French Illusions
French Illusions

Author: Linda Kovic-Skow

Publisher: eBook Partnership

Published: 2014-07-31

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0988464012

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It's 1979 and twenty-one-year-old Linda Kovic needs to learn a language fast in order to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Broke yet determined, she chooses French immersion and contracts to become an au pair for a wealthy family in the Loire Valley. Yielding to poor judgment, she lies on her application and claims to speak basic French, confident she'll be forgiven once she arrives at the Chateau de Montclair. As she struggles to adapt to her challenging new environment with the hard-to-please Madame Dubois and her two incomprehensible children, Linda signs up and attends language classes at the local university. When she encounters, Adam, a handsome young student, her life becomes more complicated-much more complicated-adding fuel to her internal battle for independence. French Illusions: My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley is the first of two books based on the author's diaries.

The Science of Illusions
The Science of Illusions

Author: Jacques Ninio

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780801437700

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A specialist in visual perception, Ninio (Centre National des Recherches Scientifiques, Paris) presents many classic and new illusions, explains the underlying logic of the various types, and suggests their value for neurological and physiological research. He does not provide an index. La Science des Illusions was published in 1998 by Editions Odile Jacob. Philip has translated widely from the French, including an autobiography of Francois Jacob. c. Book News Inc.

Lies, Passions, and Illusions
Lies, Passions, and Illusions

Author: François Furet

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2014-09-29

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 022611449X

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Widely considered one of the leading historians of the French Revolution, Franc̦ois Furet was a maverick for his time, shining a critical light on the entrenched Marxist interpretations that prevailed during the mid-twentieth century. Lies, Passion, and Illusions is a fitting capstone to this celebrated author's oeuvre: a late-career conversation with the philosopher Paul Ricoeur on the twentieth century writ large. This conversation would be, sadly, Furet's last - he died while Ricoeur was completing his edits. Ricoeur did not want to publish his half without Furet's approval, so what remains is Furet's alone, an astonishingly cohesive meditation on the political passions of the twentieth century, a century of violence and turmoil, of unprecendented welath and progress, in which history advanced, for better or worse, in quantum leaps. Whether new to Furet or deeply familiar with his work, readers will find thought-provoking assessments on every page, a deeply moving look back at one of the most tumultuous periods of history and how we might learn and look forward from it. -- from dust jacket.

Grand Illusion
Grand Illusion

Author: Karen Fiss

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0226252019

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Franco-German cultural exchange reached its height at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair, where the Third Reich worked to promote an illusion of friendship between the two countries. Through the prism of this decisive event, Grand Illusion examines the overlooked relationships among Nazi elites and French intellectuals. Their interaction, Karen Fiss argues, profoundly influenced cultural production and normalized aspects of fascist ideology in 1930s France, laying the groundwork for the country’s eventual collaboration with its German occupiers. Tracing related developments across fine arts, film, architecture, and mass pageantry, Fiss illuminates the role of National Socialist propaganda in the French decision to ignore Hitler’s war preparations and pursue an untenable policy of appeasement. France’s receptiveness toward Nazi culture, Fiss contends, was rooted in its troubled identity and deep-seated insecurities. With their government in crisis, French intellectuals from both the left and the right demanded a new national culture that could rival those of the totalitarian states. By examining how this cultural exchange shifted toward political collaboration, Grand Illusion casts new light on the power of art to influence history.

Paper Illusions
Paper Illusions

Author: Barbara Stoeltie

Publisher:

Published: 2008-10

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

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"Artist and designer Isabelle de Borchgrave creates exquisite paper dresses evoking high fashions from the courts of the Medici to the legendary Fortuny silks of the early twentieth century. She cuts, folds, glues, and paints her paper costumes with imagination and exceptional mastery, creating the illusion of lace from Bruges, Renaissance-era brocade, and delicate silk a la Pompadour. Their historical authenticity, combined with their startling realism, caused an overnight sensation when they were first shown in France in 1998 as "Papiers a la Mode." Since then, the dynamic, light-hearted collection has traveled all over the world to critical and popular acclaim." "Paper Illusions does full justice to de Borchgrave's magical workshop, where humble art materials are transformed into shimmering visions of beautiful clothing and luxurious living. Paper, author Barbara Stoeltie reminds us, possesses "the power to attract and enchant us, to direct our lives and change our course, to teach us, to influence our opinions, and to mark our daily existence with its imposing presence." In Rene Stoeltie's vivid photographs, figures from the history of style made from this magical medium seem to breathe in atmospheric rooms, while details of color, pattern, and form jump off the page. Their book is a celebration of creativity, wit, and elegance."--Jacket.

Frères Ennemis
Frères Ennemis

Author: William J. Cloonan

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1786941325

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Frères Ennemis focuses on Franco-American tensions reflected in literature. Each chapter explores the evolution/devolution of the often fraught relations between the two nations, ranging from an initial French fear of American cultural dominance to the eventual realization that France could absorb this cultural invasion into its own traditions.

The Random House Book of 20th Century French Poetry
The Random House Book of 20th Century French Poetry

Author: Paul Auster

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 1984-01-12

Total Pages: 689

ISBN-13: 0394717481

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During the 20th Century, France was home to many of the world’s greatest poets. This collection highlights some of the very best verse that came out of a country and century defined by war and liberation. Let Paul Auster guide you through some of the best poetry that 20th century France has to offer. “Indispensable . . . a book that everyone interested in modern poetry should have close to hand, a source of renewable delights and discoveries, a book that will long claim our attention . . . To my knowledge, no current anthology is as full and as deftly edited.”—Peter Brooks, The New York Times Book Review “One of the freshest and most exciting books of poetry to appear in a long while . . . Paul Auster has provided the best possible point of entry into this century's most influential body of poetry.”—Geoffrey O'Brien, The Village Voice

A Distinguished Provincial at Paris
A Distinguished Provincial at Paris

Author: Honoré de Balzac

Publisher: Sheba Blake Publishing Corp.

Published: 2022-09-23

Total Pages: 731

ISBN-13: 1222378043

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A Distinguished Provincial at Paris is the second volume of Honoré de Balzac's Lost Illusions trilogy. In it, Balzac masterfully revisits one of his most commonly called-upon themes: the harsh realization that someone who is distinguished and revered in their small hometown may be an invisible nonentity amidst the hustle and bustle of the big city. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.

Perceptual Illusions
Perceptual Illusions

Author: C. Calabi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-04-03

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0230365299

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Although current debates in epistemology and philosophy of mind show a renewed interest in perceptual illusions, there is no systematic work in the philosophy of perception and in the psychology of perception with respect to the concept of illusion and the relation between illusion and error. This book aims to fill that gap.