Biographies, Memoirs All books
René Depestre, Marc Augé
Good Evening Tenderness
The life of an intellectual, revolutionary, and adventurer. An important figure in the négritude movement, alongside Aimé Césaire and Frantz Fanon. An original reflection on identity and skin color. A look back on his revolutionary dreams and the Cuba regime, in the time of Castro and Che.
Philippe Taquet
Georges Cuvier Anatomy of a Naturalist
The second of three volumes, this one dealing with scientific work between 1795 and 1803; the third will deal with the later years of the greatest biologist of his time.
James Gleick
Genius: Richard Feynman and Modern Physics
Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner for his work on the description and calculation of interactions between particles, was a genius of our time. Quantum physics theoretician, enfant terrible of the Manhattan project and ascerbic critic of the investigative committee of the American space shuttle, Feynman left a profound impression on modern physics. James Gleick, a former journalist at The New York Times and author of the best-selling Chaos Theory, tells how Feynman's ideas were formed and how he reinvented particle physics. Through this portrait, Gleick explores the nature of genius itself and provides insight about the fascination that it engenders.
Édouard Chevardnadzé
The Future is Freedom
Why did the former Soviet Union allow itself to be led to the emancipation of the peoples of Central Europe? Why would it accept the reunification of Germany? How did it find the pathway to alliance with the United States? Under what conditions will it be able to master economic crisis and political instability? A lucid look at what is becoming of our world, by one of the authors of change in the East, the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Soviet Union.
Guiliana Gemelli
Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel is considered as one of the major historians of the XXth century. Making his stand against factual history, he was one of the founders of the triumph of new history: the history of human societies rooted in their geographical space and obstinately determined to produce their material civilization there. This biography takes its strength from friendly conversations between Braudel and Giuliana Gemelli, who because she is Italian, had the necessary distance to make a demanding quest.
Boris Cyrulnik
The Farmer and the Hot Air-Eaters
“How can we willingly obey, abandon ourselves to rote statements, accepting them as truth, without ever examining them?
Claudine Monteil
Ève Curie Pierre and Marie Curie's another daughter
The daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie, Ève Curie was a writer, journalist, concert pianist and wartime activist
Henry Laurens
Ernest Renan, Science, Religion and the French Republic
A tribute to the great nineteenth-century French scholar Ernest Renan, with contributions by experts from diverse fields
Colonel Passy
Colonel Passy Memoirs of the Chief of the Secret Services of a Liberated France
These two volumes constitute a new edition of Colonel Passys memoirs, which were first published by Plon in a three-volune limited edition (Deuxième Bureau-Londres; 10 Duke Street-Londres; Missions Secrètes en France). The new edition has been presented and annotated by historian Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac, a specialist in the period. André Dewawrin, alias Colonel Passy, headed the Bureau de Contre-espionnage, de Renseignement et dAction (BCRA) of the Free French in London, from 1940 to 1944. He became General Koenigs chief of staff, in 1944. A former student at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique, he headed the department of research and study for the French Ministry of Defence after the war.
André Miquel
Chateaubriand’s Memoires from Beyond the Grave Selections chosen and presented by André Miquel
For the 250th birthday of François-René de Chateaubriand: colloquia, commemorations (Saint-Malo, Combourg, Châtenay-Malabry) celebrate the great writer.
Yves Pouliquen
Cabanis: An Ideologue’s Life
The brilliant intellectual life of the French Revolutionary period is vividly revived here in this biography of Cabanis, physician, physiologist and Enlightenment philosopher.
George W. Bush
By the Grace of God
George W. Bush is the new President of the United States. Who is the real man behind the publicity ? What are his values ? What are his ideas for the future of America and the world in general ? This book not only represents a true reflection of the man himself, it is also an invaluable source of information on modern day America.
Aldo Naouri
Bits of Existence
Short, narrative texts in which Aldo Naouri reflects on his formative life experiences that constructed the man he became and the pediatrician that has taken care of children his entire life.
Pierre Sudreau
Beyond All Frontiers (New Edition)
At the moment when former barriers are crumbling, but old hates and fears are re-emerging, Pierre Sudreau mixes historical tale, political thought and insightful meditation while inviting us to define a new morality of humanity. Deported to Buchenwald, Pierre Sudreau was a police chief at the time of the Libération, and later served as the Director of the Ministry of the Interior. He was a Minister under Charles de Gaulle, and resigned in 1962 at the time of the Constitutional reform. In 1974, he was the author of a celebrated report about business reform.
Bertrand Badie
Between Two Cultures
A subtle and sensitive account of a private part of Bertrand Badie’s life, which sheds new light on his interest in world affairs.
Juliette Grange
Auguste Comte - Politics and Science
The writings of Auguste Comte are often reduced to a few excerpts and stereotypes, and as a result the judgement of "positivism" is quickly reached. Yet, industrial politics, the organisation of research, and the influence of the exact sciences on the way we regard politics, all eminently modern themes, lie at the heart of his thought. Therefore, this book, by one of the best French specialists, offers an original rereading of Comte and ultimately opens the way for a more personal reflection on the nature of the relations between science and politics as they exist today. Juliette Grange is a professor at the University of Nancy-II
Françoise Héritier
As Days Go By
A little book of wisdom in the form of a game playing with memories, which causes the little music of life to be heard. A very pleasant read, an invitation to rediscover a taste for life.
Fatma Bouvet de la Maisonneuve
An Arab from France A life beyond prejudice
A testimony on the question of prejudice about "The Other" and of living together. A sensitive and committed reflection, seen from the inside, on the questions of double culture. A text that sheds light on mutual misunderstandings.
Rita Levi Montalcini
Against All the Odds
What do Primo Levi, the author of one of the most powerful accounts of life in a Nazi death camp, and Max Delbrück, one of the founding fathers of molecular biology, have in common? The answer is that they--as well as the others described in this book--were able to face the trials and tribulations of their lives with exceptional courage, and without losing their sense of humanity. Through a series of portraits, drawn with great warmth and restraint, Rita Levi Montalcini recounts the course of several exemplary lives. Rita Levi Montalcini taught neurobiology at Washington University for thirty years.
Mustapha Chérif
Abd el-Kader, Apostle of Reconciliation
An important historical figure whose works help us understand contemporary relations between Algeria and France, between East and West
George Bush, Brent Scowcroft
A World Transformed
It was one of the pivotal times of the twentieth century - during George Bushs presidency an extraordinary series of international events took place that materially changed the face of the world. Now, former President Bush and his national secretary advisor, Brent Scowcroft, tell the story of those tumultuous years. Here are behind-the-scenes accounts of critical meetings in the White House and of summit conferences in Europe and the United States, interspersed with excerpts from Mr. Bushs diary. We are given fresh intriguing views of world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, and François Mitterrand--and witness the importance of personal relationships in diplomacy. There is the dramatic description of how President Bush put together the alliance against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War. There are the intensive diplomatic exchanges with Beijing following the events of Tiananmen Square, and the intricate negotiations leading up to the German reunification. And there is the sometimes poignant sometimes grim portrayal of Gorbachevs final years in power. A World Transformed is not simply a record of accomplishment; Bush and Scowcroft candidly recount how the major players sometimes disagreed over issues, and analyze what mistakes were made. This is a landmark book on the conduct of American foreign policy-- and how that policy is crucial to the peace of the world. It is a fascinating inside look at great events that deepens our understanding of todays global issues. George Bush was President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Brent Scowcroft was National Security Advisor under Presidents Ford and Bush.
Yves Quéré
A Shell in the Middle of the Ear Science, Education, and Other Shores
Written with happiness, with multiple formulations and aphorisms, this book is an invitation to meditate on the beauties and contradictions of life.