunburys). This novella was his start and it's a true, humorous tale of the Bee Gees from thier start to around 1984. It's more an adult book than a child's and is tons of fun. Illustrator Alex Brychta does a fantastic job of humorously portraying all the characters in the Bee Gees life. This makes a great gift for a true Bee Gees fan.

I read this book as part of a high school class, and the conversations within our class as a result of it were just amazing. a very deep and spiritual book. buber believes that there are three relationships people can have: relationships between man and things, between man and god, and between man and man. to put it simply, to have a relationship with things, you must go to them. to have a relationship with god, god has to come to you. but in relationships between man and man, we can come to each other...

read "Dialogue"

This is a beautifully illustrated book that appeals to children of all ages. I recommend it highly. It has a vast array of nature stickers that are bright and realitic. They teach the children the names of things in nature and have smart ways of getting the children to understand color matching and counting. Children as small as 1 1/2 can enjoy this book. My 19 month old daughter loved it, but it's sopisticated enough for older children. I'm buying my second! In addition there is a VERY generous amount of REUSABLE stickers. Any mother can tell you how expensive they are. This book provided my daughter with days of entertainment and education. For the content and money it's five stars.