I have purchased the French Country Diary for the past six years. It never leaves my side. The daily space is large enough to keep appointments and diary entries. The hard cover helps keep this book looking good all through the year. At the end of the year it goes in my bookcase for my business and personal records for years to come. The bonus....everytime someone sees this calendar/planner they ask me where they can buy one just like it! Enjoy!! P.S. The pictures are absolutely wonderful as well.

This is a great book in a great series. They are funny, exciting, and mysterious. Once you start reading you can't put it down. They are about this girl Named Hannah who is in 6th grade and has 4 angels. The angels take her on missions in different places where she makes new friends and has fun adventures!

I just returned from Paris and I used this terrific guidebook more than any other. It's perfect for any art lover and is easy to use. It covers all of the museums of interest in Paris, major ones like the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay and the more minor ones like little gems such as the Musee de l'Orangerie and the Musee Marmottan. For each museum it gives a photo and a one page description of each of the major works of art in that museum. It also covers major places of architectural interst like the Eiffel Tower. Included also are maps, a seven day touring plan of museums and monuments and a ten page introduction to the art history of Paris as well as museum opening times.

You like Renoir's work but also want the story behind the paintings. Search no further. This book will impress the serious collector or art historian with the in-depth research on each piece. This book will be enjoyed by newcomers to art appreciation with it's beautiful and large paintings. If you have several books of Renoir's work and haven't purchased this one yet, you don't have the best.

The authors display the artwork wonderfully, each picture's history in detail, and follow-up with extensive notes and references. Treat yourself.

I loved this book because of how it showed that not only did the Nazis wreak havoc on the people they killed but also the lives of These families

Speaking in Tongues is a novel that I bought on a whim, knowing nothing about it. I simply picked it up at random, wanting to try something totally new to me. What a wonderful surprise this book was. It is a fascinating story of a married woman living in France. The protagonist is a fully developed character created with warmth and insight, and delightful humor. Linda Ashour writes powerfully and wittily; she deserves a wider audience ready to appreciate a rich reading experience.

I've tried 3 recipes out of this book and none turned out well. The book is nice to read and has outstanding pictures, but it's a lousy cookbook. Maybe the author neglected to test the recipes in a home setting?

I returned to the States from my first trip to Paris in June, after only having been there a week. Definitely not long enough to try all of the delicious looking pastries in every boulangerie ou patisserie. I am still truly homesick for Paris--but this book is wonderful and full of delicious recipes. I can't wait to try almost everything in this book, the nice thing is that it shows pictures of every recipe, so there's no suprises as to what it should look like. I also suggest Paris Bistro by the same author.

I have used this book for more than 5 years and take it with me on every trip to Paris. If you can't get success from these recipes then you might consider some other past time than baking. Get used to baking with weights and this book is perfect. Something as simple as a Madeleinne is created perfectly in weight measures but just a shot in the dark when using volume measurments. This book is not exactly for beginner bakers but if you have some experience it is fantastic

There is no denying Alain Ducasse is the chef of the moment. However, this book was somewhat of a disappointment. The recipes are interesting, the photography decent. But the problem lies in the ingredients. Too many recipes call for ingredients that are flat out impossible to find - and he offers no alternatives. It is one thing to ask for truffles, caviar, or duck confit. It is another to require specific mediterranean fish that are not found in this country, or obscure wild game and offal that cannot be had. Substituting chicken, or even quail or pheasant just doesn't cut it.

Big, bold and beautiful describe this volume.

From one of the greatest French chefs, too much of this fare is unavailable to the home gourmet. However, savory and well done is this book with its exceptional photos and stylish intros to setup this exquisite cuisine.

Some of the soups and simple seafood dishes are about all anyone except the pros could attempt due to lack of ingredients and guts to go after some of these rather complicated recipes.

Blue are the pages of this book ... blue like the sea in Monaco where the three Michelin stars shine on Louis XV first Alain Ducasse restaurant. Three other stars were offered by Michelin to the same Alain Ducasse for his second restaurant in Paris in 1998. He became the only chef in the world to be granted with 6 stars by famous Michelin France Red Guide Book. Everything is beautiful in this book. Linda Danneberg explains how she installed a photographic studio in the barn close to the third restaurant "La Bastide de Moustiers". There, on the straw from the Alpes de Haute-Provence, she helped Pierre Hussenot, photographer, to install freshly made preparations under the sun of Midi (and projectors). I did not try the recipes. This is why I will not comment them. They are detailed in plain english. Comments on Alain Ducasse 9-days-a-week lifestyle bring value to this book. It is not only a collection of recipes. It is a comprehensive deep analyis of success-factors from the king of chefs. This book is a monument as his model.

I confess that I feel just a bit stingy in offering only four stars to this book, because I cannot identify a single area in which it is lacking. Japrisot's story is both moving and entertaining, the characters are richly developed and easy to care about, and the events described seem completely credible.

I guess I find myself comparing it to books like ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT and A FAREWELL TO ARMS, which is, of course, grossly unfair. For one thing, it could reasonably be argued that those books are among the best written in the twentieth century, and how fair is it to judge every new novel on its ability to measure up favorably to such a standard? Secondly, although ENGAGEMENT is about the First World War, it is more accurately read as mystery/love story.

My favorite thing about this novel is the way in which Japrisot offers the reader an opportunity to form quick intitial judgements about many of the characters, and then slowly provides the reader a deeper understanding of these individuals and their motives as the book progresses. I found that, by the end of the book, I liked almost everyone involved in this story. Perhaps not a "great" book, but certainly a very good one - and a damned sight better than most of what has proven to be publishable/marketable over the last fifteen to twenty years.

Wow! I just finished this book after reading it every spare minute for the last 2 days. I did not want to put it down. The beginning of this novel is probably the best introduction to a group of characters that I have ever read. Not only for its character development but for the rhythm of the language. A spectacular achievement considering this is translated from the original French.

This is a love story and an intriguing mystery as well as an indictment of the carnage of WWI. And in the midst of the climax of the story, the author gives further detail to a minor character (Mathilde's mother cancelling the cheese course) that had me laughing out loud. How did he know that I needed a break in the tension?

This is a well told story that had me enthralled from beginning to end, deepened my definition of love, taught me more about WWI (Pat Barker's trilogy is fabulous for this also, and just as fascinating) and caused me to appreciate again the privilege of reading great literature and all the benefits truly great books bring to life.

A must read.

I read this book in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Japrisot not only artfully held the suspense until the last possible moment, he gave me such wonderful characters to care about that I couldn't *help* but frantically turn the pages trying to find out Did Manech die or didn't he?? But it's not just a good mystery story. It's realistic historical fiction that gave me a vivid sense of the trenches and post-war life. It's a beautiful, painful romance story. It's a clever, astute rendering of how people help each other and lie to each other and care for each other and punish each other. All of this, brilliant at every facet, in one little book. It's a brilliantly *woven* story...like Mathilde, the heroine, you have to hold on tho the wire and don't let go until you get to the end as Japrisot winds you through his labyrinthine tale.