“Paris Mythique” is a new photo book published by Parigramme featuring one hundred iconic black and white photos ranging from Doisneau’s “le baiser de l’hotel de ville” to Henri Cartier-Bresson’s picture of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre on the Pont des Arts footbridge to Raymond Cauchetier’s photograph of Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo on the set of Godard’s legendary 1960 movie “Breathless.” They’re all here as well as some little known gems such as a rare 1923 photo showing Sylvia Beach and Ernest Hemingway posing in front of the original Shakespeare and Company Bookshop when it was located on rue de l’Odeon. Continue reading “Mythic Paris in Black and White”

Alison Harris’  new photo book “Paris in Love” —ideal gift for Valentines Day— continues where Doisneau’s famous “Baiser de l’hotel de ville” left off. This charming book of color photographs published by Parigramme, depicting Paris’ romantic Seine, secret gardens, cafe terraces and park bench lovers, would make a perfect “petit cadeau” (only costs 9.90E) for anybody who loves this city. And like Audrey Hepburn said in the film “Sabrina,”  “Paris is always a good idea.” For those who might have to wait a little while before getting a flight here, the book “Paris in Love” could be the next best thing.

In Paris the book is available at Smiths Bookshop, 248, rue Rivoli, Paris, 75001 Info: http://www.parigramme.com

Step into a postcard of Paris with this excellent guide to the City of Light. Illustrated by more than 300 color photographs, “No Worries Paris, a photographic walking guide” by Jerry and Janine Sprout takes readers on a visually luscious journey to the city’s striking monuments, as well as into the cobblestone crannies of its villages and along the glamorous fashion boulevards. Continue reading “No Worries Paris”

Incisive, articulate and timely reading —this is one of the best books on France to come along in years. While most books about France tend to deal with such topics as how to seat your dinner guests à la francaise or insider tips on correct manners for French kissing, this one strikes a bulls eye for what really makes the country tick. Continue reading “An American Spectator in Paris
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Burgundy is a lush region of France, steeped in history and immersed in wine. Imagine a cooking school in a grand château, with a 3-star chef and guests from around the world….under a distant cloud of loss and betrayal. Joan Shore’s new book “Red Burgundy” is a story of progress vs. tradition, commerce vs. culture, the foreign and the familiar. (And the possibility that if you’re very lucky — or very unlucky — the past may catch up with you!) Continue reading “Red Burgundy”

A spectacularly opulent relic of royal wealth and power comes alive in “Versailles” a new book by Valérie Bajou, who is a curator at the Château de Versailles and is a renowned specialist of French painting in the 19th century.

Highlighting the château’s vibrant, tumultuous past, the book covers everything from its metamorphosis from humble hunting lodge to palace, to the dismantling of its collections during the French Revolution and its restoration and status as a UNESCO World Heritage site today. In addition, the singular château is explored from top to bottom in an extravagantly extensive photographic tour that reveals the many priceless artistic and architectural treasures of this palace of palaces.

Visual Editions has republished or in their words “re-imagined” a classic by French novelist Marc Saporta (1923-2009).  The new edition includes an introduction by Tom Uglow and drawings by Salvador Plascencia.

Quite literally, Composition No. 1 is made up entirely of loose pages. Each page contains its own self- contained narrative and so it is left to the reader to shuffle through and decide which order to read them in, and how much or little they want to read before they begin again. Continue reading “Composition No. 1 “re-imaging” a French Classic”