Showing titles in France

To this day Marie Antoinette remains one of history’s most misunderstood heroines. How she triumphed over the petty jealousies and backstairs rivalries of the court, how she sustained a good-hearted but malleable king, and how she was transformed from French queen to Austrian “whore,” is the story told with skill and fascinating detail.

Plus d'un demi-siècle après l'indépendance de l'Algérie, est-il possible de raconter sans manichéisme et sans œillères la guerre au terme de laquelle un territoire ayant vécu cent trente ans sous le drapeau français est devenu un État souverain ? La conquête et la colonisation au XIXe siècle, le statut des différentes communautés au XXe siècle, le terrible conflit qui ensanglanta l'Algérie et parfois la métropole de 1954 à 1962, tout est matière, aujourd'hui, aux idées toutes faites et aux jugements réducteurs.

A possible genius, a smidgen of madness, a twist of science, and an invention that very nearly changed the world - all collide in a giddy, unbelievably true mystery set in turn-of-the-century Paris.

Em Notre-Dame, Ken Follett reflete sobre o papel que a catedral desempenhou ao longo do tempo e revela a influência que ela exerceu tanto em outras catedrais ao redor do mundo quanto em um de seus mais conhecidos e adorados romances, Os Pilares da Terra. Ele descreve, também, as emoções que sentiu ao saber do incêndio que quase destruiu uma das maiores catedrais do mundo.

Between 1796 and 1815, the continent of Europe was held in thrall by one of the most remarkable personalities of modern times, a man whose name was on the lips of every man, woman, and child: Napoleon Bonaparte. Certainly, one would have to go back to the time of Charlemagne to find his equal on the field of battle, in the halls of diplomacy, or in the courts of jurisprudence.

In June of 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte's attempts at reclaiming the French Empire are destroyed on the field of Waterloo. With the Bourbon monarchy restored to the throne of France, King Louis XVIII seeks his revenge against many of Napoleon's former generals. While many are sent into exile, the fanatical royalists demand that one in particular pay with his life. That man is Michel Ney, Marshal of France; called by both friend an enemy as "The Bravest of the Brave".

The Battle of Trafalgar was one of the most important naval battles in history. Before the battle Napoleon still harbored dreams of sailing an invasive force across the English Channel and subduing England, but they were dashed on October 21, 1805, by a British fleet that was outnumbered and outgunned. By the time the Battle of Trafalgar was finished, Nelson had scored arguably one of the most decisive victories in the history of naval warfare.

This telling of the 2019 Tour de France is a supplement to our two-volume The Story of the Tour de France. Volume one told the story of the Tour's origins and each edition of the race from 1903 through 1975. The 2019 edition was filled with surprises with young riders taking control of the race. Every day had something happen that confounded the experts. The winner did not emerge until Mother Nature surprised everyone in late July with snow and ice. With just three stages to go, mud, hail, and ice on an Alpine road changed everything.

The French Army crumbled swiftly under the powerful blows delivered to it in 1940 by Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht. Launching a massive feint into Belgium to lure French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) away from the actual point of attack, the weakly protected Ardennes Forest, the Germans struck past the Maginot Line. In a lightning campaign, panzers punched through to the coast, dividing Allied forces with a steel cordon across France and forcing the evacuation of the BEF from the port of Dunkirk.

Ici se nouent les derniers actes du fabuleux destin de Napoléon. Le 24 juin 1812, il entre en Russie à la tête de la Grande Armée. Alors chaque jour, chaque page de ce livre, et jusqu'à la mort de l'empereur le 5 mai 1821, devient une scène inoubliable. C'est l'océan de feu qui détruit Moscou et c'est le passage de la Bérézina au terme de la retraite de Russie. C'est Leipzig et c'est Montmirail, la campagne d'Allemagne et la campagne de France en 1813 et 1814.

On October 2, 1918, Maj. Charles W. Whittlesey led the 77th Division in a successful attack on German defenses in the Argonne Forest of northeastern France. His unit, comprised of men of a wide mix of ethnic backgrounds from New York City and the western states, was not a battalion nor was it ever "lost", but once a newspaper editor applied the term "lost battalion" to the episode, it stuck.

From its opening amid the horrors of the French Revolution, to its unexpected ending on the shores of the English Channel, The Scarlet Pimpernel fizzes with excitement and wit. Dominating the action is the apparently limp-wristed fop, Sir Percy Blakeney, the most unlikely, though the most gentlemanly of heroes. With a happy countenance Sir Percy outwits all the machinations of Chauvelin, the zealous Revolutionary official, to help nobles escape.

From the acclaimed biographer of explorers Magellan, Columbus, and Francis Drake comes a unique exploration of life and influence of Jules Verne, the novelist whose mind spun the greatest adventures ever told and whose daring and prescient imagination sparked a lasting transformation of modern society and technology, inspiring everyone from J.R.R. Tolkien to Kurt Vonnegut to Jeff Bezos.

Les Français ? Ils sont plus de quarante millions en juin quarante lorsque les Allemands occupent la France. Et ce livre raconte leur vie quotidienne. Au moment d'entamer le longues recherches, Henri Amouroux s'est aperçu, lorsqu'il évoquait les années d'Occupation, que ceux-là mêmes qui doutaient de l'opportunité d'un tel travail étaient très vite emportés par leurs souvenirs et qu'ils multipliaient alors les anecdotes. L'entreprise valait donc d'être tentée.

The Hundred Years War was a series of conflicts waged between England and France between 1337 and 1453. The war involved several generations of kings on both sides and was fought over a single issue: whether the English had the right to rule the kingdom of France. The Hundred Years War was an important element in the creation of modern Europe and in the definition of the national characters of both England and France. This audiobook tells the story of this long, complex, and fascinating conflict.

In this highly original history of the world's most famous bicycle race, Christopher S. Thompson, mining previously neglected sources and writing with infectious enthusiasm for his subject, tells the compelling story of the Tour de France from its creation in 1903 to the present.

In France, the simple act of eating bread is an exercise in creative problem solving, and attempting to spell requires a degree of masochism. But that's just how the French like it - and in WTF?!, Olivier Magny reveals the France only the French know. From the latest trends in baby names to the religiously observed division of church and state, prepare yourself for an insider's look at French culture that is surprising, insightful, and chock full of bons mots.

Gallipoli: the mere name summons the story of this well-known campaign of the First World War. And the story of Gallipoli, where in August 1915 the Allied forces made their last valiant effort against the Turks, is one of infamous might-have-beens. If only the Allies had held out a little longer, pushed a little harder, had better luck, Gallipoli might have been the decisive triumph that knocked the Ottoman Empire out of the First World War.

Alors que les débats sur l'histoire de France font rage, le présent ouvrage dissèque pour la première fois vingt décisions cardinales qui dessinent la singularité française et racontent sa véritable histoire ; à l'opposé de l'hagiographie béate comme de la repentance mortifère. Sous la direction d'un grand historien (Patrice Gueniffey) et d'un maître-enquêteur du passé (François-Guillaume Lorrain) ; les meilleures plumes du Point et de Perrin racontent avec maestria vingt moments-charnières qui ont bouleversé le présent et dont les conséquences se font toujours sentir.

Carcassonne today is the capital of the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France, about 58 miles from Toulouse. It lies by the eastward bend of the glittering cobalt waters of the River Aude, which serves as a barrier between the two towns of the city: the Cité and the Ville Basse. It is the old Cité that attracts most of Carcassonne's visitors (three million of them each year), for it houses the historic fortress that looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. This audiobook examines the origins of the site and its sweeping history.