Catalog All books

A. G. Cairns-Smith
Seven Clues to the Origin of Life A Scientific Detective Story
Sherlock Holmes would have certainly been interested to see his deductive methods applied to the resolution of a major scientific mystery: What is the origin of life? A. G. Cairns-Smith, the chemist and author of Genetic Takeover, a definitive technical work on the subject, conducts an investigation directly inspired by the famous detective.

Jean-Marie Bourre
The Dietetics of the Brain Intelligence and Pleasure
What mechanisms govern our cravings, our taste, our nutritional needs? How should we eat to think well and work productively? J.-M. Bourre, a neurotoxicologist, celebrates the pleasures of a greedy brain, a gastronomical brain. He takes us on a fascinating exploration of the complex chemistry which links our brain to our plate in the world of proteins, vitamins, mineral salts, and lipids.

Jean-Didier Vincent
Casanova - The Diseases of Pleasure
J.-D. Vincent, author of The Biology of Passions, now turns his energetic eye upon the famous Venitian adventurer of the 18th century, whose Memoirs are strangely peppered with glorious descriptions of his diseases: no less than eleven small poxes for a multitude of conquests...

Catherine Bonnet
A Gesture of Love Giving birth anonymously
Why do some women give birth anonymously so that their child is instantly adopted? A pedopsychoanalyst, Catherine Bonnet recounts the heart-breaking testimonies of these suffering women whose single gesture of love is to protect their child from the violence within themselves. A fresh look at the foundations of maternity and of filiation. Catherine Bonnet is a pedopsychoanalyst.

François Dagognet
Reflections on the Body
A philosophy for our times, devised through an understanding of modernity in all its forms: artistic, scientific and medical. This work is a rigorous and exacting treatment of the ethical and political choices facing mankind at a moment when the power over matter and living are coming to be declared unlimited. In short, the engaged and stimulating observations of François Dagognet, a professor of philosophy at the Université de Paris I, medical doctor, and heir worthy of Bachelard.

Paul Milliez
My Hopes
How does a traditionally-educated Catholic become a committed doctor? How do the resistance, the fight for abortion and against all forms of intolerance, intimate relationships with world leaders from General de Gaulle to the Shah of Iran and travels from Liban to Saudi Arabia, combine to create an extraordinary personality? A worldwide specialist in arterial hypertension, Paul Milliez (1912-1994) was the honorary dean of faculty at Broussais Hotel-Dieu.

Philippe Lazar
The Health Explorers Voyage to the Centre of Medical Research
Research is a keystone of modern medicine, and is a critical factor in the independence of the nation, and yet medical research is still not well-known to the general public. How do researchers work? How is research organized in France? What are the links between the various public players and researchers? Since 1982, Philippe Lazar has been director-general of the French National Health and Medical Research Institute.

Ricardo Bofill, Jean-Louis André
Life's Spaces
Catalonian Ricardo Bofill is probably today's most famous and most controversial architect. In this book, illustrated with sketches and outlines, written directly in French with the help of journalist J.-L. André, he reveals an analysis of his art and an invitation to read the city.

Philippe Laburthe-Tolra
The Standard of the Prophet
Philippe Laburthe-Tolra presents us with a great ethnographical and historical novel in search of black Islam of the early 1850s. His wandering narrative of love affairs, political intrigue and religious mysticism revives the culture of a people before colonization.

Michel Drancourt
The Voluntary Economy The Example of Japan
The Japanese economic success inspires both fascination and irritation abroad. It is high time for the Western world to put feelings aside and to learn from its Eastern partner. M. Drancourt, economist and head of the French Institut de l Entreprise, believes that Japanese success is due to one predominant social trait: willpower.

Louis Roussel
The Uncertain Family
Should we worry about the mariage and birth rates? Should we be reassured by the family values trend? Demographic data is never easy to interpret and because of the social changes within families, former theories must be revised and new approaches considered. L. Roussel attempts to draw an accurate picture of the future of our ever changing society.

Jacques Ninio
The Imprint of the Senses Perception, Memory and Language
Science has completely renewed our sense of perception. We used to stand impressions, the facts of our senses, in opposition to our superior activities (language, memory, reasoning). J. Ninio shows us an alterior perceptive reasoning . His accessible prose, peppered with many examples and illustrations, presents an original analysis of today s biological and psychological research on perception.