David Hampshire gave much helpful guidance regarding the rules, regulations and bureaucracy in France (although "Frommer's" and "Lonely Planet" books do as well). However, his clear dislike for most things French (especially the people) made the book read more like a prejudiced, bigoted, diatribe. A bit of fun-poking would have certainly been acceptable and lightened a bare facts book, but Mr. Hampshire went on for, literally, pages and at every opportunity to criticize and ridicule. One wonders, if he were corect in his assessments, how a country so filled with stupid, unwashed, crude and lazy people could possibly be responsible for the creation and ongoing care of some of the world's greatest works of artistic expression. Shame on you Mr. Hampshire. Perhaps in your next revision, you'll omit the vitriolic rhetoric. It will be a much better book.

I was born in France and spent countless years there. I bought this book when I had to go back after a few years away, and this is by far and away the best book on the subject. The amount of information covered is not short of incredible. The book is divided into 20 useful chapters, plus appendix and index. The sections are Finding a Job, Working Conditions, Permits and Visas, Arrival, Accommodation, Post Office Services, Telephone, Television and Radio, Education, Public Transport, Motoring, Health, Insurance, Finance, Leisure, Sports, Shopping, Odds & Ednds, The French, Leaving France. Each section is further devided and is highly informative. For example the Finding a Job chapter tells you about qualifications, government employement agencies, recruitment agencies, seasonal jobs, temporary and causal jobs, voluntary work, job hunting, working women, salary, self-employment, starting a business, traineees and work experience, au pairs, illegal working and language. I thought I knew enough about my birth country. This book has proved me wrong. Don't go to France without it. Big mistake if you do. Absolutely priceless!

I have read two other books in this catagory, "Living, Studying, and working in France", and "Live and Work in France" and this is the best of the three. The "Live and Work..." book is the worst. It is mainly aimed at UK residents moving to France. The "Living, Studying..." book is pretty good too, but doesn't have the concentration of good info as this book. Lots of contacts info for jobs, paperwork, etc. Very thorough. The one thing I wish it had was more about the internet access and contacts for that.

I am a voracious reader with some knowledge of art history, but after attempting to read this book for the last six months, I am finally stopping at the half-way mark. It is certainly full of new facts and demonstrates an exhaustive amount of research, but I find Sweetman's narrative plodding and unorganized. Also, the book pre-supposes the reader's depth of knowledge on the subject -- the lack of which is quite obviously my problem in enjoying the book.

Brilliant biographer David Sweetman has created a masterpiece with his biography of Gauguin. I don't know how he did it; but I was in awe throughout the reading of this well-thought-out and researched book. Gauguin was a complicated man; and through his exhaustive research, Sweetman gives us the rare opportunity to journey with one of the most colourful and oft-misunderstood artists in history. There are so many new facts uncovered in this book... I could feel the spirit of Gauguin rise up and rebel... http://www.mystic-art.com

I am disappointed to see that this book is out of print but if you have any interest in Gauguin whatsoever, you should try to get your hands on a copy. This is such an excellent book! Mr. Sweetman has clearly done his homework and he writes beautifully. By the time you finish this book you will feel as though you knew Gauguin for, as much as such a thing is possible, Mr. Sweetman gets you inside the artist's head so that you know what he was thinking and what he was feeling at all the important points of his life. The author gives a very balanced view of Gauguin and of the important people in his life, including his wife Mette. Gauguin is not portrayed as a saint. Mr. Sweetman does not let him off the hook for the shabby way he sometimes treated his friends and family. In other words, this behavior is not excused just because Gauguin was a brilliant artist. On the other hand, Gauguin is not demonized for his irresponsible behavior either, as he sometimes could be a caring person and a good friend. Gauguin left notebooks and correspondence, so when Mr. Sweetman gives you his interpretations of the meanings of some of Gauguin's greatest paintings he is not whistling in the dark. Gauguin himself is oftimes present to tell you what he was trying to do. One of the nice things about the book is that it does not focus exclusively on Gauguin. You learn what what was going on in the Paris art world. There is interesting information given about other artists, such as Camille Pissarro and Emile Bernard and you also learn about some of the art dealers, such as Durand-Ruel and Vollard. You are given in depth information of what was going on in the French communities on Tahiti and in the Marquesas. Mr. Sweetman also provides a sympathetic and reasonable explanation for Gauguin's behavior following the death of Vincent Van Gogh. As Mr. Sweetman says in the book, the picture most people have of Gauguin is based almost completely on the portrayal by Anthony Quinn in the 1950's movie "Lust For Life". If you read this wonderful book you will get a much more well-rounded picture of what this very complicated man was truly like.

A nice little read of the diplomacy of Bismarck and Napoleon III prior to the Franco Prussian War. What is so apparrent by this book is how the French and the French government were so arrogant about their power. Most people subscribe to the fact of Bismarck causing the war. However this book shows how the inflamed opinion of the French and their government led to the war. Popular opinion blames the Prussians but it was the French who caused the war.
Wetzel shows the French interfering in the affairs of the Spain to place their candidate on the throne. The Spanish provisional government was not especially interested in their candidates, and ultimately decided on a Prussian prince. This was even more unacceptable to the French government. They then demanded the Prussian prince to renounce the throne. This the Prussians did. Then they demanded the Prussians apologize for their actions and completely renounce any interest. When this did not happen, they went to war against a German nation angered by the French actions. Subsequent actions paint the French as the victims when the opposite was the case. The French played into the hands of Bismarck.
A great read for those interested in the diplomacy prior to the war. Michael Howard's Franco-Prussian War is also a great read of the war itself.

Does a fine job explaining how the war happened. Recommend it to anyone curious about the issue.

The title of this detailed account of the origin of the FrancoPrussian war in 1870 refers to Louis Napoleon 3, nephew of Napoleon, and Otto Bismarck. The FrancoPrussian War ended the government of Emperor Louis Napoleon 3 and gave Bismarck the opportunity to unify Germany.

Wetzel begins his book by describing the characters. There is the French Emperor Louis Napoleon and his diplomats Ollivier, Gramont. Their Prussian opponents are chancellor Bismarck, and Kaiser William and their subordinates. Then Wetzel explains the background, the decline of French power and the rising strength of Prussia. We see how Ollivier, Gramont and Empress Eugenie let their passions and nationalist chauvinism blind them to the new weakness of the French army and the growing strength of Prussia

Wetzel explains the complicated succession struggle in Spain. No candidate could hope to win without total permission of France. Wetzel analyzes Bismarck's complex policy toward the succession and France and comes to some non traditional conclusions.
Wetzel follows the actions of Bismarck and Napoleon 3, as well as the actions and mistakes of their individual subordinates. We see the expertise of French diplomats such as Visconti-Venesto and Benedetti. Most of all we see the belligerence of Gramont, who left no mistake untried.

This book is not always easy to read, since Wetzel goes into great detail about the actions of all the diplomats involved. Wetzel bases his book on both primary and secondary sources and includes an informative bibliography with notes. This book ends right before the outbreak of the FrancoPrussian war, so there are no discussions of military strategy or tactics.

First Ypres 1914 is a terse but very detailed study of the exploits of the BEF following the Battle of the Marne in september 1914. The main focus is on the series of battles (La Bassee, Armentieres,Givenchy and Ypres) that are known collectively as the first of the four battles of Ypres. I include the battle of the Lys in 1918 as the fourth battle. There are several important problems with the book including a very drab and stilted writing style, confusing battle maps, and frankly silly illustrations of the "brave Tommy Atkins beating up the Hun..." The book does have a tremendous amount of factual data that seems to be missing in other books of this admittedly fast paced but confusing period of the first world war. My advice is to read this book as an adjunct to other better written treatises.

First Ypres 1914, David Lomas' sequel to his earlier Mons 1914, is a decent summary of the relatively neglected period of October-November 1914 in Belgium. During this period after the Battle of the Marne, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fought the Germans to a standstill over a fairly small patch of Belgian mud, thereby denying the Germans access to the Channel ports. However in the process, the old pre-war British regular army was virtually destroyed. The BEF of 1914 was an elite force, but not designed for the grinding attrition warfare that was quickly developing on the Western Front.

The weakest part of this volume is the early sections on opposing commanders, opposing armies and opposing leaders. David Lomas seems to feel that he has done his duty in regard to this vital introductory sections by jotting down a few paragraphs and moving on. For example, the section on leaders barely amounts to one page of text and only comments on army-level commanders like Sir John French. Similarly, the section on opposing armies is far too brief. The Indian Corps that was dispatched to the Western Front was significantly different in training from the remainder of the BEF and this should have been highlighted in this section. Although the extensive order of battle partly covers up the deficiencies of this section, it is skimpy on the French. Opposing plans are also covered in far too brief a section.

Clearly the author has put all his effort into the campaign narrative itself, and as in his earlier Mons 1914, the operational summary is quite good. Excellent maps and photos add value to this account of First Ypres.

This is a highly reccommended book that recounts the eventful German "drive to the sea" in the autumn of 1914 in a bid to capture the coastal ports in Belgium and northern France after having failed to capture Paris (where the Germans were stopped at the Marne).
The battle surrounding the town of Ypres is notable for two facts: it was the last attempt by both sides to try to create a new mobile front on the western front, and it was the last battle in which the Old Contemptibles, Great Britain's professional volunteer army, fought as a coherent unit.
Although marked by heroic attacks and counter-attacks, desperate rearguard actions, and scenes of personal bravery, the Battle of First Ypres is unfortunately overshadowed by the two following trench battles that took place in the same area in 1915 and 1917, and so this book sheds new light to the discerning student of the Great War.
Presented in the usual first-class Osprey format, this is an excellent book illustrated by rare photographs and Ed Dovey's wonderful colour battlescenes. As an extra for wargamers, there is a useful guide to wargaming the battle and a detailed Order of Battle chart.
Highly reccommended.

This story is about two companions Maupassant's "A Corsican Bandit" who wander through nature. Forests, fields, valleys and landscapes. Pine trees, untangled Yet one another short story by this great trunks, umbrella pines, misshapen author. And the way he describes this one is trees, granite. even more gruesome than the last. They walk past a little wooden "A Corsican Bandit" is nearly a horror story cross and one of the men asks the describing very dramtic events... other to tell him about its The story takes place in a petrified valley origin. with beautiful surroundings. So the other man starts telling a story about a bandit named Sainte "Up on the two narrow peaks which dominate Lucie. this pass, a few old misshapen trees seemed Sainte Lucie was apparently a weak to have made their way with difficulty, like and spineless boy, with very little scouts sent on ahead of the huge dense mass strength of character. of trees behind them. We turned round and One day his father had been killed Saw the whole forest stretched out beneath by a young man in the vecinity. us, like an enormous green bowl with edges Sainte Lucie knew he was supposed made of sheer rock that seemed to touch the sky." to avenge his father, but couldn't find the courage to do so, until one day, the When it comes to Sainte Lucie, we same man provocatively, newly married, have a bit more information. drove past his house. Because of the fact that one of the Overwhelmed by a unfamiliar feeling, companions told a story about him. Sainte Lucie set out to kill him.... and did. From then on he continued his avenge, and killed and terrorised a large number of people who had been connected to his fathers murder.

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It's a straight narrative story. Starts off harmless, descriptive, nature-scene, Ends

I think the message is that the most innocent people can turn out to be what you least expect. That shows in the book when Sainte Lucie threatens one of the wedding guests that he'll shoot his leg, if he takes another step. Knowing Sainte Lucie to be weak and cowardly he says "You woudn't dare!" and sets off, and gets shot. Basically, theres more to people than you think.

The main characters in this "so-called" horror short story are the two companions and of course, Sainte Lucie. This is very interesting, because we hardly know anything about the two friends. We don't know their backround, don't know their hobbies, don't know their selection of clothes, we don't even know their sex! All we know is that they are two companions walking through valleys and mountains, and one of them, according from the information that we have received, seems to be some sort of guide, or atleast a person knowing the forests very well and every story behind them. The other interested.

Once the reader browses through the descriptions of Mapassaunt's life and philosophies in the roman numbered pages begining this title, he or she knows that the following stories are going to be quite dark. They are and they are also, for the most part, vividly descriptive, intriguing, full of symbolism and extremely memorable. From the incendiary betrayals of "Monseiur Parent" and "the Dowry" to gruesome consequences of moral lapses seen in "At Sea" and "the Model" to outride incredible savagery of "A Vendetta" and the title story, this book proves that Maupassant is a master of all things dark, pessimistic and brutal.

I loved this book so, it was one of those times it was heartbreaking to come to the end. Each story was a nice short gem, perfect to enjoy in a sitting.

This book is a great overview of the period covered; however I think it was a bit over-industrious to sqeeze so much into one book (the normal Men-At-Arms size, that is). I think keeping it to the early period (up to Poitiers or Najera) and a separate one for the Agincourt/Joan of Arc period would've been better. McBride, master illustrator that he is, kind of disappointed me with his renditions of both du Guesclin and the Maid. Joan was shown in a dress! It still has good illustrations of the armor of the average man at arms and "lowly" infantry types, though.

This lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched Osprey Men-At-Arms book is a concise, yet informative study of the composition and tactics of French armies of the Hundred Years War. My only complaint is that the author has not gone to the same extent as Nicholas Michael (Armies of Medieval Burgundy, 1364-1477) in covering the compagnies d'ordonnances. Aside from this fault, this book is a great introduction to a subject that has long been neglected by Osprey publishing.

I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK. ALTHOUGH I FELT THAT ZILIA WAS A PITYFUL GIRL WHOM NEEDED TO TAKE CONTROL OVER HER SITUATION BUT SHE WAS A GOOD CHARACTER. I THINK SHE HAD A GREAT LIFE IN THE END. THE BOOK IS A QUICK READ AND ENJOYABLE. GREAT TO READ WHILE WATCHING THE MOVIE CRUEL INTENTIONS 1999. HOPE YOU LIKE IT TOO.

Graffigny has been neglected too long. Her fictional heroine's commentary is as effective a response to the marginalization of women as Olympe de Gouges' "Rights of Women and Citizen". Perhaps more importantly, it's an entertaining narrative of a young girls journey towards independance and her own definition of autonomy.

David Johnson has captured, both here and with his other volume, The French Cavalry 1792-1815, the spirit of the French cavalryman of the Napoleonic era.

This is a lively tale, anecdotal, and full of the sweep and grandeur of the period, but not always thoroughly accurate.

It is a great read and can be done, unfortunately, in one sitting. I would have like it to be somewhat longer and better researched. There is a plethora of good references, but once some have been put on paper, the authenticity just sometimes isn't what it should be.

The author reminds me of R.F Delderfield in his enthusiasm for the period and the subject matter, and in his method of writing, which is excellent.

The personalities covered are sometimes those which don't get the coverage they actually deserve. My favorite part of the book was the story of Marulaz after the wars and his run in with a Royalist of dubious ceracity. The old cavalryman's solution to the problem was Homeric.

The author has caught the temper of the times and the attitude of the cavalrymen and those hard-riding horsemen who 'stabled their horses in every capitol of continental Europe.'

This book is highly recommended, warts and all, and will have a treasured place on your bookshelf as it does on mine.

An excellent overview of napoleons cavalry and its leaders as the title states. Well written, some interesting insights, personal anecdotes and fluid writing style makes this a cut well above average. I held back one star from this five star work as the subject could certainly have been 4 to 500 pages given the wealth of the subject.

In the opening paragraph of his book, David F. Trask expresses noble intentions with Clauswitzian flair. "This study writes Trask, "reflects modern revisionists examinations of minor tactics, but the emphasis throughout is on grand tactics, a much neglected topic" (p.x). What this amounts to is twofold. First, Trask offers a re-evaluation of the political, diplomatic, and military conduct of the Allied coalition (France, Britain, and the United States) against Germany during the last months of World War I. Secondly, Trask delivers a damning indictment against General John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).This book argues against anything positive that was ever written about Pershing and the AEF. Trask contends that most that has been penned about the AEF is written from Pershing's perspective and undermines the importance of French Marshal Ferdinand Foch and the Allied coalition. Trasks fires his broadsides around the central thesis that it was American manpower and materiel that tipped the balance in favor of the Allies, not the combat effectiveness of the AEF.Pershing has been praised for standing firm and not allowing American troops to be used as canon fodder for British and French divisions. Trask, on the other hand, is in favor of the amalgamation of U.S. troops into allied divisions and calls Pershing stubborn for not allowing it from the beginning. The author emphasizes how the German offensive of March 1918 set off such a crisis within the allied high command, that it was only then did Pershing grudgingly permited American troops to fight in British and French formations. Trask says those amalgamated units performed better under allied leadership than did the American First Army in the closing weeks of the war.Pershing has been credited with the reduction of the St Mihiel salient, a prolonged German bulge in the allied lines. Trask states that Pershing was going against his superior's, Foch's wishes by insisting against reducing the St Mihiel salient. Rehashing old assessments of the battle, Trask reiterates earlier criticisms levelled at Pershing for committing battle-tested units to reduce the salient thus leaving only inexperienced troops to be committed to the subsequent Meuse-Argonne campaign. Questioning Pershing's handling of that campaign, Trask reemphasizes that American infantry and artillery were poorly coordinated in the Meuse-Argonne and inexperienced commanders ordered futile frontal attacks against well entrenhed maching gun positions. "Pershing's stubbern self righteousness," writes Trask, " his unwillingness to correct initial misconceptions, such as those that marred the doctrine and training of the AEF, and his stormy relationships with Alled military and civilian leaders hurt the AEF" (p.176). In contrast, Trask underscores the military effectivness of the allied forces, particularly the British in Breaking the Hindenburg Line. In fact, Trask says Pershing was saved by the bell in November 1918. Contridicting his earlier statment that the AEF needed at least two years from it inception in 1917 to become an effective military force, Trask writes: "Pershing was surly a flawed commander. If the war had continued into 1919, he might well have fallen from grace" (p. 175).David Trask is a reputable scholar of the period. His work is supported by fourty pages of copious notes plus a bibliography. The book is sprikled with numerous maps, though some are dificult to read. Because of the polemics of this work, I would not recommend one read this book as an initiation into the political/military strategy of the Great War. Nor would it be advisable to consult Trask for an objective view of Pershing. As with other scholarly works that attempt to drive home a point, the repetitive nature of the authors emphasis turns into bashing, thus my rating of four stars.

This is a great book. A compilation of memoirs and first hand accounts from German Soldiers who were there. It doesn't get any better than that. In the second half of the book maps are widely used and incredibly helpful. However in the beginning of the book there are no maps. This portion of the book was dealing with where the German commanders believed the invasion would come. It would have been very helpful to have a map showing where each officer believed the invasion would come and where it actually did. I am interested to know how close their estimates were.

Not to mention that some of these little French villages are a bit obscure, and a map would be helpful. Don't get me wrong the second half of the book has a lot of maps and is a pleasure to read. A very good addition to any library concerning tactical defense of the Normandy Coast in WW II.

This volume seeks to show, from the viewpoint of the German Army, one of the most decisive events of the Second World War: the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, 6 June, 1944 and the events leading up to it and those flowing from it. It consists of parts of the military studies written for the US Army by senior (lt. colonel and above) German Army officers post-war and have been used as source material in all subsequent writing on Normandy. They represent, together; the most detailed German account of the fighting.

As has often been pointed out, these documents all have to be used with caution. The earlier ones were done when the authors were prisoners of war, the later ones when they were paid employees of the US Army. Most of them - especially the earlier reports -- were done largely without reference to war diaries, war maps or official papers. While written by participants - many of whom never wrote their memoirs or other accounts in any language - while their memories were still fresh, their immediacy is not matched by attention to detail - dates and places are sometimes wrong or inconsistent - or their impartiality.

In some cases, the threat of prosecution for war crimes obviously influenced the writing. Some ended up doing hard time or the high jump. Blumentritt's admiration of his boss, Field Marshal von Rundstedt, was doubtlessly genuine. But it comes across as "my boss was a wonderful old gentlemen, a natural aristocrat, and ignorant of any atrocities. I can say this because I burned all the incriminating evidence myself". The authors also do not spend much ink on introspection and self-revelation, but self-justification and pointing the finger at others is always in order when former generals are let near a typewriter, as the recent round of Gulf War memoirs show.

A Rashomon-like quality pervades, with the same events being described by multiple writers while - even more frustrating - more significant events are ignored. The quality of the writing and the translation varies greatly.

This book certainly does not tell the complete German side of D-Day. But the documents included in this volume remain a valid part of that picture.

Fighting the Invasion is how the German Army experienced D-Day. It brings together accounts by those who saw it from the front-line positions and those who saw it from higher headquarters. These narratives cover D-Day: the initial Allied airborne landings that so disrupted the German defenses, the fighting on the beachheads, the start of the Allied advance inland, and, finally, the failed German counterattacks. It also covers the preparation for the invasion: the building of the Atlantic Wall, the disputes over strategy between Rommel and von Rundstedt, and the improvisation of the fighting divisions the Allies would attack on D-Day.

Since the authors are all, I believe, now dead, I have tried to pull together these accounts with minimal editorial intrusions from the accounts they originally compiled for the US Army's historians. These accounts have been a major source for all historians writing about on the German side of D-Day since then, as a check of the bibliography of any of the better books on Normandy will show. I think if it's worth while for the historians to use them, then there is value in brining access to these accounts to a wider audience.

These accounts discuss both the fighting on D-Day itself and the strategy and tactics that shaped them. The authors include members of the high command, such as General Jodl and Admiral Donitz and their respective chiefs of staff. It also includes army, corps, division and regimental commanders and chiefs of staff. General Geyr gives his estimate of the quality of each of his panzer divisions, explaining the factors that would make each one a threat on the battlefield. Baron von der Heydte describes organizing and training his Luftwaffe parachute regiment and then leading into battle against the US 101st Airborne Division in the confused and bitter fighting around Ste. Mere-Eglise on D-Day. Generals Spiedel and Blumentritt provide their unique insights, as chiefs of staff, into the generalship and personality of Rommel and von Rundstedt. Oberstleutnant Fritz Ziegelmann, assistant chief of staff of the German 352nd Infantry Division, is in my opinion the most useful source. His D-Day communications log is included in this volume along with his account of how his division ended up behind Omaha Beach on D-Day and how they managed to make it a "near run thing".

This book is aimed at those with a deep interest in the Normandy campaign. It helps to have a good idea of the general course of D-Day going in, as the authors are not all that helpful about explaining things. German generals were not used to explaining. Nor is the latest and most insightful account of the Germans on D-Day. There has been 55 years of historians' work devoted to that. But it does give you the views - self-exculpatory, buck-passing, complaining though it may often be - of some very important fighting men you are not likely to hear from elsewhere.

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