If you are clueless about words and phrases in a particular subject area, this book can be of some help. But it has many limitations, I feel, and I got so fed up with looking for things in this book that weren't in it, that I just sold my copy.

This book, it should be emphasized, is ideal for someone who has had about 2 years of French at the U.S. high-school level (or about 2 semesters at university). The vocabulary is very basic. The more advanced student, however, would do better to look elsewhere, in my opinion. It's a good collection of the absolute essentials of "survival" French, but not much beyond that.

I have studied french for several years now, and I know most of the vocabulary included in this book. Despite that, I finded useful the way it is divided in thematic categories, allowing me to search for the specific vocabulary I need when I need it. It saves time and it is very practical. The task of learning new vocabulary can be quite tedious, but this book makes it more approachable, by allowing you to choose what themes you are going to study, and in what order.
I don't regret buying it, because I think it is a thoroughly useful reference book.

This book is only 160 pages and filled with illustrasions but it is very good. I think that this book would be good for eighth grade and up because sometimes it is hard to understand and follow. It also has wonderful illustrations and a summery of each one.

This book is small in size but beautifully illustrated. It is ideal for the person who wants a taste of both Arthurian legend and scholarship and delights in richly colorful reproductions of great masterpieces of art that have been inspired by the legend. It deals with sources for the legend, including reproductions of some documents, themes, main characters, major works, etc.

The novel Frankenstein conveys the themes of friendship, ambition, and the conflict between the two. The message is that the deeper need of the two is friendship, but that we are susceptible to the temptations of ambition, which can destroy friendship. Ostensibly, Victor Frankenstein had an unselfish mission to "benefit all mankind" with his scientific project. His "selfless" ambition failed him and proved to aim at self-glory because he wanted to create a race that would bless him as its father. In Captain Walton's second letter to his sister, we learn that although he has a well-trained crew, he has no soul companion; this need he regards as a "most severe evil." Walton's exploration of the secluded and frozen Arctic serves as a metaphor for how his ambition has removed him from society. His ambition even threatened his own and his crew members' lives when ice surrounded and trapped his boat. The message is that if one sets out ambitiously to benefit mankind, once that person has acheived their goal, their prominence sets them apart from the same society they set out to benefit.

Victor had a much more intense ambition than Walton, with corespondingly more disasterous results. As Frankenstein prepared for his project, he isolated himself from his friends and family to laboriously study the sciences and he would later postpone his marriage for this project. The embodiment of his ambition, the repulsive monster, would eventually slay several of Victor's loved family members, including his fiance on their wedding night. Even the monster feels as his deepest need a human relationship, which he has none. While observing an impoverished family, "the bitter gall of envy" arose in the monster. He considers them rich because they have the companionship of each other even though they are in financial poverty. When Frankenstein rejects the monster's pleas to create for him a mate of the same race, the monster sets out on an unstoppable path to destruction and an ambitious one indeed. The novel links ambition with destruction, particularly destruction of companionship and conveys friendship as a great need for mankind.

I don't think the story conveys that all ambition is destructive. At the end of the story, Victor has great regret for the results of his ambition, but he still has pride for his effort. Although he cautions us that we would be better off to believe our "native town to be the world," he adds, "yet another may succeed." You could interpret this as Victor not "learning his lesson;" that mankind will continue to give in to harmful passions. Another, much different analysis could be that this story portrays that limited ambition, integrated with society and not aimed at self-glory, can be virtuous. After all, for the teenage author of a classic, enduring novel to tell us that all ambition will destroy us would be a contradiction.

To Love and To Honor is a collection of four stories.

The first story is Bargain Bride written by Stella Cameron. Love blossoms between a headstrong English miss and a dashing knight who rescues her from an unwanted marriage. But has a secret plan of his own. Funny and sensuous!

The second story is The Bride of Wildcat Purchase written by Judith E. French. A half breed Colonial sends for a mail order bride but his request turns out to be a sensual woman who turns his world upside down. Watch the sparks fly!

The third story is Store-bought Woman written by Linda Lael Miller. A young lady sets out for America after being jilted at the altar. She agrees to marry a total stranger only to find herself strangely attracted to her intended's brother. A sweet and heartwarming story!

The last story and my FAVORITE is The High Sheriff of Huntingdon written by Anne Stuart. The story centers on a convent bred daughter of an earl who is wed quite unwillingly to a handsome somewhat wicked lord. Some say that he is the spawn of a witch and the devil. Men who have angered him and women who have not pleased him wind up missing never to be seen again. Yet, despite these warnings, Elspeth remains and slowly begins to unravel the mystery surrounding The High Sheriff of Huntingdon. The chemistry between Elspeth and Alistair was electrifying. He is the epitome of a brooding, tortured hero and she is a perfect balance for his darkness. Elspeth was funny, courageous and loving. Quick - RUN and buy yourself a copy!

Last night, having decided spur of the moment to make a special meal, I pulled out my newest favorite cookbook, Burgundy Gastronomique, with results far more impressive than my paltry cooking skills deserve.

I like this book for several reasons:

1. The recipes are simpler and more accessable than most serious French cookbooks, but the results taste like you slaved for hours.

2. The photos of food and the Burgundy countryside are so beautiful you could lose yourself and forget to make dinner.

3. The book gives fascinating background information on traditional Burgundian foodstuffs (Dijon mustard, gherkins, Bresse chickens, various cheeses, etc.).

There's also some cursory text on Burgundy's famous wine districts but anyone with a serious interest in Burgundy wines and terroir should look elsewhere for in-depth info.

A few of of the regional specialties aren't readily available at your local supermarket, which shouldn't be a problem if you don't mind substituting ingredients (prosciutto in place of Morvan ham, for example). The book is organized around smaller regions within Burgundy, which is great for those who primarily want to learn about the area or who read cookbooks cover to cover, but less efficient if you're in a hurry and just want to compare poultry recipes. Fortunately, in addition to the regular index, there's a helpful list of recipes in the back that's organized by category.

All in all, I keep coming back to this book and like it so much that I'm planning to look for more in the same series.

I found this book to be helpful in facilitating class discussions, which in turn led to a greater understanding of the films we discussed.

Even thoug the translating in Portuguese wasn`t okay, the novel Oedipus on the road has many qualities, like the deep questions in which it goes. Bauchau deals very well with the psychological aspects of characters well known like Oedipus and Antigone, and manage to create other ones like Clio, a very strong hero.

Though it is the 3rd in the series, I had not read any of the witch books by Anne Rice before reading "Taltos." I was worried when I purchased it that I might be tragically lost, not having followed the previous stories of Rowan, Mona, etc. But I was instantly drawn in and swept away, due mostly to Mr. Ash, a great character that recalls some of Anne Rice's other tragic protagonists like Louis from the vampire series or Azriel from "Servant of the Bones." As I said before, I have yet to read the prior 2 books in the witch saga, but with "Taltos" they aren't absolutely necessary. This book isn't REALLY about the Mayfair family but instead uses them as a backdrop to tell a fascinating tale of an ancient race - the Taltos - who have lived, disguised, among humans since time began! I enjoyed the pacing of this book, its humor, its mystery, but most of all the beauty of the Taltos, who were completely fascinating and essentially a departure from Anne's vampires and ghosts. She has created, in "Taltos," something new and different. I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because its ending seemed a bit rushed and wasn't quite the payoff I had hoped for... 50 more pages might have done it! I can see why others might not have felt this an appropriate conclusion to the witch tales, since it wasn't so much about them. But maybe Anne will one day give us more Mona, more Mary Jane, and hopefully more Mr. Ash! Still, it stands on its own as a thoroughly enjoyable book, I recommend it!

I don't know what all the fuss is about! I personally loved Ms. Rice's Witch Chronicles! I'm sad that they're done! And I fail to see why, if you didn't like this book why you'd even take the time to find this page and write a review. As I said, I loved these books (that's why I'm writing this, to defend them) In fact, Taltos was probably my favorite one. And I will be the first to admit that The Witching Hour starts off kind of slow, but without the disciplne to read the begining of the saga it is virtually impossible for one to fully understand the depth and beauty of these stories! And, although I doubt Ms. Rice ever reads these reviews, I would even go so far as to request a fourth book! Keep all of your amazing stories coming! All of my Love and Respect to you, Ms. Rice.

Simply stated, I loved this book, I especially liked the part when Rice describes the little people, the "Leprechauns," through Ashlar's friend Samuel, how she described his gnarled disorted face. I am an avid reader of Anne Rice, I've read like 8 of her books already and I cannot seem to get enough of her. Her vivid imagery, her usage of words, seem to enthrall me into another world. Also, when I read her novels, I pay attention to little quotes that she says that are very unique. I can't wait until Merrick comes out so I can devour that book as well. After reading several of her books, I have come love Memnoch the Devil the best, she was just magnificient, as always. Ever since I read The Witching Hour I was hooked on the lives of the Mayfairs; consequently, I bought Lasher and Taltos-reading them one after another....she's just excellent.

The only reason I finished reading this book was because I'd not read any about Duras.

The writing is so stunningly bad that I had to control my anger as I read (melodramtic repetitions, little fragments that figure in soap opera, so on) because I was still curious about Duras and thought I might learn something. The translation is as awful as the text. (I'll save you examples.)

This is not a biography. It's a badly written travelogue of a literary and political career. Duras constructed an amazing life and I look forward to a biography that might open that up.

This piece of dribble is worthless.

Laure Adler has written a biography of Ms. Duras that is both compelling and confounding, and although I appreciated her considerable efforts, I finished the book probably "knowing" less about Duras than when I started.

No doubt this can be somewhat attributed to the contradictions that appear to have been a staple of Duras's life and conscience. If Ms. Adler is to be believed, Duras was the most conflicted and Protean artist of the 20th century, forever shape-shifting and believing opposites at once. For every bit of evidence Ms. Adler offers about Duras being X, she offers (at least) a Y and Z stating almost the exact opposite proposition. So I constantly found myself asking, Was she X, Y, or Z?

If she was indeed all three, then I would like the biographer to step in and make some comment to sum up the disparate parts. Rarely, if ever, does Ms. Adler see this as her function. She faithfully details the facts of Duras's life and works, but she (almost) never comments or crystallizes them. We are told on the dust jacket that Ms. Adler has been trained as an historian and as a journalist, and it is decidedly the latter profession that seems to dominate her scrutinization of Duras. Plenty of facts are offered. There is plenty of thesis and antithesis depicted, but we never seem to attain any synthesis, leaving us in the world of reportage rather than biography.

Adler does triumph in her depiction of postwar Paris in the forties and fifties. Here, she is fully in historical mode and offers readers fascinating insight into the personalities and politics of the time. Rarely have I seen such an enlightened discussion of the artistic and political Zeitgeist of that particular era. The cast of characters and their interactions are well defined and amusingly recounted. If only the remainder of the book had been so incisive.

As a feminist--or at least I would suppose she is, given that she has written a number of histories of women--Ms. Adler should be chided for her somewhat myopic concentration on Duras. One criticism that feminists constantly leveled against male biographers in the 70s and 80s was that they only chose other males as their subjects and, once chosen, only unearthed their connections to other males--and their power games, professional lifes, etc., thereby giving short shrift to personal relationships with wifes, lovers, families, etc. Here Adler discusses at length Duras's relationship with her mother, which was indeed a pivotal one, as borne out in her books and films. However, Adler fails to adequately explain the motivations or even the emotions of the males around Duras. Considering that Duras started a long-term affair with another man (Mascolo) while her husband (Anthelme) was in a concentration camp, and then kept the affair going for years afterward while the men became best of friends, we learn startingly little about how these men felt about this fact or how they accommodated it into their lives. Later on, Ms. Adler talks of Duras's relationship with her son, but this discussion is mainly held to one chapter that investigates their lives while her son was a boy. We rarely learn how the two got along as adults, which strikes me as an omission, given that it must be of some interest how the son of a major artist would respond to a mother who was so adored and reviled in her own lifetime--and who must have been difficult to live with, as an artist, an alcoholic, and a woman who self-defined around the substantial number of men who occupied important places in her sexual and intellectual lives.

In sum, I enjoyed the book and think that Ms. Adler has done some very impressive work. At the same time, given the access she received to personal materials from major players in Duras's life--including her husbands--she could have done so much more if she had expanded her vision and chose to move beyond mere journalism. If you want to know various facts of Duras's life, you may well enjoy this biography. If you want to walk away from the book with a definitive sense of who Duras was--if you want to draw back the curatin and let some new light in--perhaps you should go elsewhere. Duras, we find in this biography, was a woman of many parts. Unfortunately, Ms. Adler does not give us an adequate picture of what she was as a whole. In the end, extensive reading of Duras's work may provide a better sense of who she was, despite all her trickery and deceit, than this biography could hope to accomplish.

Laure Adler's book comes close, but no book will ever come close enough. Duras' fans will undoubtedly read anything written about her, so anxious are they for shimmers of truth regarding the woman who left such a perplexing legacy of literature. Adler's biography of the fascinating French writer is good and it is certainly much more revealing than say, Alain Vircondolet's DURAS which might be more of a pleasure to read (he took Duras up on a challenge to try and write as she did), but says far less about the woman.

There are times when Adler's sentence structure seems choppy, and this may be hard for more sophisticated readers, but bear in mind that although Anne-Marie Glasheen seems to have made a suitable translation, translations can be difficult and something is almost always lost.

The emphasis here should really be on content and Adler did a fair job considering the difficulty in separating the real Duras from the invented one. For those looking merely for facts, Adler clears up the myth around THE LOVER, does a superb job of showing Duras through the war years, and gives a reasonable look at her friendship with Mitterand. One will miss an in-depth report on her relations with her family and will undoubtedly want to know more - especially about the elusive younger brother. As we read we become struck by the presence of men in Duras' life, and we yearn a bit for insights from a close woman friend. Unfortunately, Duras did not seem to allow many women into her life.

Adler's book is recommended for any fan of Duras' literature as it will at least give some insight - possibly new - into her working mind. But don't expect miracles. And expect more books forthcoming. Duras' son, Outa, is a rather silent voice in this book and one can't help but think that there is part of Marguerite alive in the world who has not yet spoken (written) his thoughts.