French Architecture

Journeying through time and place, from the ancient Egyptian pyramids to the soaring skyscrapers of Manhattan, renowned architectural historian Dan Cruickshank explores the most impressive and characterful creations in world architecture. His selection includes many of the world’s best-known buildings that represent key or pioneering moments in architectural history, such as the Pantheon in Rome, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, the Taj Mahal in India and the Forbidden City in China.

This course consists of lessons centered on an audio blog that is completely in French. The audio blog postings take you around France and introduce you to many different aspects of the country, including culture, history, folklore, arts, and more. You will learn all about many different cities and what they are famous for. Along the way, you'll pick up sophisticated expressions and advanced grammar in this audio blog series presented entirely in French.

This New York Times bestseller intimately depicts urban life in a gripping book that slips behind cold statistics and sensationalism to reveal the true sagas lurking behind the headlines of gangsta glamour. One of The New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In her extraordinary...

Like most gentiles in Nazi-occupied Paris, architect Lucien Bernard has little empathy for the Jews. So when a wealthy industrialist offers him a large sum of money to devise secret hiding places for Jews, Lucien struggles with the choice of risking his life for a cause he doesn't really believe...

Ayant découvert que ce qui s'était passé dans le monde depuis deux siècles s'était retrouvé sous forme d'objets et de rituels quotidiens dans notre intérieur, le plus drôle des écrivains voyageurs américains fait le tour de sa maison pour nous raconter cette grande aventure du génie humain - de l'invention de la tapette à souris à la conception de la tour Eiffel, de la saga des acariens à celle des milliardaires. Une histoire de l'envers du décor.

"Describes with plenty of colour how surrealism, from Rene Magritte's bowler hats to Salvador Dali's watches, was born and developed." - The Times (UK) As she did for the Modernists In Montmartre, noted art historian and biographer Sue Roe now tells the story of the Surrealists in Montparnasse...

For grieving Nicole Clicquot, saving the vineyards her husband left behind is her one chance to keep a roof over her head and provide a future for her little girl. She ignores the gossips who insist the fields are no place for a woman. But one day, buying fresh croissants at the boulangerie, Nicole is shocked to hear a rumour about her husband. They say he died with a terrible secret. One that brings disgrace on Nicole and turns the whole town against her.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER A modern American classic, this huge and galvanizing biography of Robert Moses reveals not only the saga of one man’s incredible accumulation of power but the story of his shaping (and mis-shaping of twentieth-century New York. One of the Modern Library’s hundred...

“The wonderful cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the greatest achievements of European civilization, was on fire. The sight dazed and disturbed us profoundly. I was on the edge of tears. Something priceless was dying in front of our eyes. The feeling was bewildering, as if the earth was...

“Tenderhearted and filled with sweeping magical adventures, These Kindred Hearts vividly captures the beauty of love, promising thrills, hope, and happily ever afters. From first kisses to second chances, every story in this anthology is a must read for romance readers of all ages. Truly...

Voici le grand manuel qui révèle l’ossature du monde bâti: un guide clair, précis et passionnant qui conduit des origines de l’architecture jusqu’à l’atelier de l’ingénieur, stylo et truelle en main. Écrit par Jean-Baptiste Rondelet, ce premier tome explore la “connaissance des matériaux” et démystifie pierres, chaux, sables, pouzzolanes, plâtres et ciments, en articulant histoire, science et pratique de chantier.

Voici le volume où l’Art de bâtir devient une science exacte: un cours limpide de statique appliquée, qui relie calcul, géométrie et expérience pour dimensionner fondations, murs, arcs, dômes et contreforts avec sûreté. Rondelet y clarifie la place de la théorie (de Vitruve aux modernes) et montre comment centres de gravité, leviers, plans inclinés, frottement et poussées conduisent à des choix de formes, d’épaisseurs et d’appareils réellement stables.

Sous la forme d’un roman d’apprentissage aussi clair que vivant, “Histoire d’une maison” d’Eugène‑Emmanuel Viollet‑le‑Duc suit le jeune Paul, 16 ans, qui, pendant des vacances agitées par 1870, découvre pas à pas l’art de bâtir en concevant la future demeure de sa sœur, guidé par un cousin architecte et les artisans du pays. De l’idée au chantier, l’ouvrage transforme la curiosité en méthode: lecture du terrain, choix de l’implantation et des orientations, programme, plans à l’échelle...

Voici le tome qui transforme la théorie en ouvrage: un guide vivant et rigoureux de la construction en pierre de taille, des appareils antiques aux principes de stabilité, jusqu’à la taille précise des voussoirs et la pose des voûtes les plus exigeantes. On y traverse Égypte, Grèce, Rome et même Andes pour comparer appareillages, dimensions colossales et liaisons, puis l’auteur formalise les règles: centre de gravité, équilibre, assises, parpaings, crampons, et chaînes de bois selon Vitruve.

Discover how to partner ornamental plants with edible ones for a garden that offers both storybook appeal and a plethora of culinary delights. Stylish and celebratory, The Elegant and Edible Garden takes food growing to a higher plane. Host of The Potager Blog (@potagerblog), author and garden...

Una selección que aúna tres textos clásicos sobre socialismo y liberación: El Manifiesto Comunista, de Marx y Engels; Reforma o Revolución, de Rosa Luxemburgo; y El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba, del Che Guevara, inspiradores para las nuevas generaciones que creen en una sociedad más...

As the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government completes its current term ahead of the General Elections 2019, it is time to evaluate its performance, specifically in terms of its management of the economy. This book is a critical assessment of five years of the brand of economics Prime...

An entertaining and surprising ride through an India you thought you knew...

A mesmerizing debut novel about a concert pianist who fears he is losing his mind Mr. Field wants a new life, a life cleansed of the old one’s disappointments. A concert pianist on the London scene, his career is upended when the train he is travelling on crashes into the wall at the end of a...

Voici le tome de la mise en œuvre: un parcours complet de la charpente et de la couverture, qui part des origines en bois jusqu’aux combles les plus savants, pour guider du choix des essences au tracé des fermes, des cintres et des toitures selon le climat et l’usage. On y apprend quand couper le bois, comment le sécher, quelles propriétés attendre du chêne, du sapin, du mélèze ou du cèdre, et pourquoi certaines pièces résistent mieux au feu, aux vers ou à l’eau en fondations sur pilotis.