Too often, the best books published in any given year are doomed to obscurity. I discovered 'Masters and Servants' in the New York Review of Books in a review by one of America's best critics, Roger Shattuck, author of the famous 'Banquet Years' and 'Forbidden Knowledge'. Shattuck was reviewing a book called 'Degas in New Orleans' published by a big publisher. Shattuck added a review of 'Masters and Servants' into the review, saying that everything that the Degas book tried to be and failed at was everything that 'Masters and Servants' was. Guess what? Shattuck is right. 'Masters and Servants', five stories about painters, is one of the finest pieces of fiction published in America in the 90's. So what are the virtues of this brave book? Great writing, writing that 100 years from now will be around, if there's anything like literary justice. Michon, a Frenchman regarded by intelligent critics as the finest living French author, has published a variety of books in France, most of which are novella-length accounts of lives. 'Masters and Servants' looks and five famous painters-Vincent van Gogh, Goya, Watteau, Piero della Francesca and Claude-via the prism of other people. In the van Gogh story, that person is a postman whom van Gogh painted, Joseph Roulin, a bearded fellow who worked for the mail service in Arles when van Gogh lived there in the late 1890's. There has lately been a trend towards 'faction,' that odd blend of fact and fiction that drives big books like Oates 'Blonde'. Usually an ungainly form that has neither the rigor of history or the whimsy of fiction, 'faction' could not be farther from what Michon is doing. His 'lives' aren't wide-eyed glimpses through history's keyhole at the private lives of famous people. Rather, he uses the barest bits of biography, a single line from Vasari, a famous portrait, as the equivalent of a chalk outline at a crime scene: suggestive but incomplete. That admission of incompletion is the purgatory that Michon fills with his paradisiacal art. And it should be said that Michon isn't an 'easy' author. He rewards the effort his writing requires. But just as when we switch from reading Dickens to Joyce we have to adjust our expectations or else be frustrated, we must adjust when reading Michon. I can't recommend the Michon enough, nor sufficiently praise his translator, Wyatt Mason, for the quality of his work. Too often, translators use the work of foreign authors as a springboard for inventions that bear little resemblance to the originals. Mr. Mason's work is accurate and felicitous, capturing the rhythms and the sonority of the original-a great feat. Finally, not that such things matter, the little book is also beautifully designed, including a series of elegant illustrations by Mr. Mason that seem to indicate he possesses other gifts. I urge you to read this book, and to pass it on to people who know that literature matters.

I'm glad to know that one of the greatest living French prose writer is now available in English transalation. His stories on art and artists are splendid examples of his central concern: to catch and describe these moments when an individual life either becomes a destiny, or, on the contrary, is denied its destiny, is robbed of its destiny. For instance: How a seemingly ordinary man (Goya) discovers that he is in fact different from his fellow painters? How, on the contrary, an Italian painter, maybe a genius, ends up with two lines in Vasari? At the time of his death, what remains of Watteau's life, of his work? The style is without any doubt one of the most original, personal, and powerful, of this century in French litterature. Michon is not a very prolific writer. I hope his other books (in particular his masterpiece, in French: Vies Minuscules) will soon be translated in English.

I have 4 CD-ROM multimedia titles concerning Michelangelo and this one is the best by far. The interface and graphics are superb. You can access information on this disk in a number of ways. For example you can step thru his life, year by year, or access specific works of art. Also, there are many pieces about other famous historical figures that had an influence on Michelangelo's life. It is very well written. I find myself popping the the CD into my computer from time to time and drifting back to the 1500's.

You will find everything about the Italian artist Michelangelo, his works, his life and at the same time the CD-Rom will teach you what the European Renaissance was. A great learning tool.

This book is written in an older formal style without being overly rigorous. Why is it that the best books, the ones that make you think, are so thin compared to the standard fare?

This book offers the most comprehensive treatment of morphology that I have been able to find. It concentrates on mophology and not on image processing. The other books I have looked at treat mophology in one or two chapters as compared to this book which is devoted to the subject.

Beware, this is not a cookbook. It is not for those looking for a quick fix or a bag of tricks. The math, although written in a formal style, does not require an advanced degree. Anyone with a solid foundation in set theory, geometry and algebra will find the book very readable--a little bit of analysis helps. But it will take time to absorb everything.

In addition to the theory, the book does an excellent job of relating the material to practical applications, as the title claims. However, it is up to the reader to see how various transformations might be combined into larger algorithms.

I am very pleased that I spent the money for this book. It is well worth it. I plan to spend a great deal time with it.

I found numerous web sites that provided information. Just search for "Morphological Image Analysis" and you will be surprised at what you find.

This book serves as an introduction to image analysis in general and mathematical morphology in particular. In spite of its somewhat terrifying name, mathematical morphology is both a sound theory and an intuitive set of techniques useful for pattern recognition, image filtering, image segmentation, and taking measurements out of image content, among others.

This books provides a clear explanation of the theoretical background in a progressive and logical way. Examples and applications abound. The style is clear and concise.

The book covers most aspects of modern mathematical morphology and will satisfy the newcomers, thanks to its style, the practitioner thanks to its thoroughness and the researcher thanks to its extensive bibliography.

Yes, we all love Avedon, Bourke-White, Capa, Doisneau, etc. But do we all understand how photography evolved from gelatine and silver plates, to Man Ray and then Newton? If you want to have a general perpective of the history of photography, and access to wonderful pictures not previosly divulged to the general public, I would recommend this comprehensive and well organized book

This is a lot of book. A lot, a lot of book. It's essays are well written to be easily accessible, clearly showing that the contributors understand and are passionate about photography. Clever thematic content allows you to browse at topics that interest you rather than get lost in a strictly chronological rendition of photography's development. The essays deftly weave together the various influences on the medium as it mutated over time. But best of all are the hundreds of photos, many that neither I nor other professional photographers I know have ever seen published elsewhere. Serious photographers are interested in the development of photographic representation. This book is the ideal place to begin to get to grips with that whole fascinating topic. Highly recommended.

I was surprised to see this classic cookbook so far down the popularity list. Checking our kitchen bookcase, where I keep the dozen or so cookbooks I use most often, I found that the copyright date on my hardback was 1981. Well, twenty-two years later, I no longer refer to it weekly because I have learned so much of it by heart, but I certainly use it monthly, and still find it invaluable.

More 60-Minute Gourmet, like its companion volume 60-Minute Gourmet, is a collection of weekly "60-Minute Gourmet" columns published in the New York Times during the 1970s and early 1980s. The recipes comprise a wide variety of cuisines and are uniformly quick and uniformly light (a handful of recipes call for heavy cream, but it can almost always be dispensed with). The ingredients and techniques still work well today - perhaps not the "cutting edge" dishes and presentations one might expect from, say, a Roy Yamaguchi, but mastering the 60-Minute Gourmet recipes will make you capable of cooking almost anything. Consider these as high-quality building blocks for creating your own brand of gourmet cuisine at home.

Keep an eye peeled for the late M. Franey's out-of-print volumes as well. They, too, remain fresh and tasty.

I obtained this book by a fortunate accident - I use it constantly as a reference and, sometimes when I just need to read an interesting anecdote written by somebody who loves not only food, but all that surrounds it.

Pierre Franey does not talk down to his reader, but he does teach.

One of my favorite passages from his book is: "When I have been asked over the years the most basic thing an aspiring cook could be taught, the answer is almost invariable. If you learn a few baic techniques of cookery, the rest is applied logic. If you can make a basic mayonnaise, for example, you can make a sauce remoulade or a sauce tartare with the simple additions of a few ingredients such as choped anchovy, capers, pickles and so on."

I depend on Pierre, not only for his skill as a teacher, but just as much so for his ability to inspire.

I highly recommend this book for the busy professional who desires to make their house a home.

Bourdieu's book, which is actually a lecture transcibed, is a look into the world of journalism on print and on television. Print, now being rivaled by the television news casthas to follow the steps in which television provides the material and the print media has to be there to create a uniformity in competition. If one veers, then people are unsure of what to read, and given the times and the message Bourdieu is giving, I would assume most would follow the TV news. The title of the book might be misleading in that its more about journalism than television itself. The author makes many profound obsevations as well as unveiling some of the competition that actually goes on in journalism where he asks the question "Where does news come from?" Answering quite plainly that the journalists do indeed choose what is news, and what isn't. A good read, a short book, however at some points dense and other points dry and repetitive. Overall highly reccomended for those interested in media theory.

Turn off your television set for an hour to read this book, and then see if, after finishing it, you feel like turning the set back on. Bourdieu, a French sociologist and one of the world's leading intellectuals, has performed a profound critique of what nowadays passes for journalism, both on television and, increasingly, off it as well. The main body of Bourdieu's text was originally given as lectures and is accessible and stimulating to any concerned reader. The translation is excellent and the endnotes are helpful in defining the French context of Bourdieu's remarks. Highly recommended, especially to anyone who practices journalism in any medium.

How could anyone put Foucault above Bourdieu? Bourdieu has a rigorous sociology behind his work & provides a real theoretical groundwork to reconcile materialist, interpretive/symbolic and interactionist perspectives. Foucault on the other hand has led anthropologists down a slippery slope of prevarication, vagueness, grandstanding and an obsession with a hollow & impoverished idea of what constitutes a "critical" stance.

For anyone interested in cultural studies or in ethnology/ anthropology/ sociology, _Outline_ is a must read.

Bourdieu, a teacher of Foucault, has been rated France's 2nd most influential scholar (after Foucault) and for good reason. In _Outline_, Bourdieu provides a well-grounded introduction to his main concepts and gives a great deal of supporting detail to support his interpretations.

At times, his descriptions of the Kabyle culture seem to be far too long for persons who are reading him as a general social theorist. If you do not have a deep-rooted love of sociology or other culturally-immersive social sciences, you might prefer his _Logic of Practice_, which has less ethnology in it, or _Practical Reason_, which has nearly none.

If you are a student of culture, however, you will find these extended examples to be excellent background material and useful illustrations of Bourdieu's concepts.

In terms of writing style, Bourdieu is uneconomical, but the payoff is worth slogging through his difficult prose.

I bought this book in Paris on impulse because Pierre Herme was in the bookstore to sign books. After the initial rush died down, I was expecting to be disappointed when I actually get to read it- but was I in for a surprise. It offered lots of information about Pierre Herme's philosophy and techniques.

Don't be put off by its coffee-table book appearance with its large photos- it gives you lots of ideas in cake design and decorating.

The recipes are very precise with the ingredient list measured by weight and some with their ideal temperatures specified. There is also an illustration of the cakes' components and how they are put together.

Overall, this book is ideal for those with a particular level of skill and knowledge in Pastry and may be a bit too technical for the beginners. But it is balanced by the beautiful whole-page photos.

For some pastry chefs, Pierre Herme is a god. This book is his offering back to us. It contains beautiful pictures and wonderful tasting recipes for whole cakes, tarts and petit fours. No plated desserts are covered.

I love this book and turn to it whenever I am developing something new and seek inspiration. The recipes I have tried are very solid. However, Herme includes little detail in terms of instruction. He assumes the reader knows how to interpret lists of ingredients, assemble the pastries and modern finishing techniques.

The book was written while Herme was still at Fauchon.

I thought that the pictures in this book, along with the enchanting story, were both really well done and matched each other perfectly.
The story is about these two children (its a true story also), who become friends. The main theme of Pierre and Sophia, is that friendship lasts for ever, and is a really sweet novel.

This story was a story that is like none other. It speaks of childhood in a way that makes you want to go back or to enjoy it to the best of its extent. The characters are detailed and vivid, it is a wonderful book that every body should read.

I met Jean-Pierre in 1963 on the Island of Tahiti. I was very happy to spend some time with him out in the lagoon doing a little bit of spear fishing. The stories that he told about his life in the Belgian Congo were to me at that time unbelievable. I thought "well this guy can sure tell some tales." We spent a few days until I had to leave for the Island of Bora-Bora and I didn't see him again until 1967 in San Francisco, California. He was to give a speech at the San Francisco Press Club, and then he autographed his book "Congo Kitabu" the same day at a book store. He did me the honor of giving me that book which I cherish proudly even more than 30 years later. I was in my early 20's then and I was proud to have met a truly great man.

The experiences that this man documents in his "Kitabu" (Swahili for book) series (Animal, Congo, & Pygmy) are the sort of things movies are now being made of. I attended school with his family in the late 60s and was fortunate enough to have met him several times. Jean Pierre Hallet is the true hero of his time. He was a giant of a man - both literally and figuratively.