Author: Gary Corseri
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1453582797
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 357
Book Description
Set in King Arthurs Britain, medieval Japan and modern Atlanta, Holy Grail, Holy Grail: Quest East, Quest West is a rich blend of fantasy-adventure, historical-romance and swords and sorcery--a transformative myth for our times. Suppose all the legends of the Holy Grail were smoke screens to draw attention from the Grails real meaning. Suppose its message of male and female reconciliation could only be grasped by our own age. Not only that, but suppose the true Grail was lost not in Glastonbury, not in Avalon, but in the East; and its recovery required the interaction of Merlin's magic, Japanese shamans, and warriors trained in Sun Tzu's Art of War. Youve heard only Galahad was pure enough to see the Grail? Nonsense! Only Lancelot--near forty, still guilt-ridden over his affair with Guenevere--has the gut-wrenching need for redemption. Diamonds are created under enormous pressure over eonsso are shamans! Where is this true Grail anyway? Through a series of accidents, it has traveled from the Holy Land, over the Silk Road, through China, across the Sea of Japan, to become one of the sacred treasures of 5th Century Yamato (Japan). Accompanied by his page, Wee Willie, Lance is transported by Merlin to the ancient kingdom of pomp, magic and barbarism. A Japanese shaman-warrior agrees to help Lance capture the Grail if Lance will help him adjust the course of history. Lance and Willie are enmeshed in the assassination of the giggling, sadistic boy-Emperor. The only escape is through time. The two travelers are reconfigured in the Golden Age of 10th century Japan, where Lance falls passionately in love with Sagami. He would linger in this idyll, listening to the rustle of Sagamis silk kimonosbut Hes blinded by the Blue Man--the assassinated boy-Emperors time-traveling angel of death. Through the shamans magic, Lance and Willie are transported again to the last days of Heian Japan, a time of warrior-shoguns. Two great families squeeze the nation in a vise. Willie, now a handsome, young man in his twenties, distinguishes himself in love and war, changing the outcome of a famous battle. The debt to the shaman should be paid Buthistory has other plans. Or at least the Kami do. Spirit-beings who inhabit the winds; sparks of good and evil that fire the forge in the shaman's workshop, the Kami shape history in ways even the shaman cannot comprehend. Blind, maddened with fury, pain and shame, Lance is transported again--to modern Atlanta. It's springtime, the dogwoods are blooming, and the world is about to plunge into a millennial orgy of madness and self-destruction. Only Lance can save civilization. The problem is, Lance is now a homeless, hopeless amnesiac working as a mud-wrestler at the Renaissance Fair; and, the Blue Man, now transformed into a Yakuza thug, is obsessed with killing him. Nubile, clueless, vulnerable Lorrie latches onto Lance, drags him to a public session of life-regressionists, and--poof--epiphany!--our hero recalls his quest. A charismatic, leviathan-buttocked TV hostess helps; a mysterious black quilting lady helps. Digesting the lessons of 2000 years of Western and Eastern thought, only Lance can get the spiritual chiropractic just right. Only a climactic battle between good and evil magic can restore the balance of the world. Only the one who masters the Self can possess the wisdom of the Grail.
Holy Grail, Holy Grail: Quest East, Quest West
Author: Gary Corseri
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1453582797
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 357
Book Description
Set in King Arthurs Britain, medieval Japan and modern Atlanta, Holy Grail, Holy Grail: Quest East, Quest West is a rich blend of fantasy-adventure, historical-romance and swords and sorcery--a transformative myth for our times. Suppose all the legends of the Holy Grail were smoke screens to draw attention from the Grails real meaning. Suppose its message of male and female reconciliation could only be grasped by our own age. Not only that, but suppose the true Grail was lost not in Glastonbury, not in Avalon, but in the East; and its recovery required the interaction of Merlin's magic, Japanese shamans, and warriors trained in Sun Tzu's Art of War. Youve heard only Galahad was pure enough to see the Grail? Nonsense! Only Lancelot--near forty, still guilt-ridden over his affair with Guenevere--has the gut-wrenching need for redemption. Diamonds are created under enormous pressure over eonsso are shamans! Where is this true Grail anyway? Through a series of accidents, it has traveled from the Holy Land, over the Silk Road, through China, across the Sea of Japan, to become one of the sacred treasures of 5th Century Yamato (Japan). Accompanied by his page, Wee Willie, Lance is transported by Merlin to the ancient kingdom of pomp, magic and barbarism. A Japanese shaman-warrior agrees to help Lance capture the Grail if Lance will help him adjust the course of history. Lance and Willie are enmeshed in the assassination of the giggling, sadistic boy-Emperor. The only escape is through time. The two travelers are reconfigured in the Golden Age of 10th century Japan, where Lance falls passionately in love with Sagami. He would linger in this idyll, listening to the rustle of Sagamis silk kimonosbut Hes blinded by the Blue Man--the assassinated boy-Emperors time-traveling angel of death. Through the shamans magic, Lance and Willie are transported again to the last days of Heian Japan, a time of warrior-shoguns. Two great families squeeze the nation in a vise. Willie, now a handsome, young man in his twenties, distinguishes himself in love and war, changing the outcome of a famous battle. The debt to the shaman should be paid Buthistory has other plans. Or at least the Kami do. Spirit-beings who inhabit the winds; sparks of good and evil that fire the forge in the shaman's workshop, the Kami shape history in ways even the shaman cannot comprehend. Blind, maddened with fury, pain and shame, Lance is transported again--to modern Atlanta. It's springtime, the dogwoods are blooming, and the world is about to plunge into a millennial orgy of madness and self-destruction. Only Lance can save civilization. The problem is, Lance is now a homeless, hopeless amnesiac working as a mud-wrestler at the Renaissance Fair; and, the Blue Man, now transformed into a Yakuza thug, is obsessed with killing him. Nubile, clueless, vulnerable Lorrie latches onto Lance, drags him to a public session of life-regressionists, and--poof--epiphany!--our hero recalls his quest. A charismatic, leviathan-buttocked TV hostess helps; a mysterious black quilting lady helps. Digesting the lessons of 2000 years of Western and Eastern thought, only Lance can get the spiritual chiropractic just right. Only a climactic battle between good and evil magic can restore the balance of the world. Only the one who masters the Self can possess the wisdom of the Grail.
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1453582797
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 357
Book Description
Set in King Arthurs Britain, medieval Japan and modern Atlanta, Holy Grail, Holy Grail: Quest East, Quest West is a rich blend of fantasy-adventure, historical-romance and swords and sorcery--a transformative myth for our times. Suppose all the legends of the Holy Grail were smoke screens to draw attention from the Grails real meaning. Suppose its message of male and female reconciliation could only be grasped by our own age. Not only that, but suppose the true Grail was lost not in Glastonbury, not in Avalon, but in the East; and its recovery required the interaction of Merlin's magic, Japanese shamans, and warriors trained in Sun Tzu's Art of War. Youve heard only Galahad was pure enough to see the Grail? Nonsense! Only Lancelot--near forty, still guilt-ridden over his affair with Guenevere--has the gut-wrenching need for redemption. Diamonds are created under enormous pressure over eonsso are shamans! Where is this true Grail anyway? Through a series of accidents, it has traveled from the Holy Land, over the Silk Road, through China, across the Sea of Japan, to become one of the sacred treasures of 5th Century Yamato (Japan). Accompanied by his page, Wee Willie, Lance is transported by Merlin to the ancient kingdom of pomp, magic and barbarism. A Japanese shaman-warrior agrees to help Lance capture the Grail if Lance will help him adjust the course of history. Lance and Willie are enmeshed in the assassination of the giggling, sadistic boy-Emperor. The only escape is through time. The two travelers are reconfigured in the Golden Age of 10th century Japan, where Lance falls passionately in love with Sagami. He would linger in this idyll, listening to the rustle of Sagamis silk kimonosbut Hes blinded by the Blue Man--the assassinated boy-Emperors time-traveling angel of death. Through the shamans magic, Lance and Willie are transported again to the last days of Heian Japan, a time of warrior-shoguns. Two great families squeeze the nation in a vise. Willie, now a handsome, young man in his twenties, distinguishes himself in love and war, changing the outcome of a famous battle. The debt to the shaman should be paid Buthistory has other plans. Or at least the Kami do. Spirit-beings who inhabit the winds; sparks of good and evil that fire the forge in the shaman's workshop, the Kami shape history in ways even the shaman cannot comprehend. Blind, maddened with fury, pain and shame, Lance is transported again--to modern Atlanta. It's springtime, the dogwoods are blooming, and the world is about to plunge into a millennial orgy of madness and self-destruction. Only Lance can save civilization. The problem is, Lance is now a homeless, hopeless amnesiac working as a mud-wrestler at the Renaissance Fair; and, the Blue Man, now transformed into a Yakuza thug, is obsessed with killing him. Nubile, clueless, vulnerable Lorrie latches onto Lance, drags him to a public session of life-regressionists, and--poof--epiphany!--our hero recalls his quest. A charismatic, leviathan-buttocked TV hostess helps; a mysterious black quilting lady helps. Digesting the lessons of 2000 years of Western and Eastern thought, only Lance can get the spiritual chiropractic just right. Only a climactic battle between good and evil magic can restore the balance of the world. Only the one who masters the Self can possess the wisdom of the Grail.
The Holy Grail
Author: Arthur Edward Waite
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486452794
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 642
Book Description
The Grail legend is the centerpiece of Arthurian literature, and this classic work by the renowned scholar Arthur Edward Waite ranks among the most informative and profound books ever written on the subject. While the myths surrounding the Holy Grail are seemingly in harmony with orthodox religion, Waite reveals that beneath their pious surface, they are as subversive as any other form of mysticism — illustrating the symbolic nature of doctrinal teachings, no more intended for literal interpretation than is any fiction. With this informative study, Waite restores the full and true meaning of the knightly quests for honor and adventure as journeys of the soul.
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486452794
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 642
Book Description
The Grail legend is the centerpiece of Arthurian literature, and this classic work by the renowned scholar Arthur Edward Waite ranks among the most informative and profound books ever written on the subject. While the myths surrounding the Holy Grail are seemingly in harmony with orthodox religion, Waite reveals that beneath their pious surface, they are as subversive as any other form of mysticism — illustrating the symbolic nature of doctrinal teachings, no more intended for literal interpretation than is any fiction. With this informative study, Waite restores the full and true meaning of the knightly quests for honor and adventure as journeys of the soul.
The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend
Author: Gareth Knight
Publisher: Skylight Press
ISBN: 1908011629
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Originally published: Wellingborough: Aquarian Press, 1983.
Publisher: Skylight Press
ISBN: 1908011629
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Originally published: Wellingborough: Aquarian Press, 1983.
Holy Grail and Holy Thorn
Author: Richard Hayman
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Holy Grail and Holy Thorn: Glastonbury in the English Imagination explores the legends of King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury and how their influence has been felt from medieval to modern times. Joseph was said to have built at Glastonbury the first church in Christendom, which made it a centre of medieval pilgrimage, and gave Glastonbury an international profile in the fifteenth century. Through the winter-flowering holy thorn, said to have grown from Joseph’s staff, and later the Chalice Well, Glastonbury remained a focus of superstition in the Protestant centuries. In medieval romance Joseph of Arimathea had been the first keeper of the Holy Grail, a mystical past that was revived by Romantic writers and artists and ensured that Glastonbury retained a place in our national culture. In the twentieth century Glastonbury’s reputation was further elaborated by the belief that Joseph was the great-uncle of Jesus Christ, and that when he first came to Britain he brought the young Jesus with him, an idea suggested by William Blake’s Jerusalem. In the same mystical tradition, in the 1960s John Michell saw in Glastonbury the dimensions of New Jerusalem, which proved crucial in making Glastonbury the capital of New Age culture.
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Holy Grail and Holy Thorn: Glastonbury in the English Imagination explores the legends of King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury and how their influence has been felt from medieval to modern times. Joseph was said to have built at Glastonbury the first church in Christendom, which made it a centre of medieval pilgrimage, and gave Glastonbury an international profile in the fifteenth century. Through the winter-flowering holy thorn, said to have grown from Joseph’s staff, and later the Chalice Well, Glastonbury remained a focus of superstition in the Protestant centuries. In medieval romance Joseph of Arimathea had been the first keeper of the Holy Grail, a mystical past that was revived by Romantic writers and artists and ensured that Glastonbury retained a place in our national culture. In the twentieth century Glastonbury’s reputation was further elaborated by the belief that Joseph was the great-uncle of Jesus Christ, and that when he first came to Britain he brought the young Jesus with him, an idea suggested by William Blake’s Jerusalem. In the same mystical tradition, in the 1960s John Michell saw in Glastonbury the dimensions of New Jerusalem, which proved crucial in making Glastonbury the capital of New Age culture.
In Search of the Holy Grail and the Precious Blood
Author: Deike Begg
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595498728
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
THE HOLY GRAIL IS ONE of the most powerful myths in Western Culture. At the centre of this myth is the story of the chalice containing the Holy Blood of Christ, shed when Longinus pierced his side at the crucifixion. The search for the Grail has inspired artists and mystics for hundreds of years. Many churches and cathedrals were built on sites that claimed their part in this sacred mystery. IMBUED WITH THE SPIRIT OF the ancient quest and aware of its power as an antidote to our modern spiritual malaise, Ean and Deike Begg travelled throughout Europe, researching sites of the Holy Grail, the Precious Blood and their associated myths. This book is an illustrated account of their search and a practical, informative guidebook for travellers and seekers. It is full of fascinating information, such as the name of the Spanish cathedral that holds the cup of the Last Supper, the story of how a fig tree carried the Precious Blood to France and the secrets of the Grail castles of Germany. 'I believe that Ean and Deike Begg have done something of great importance in exploring the myth of the Holy Grail that played such a vital part in the deeps of Jung's spirit, and in re-establishing how now it is still one of the most dynamic elements in the search of the lost and bewildered modern soul for wholeness.'-Sir Laurens van der Post 'Deike and Ean Begg have revitalized the idea of pilgrimage.'-Michael Baigent 'An exemplary and vividly written guide to the many strange and beautiful sites associated with the Grail quest throughout Europe.'-Count Nikolai Tolstoy
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595498728
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
THE HOLY GRAIL IS ONE of the most powerful myths in Western Culture. At the centre of this myth is the story of the chalice containing the Holy Blood of Christ, shed when Longinus pierced his side at the crucifixion. The search for the Grail has inspired artists and mystics for hundreds of years. Many churches and cathedrals were built on sites that claimed their part in this sacred mystery. IMBUED WITH THE SPIRIT OF the ancient quest and aware of its power as an antidote to our modern spiritual malaise, Ean and Deike Begg travelled throughout Europe, researching sites of the Holy Grail, the Precious Blood and their associated myths. This book is an illustrated account of their search and a practical, informative guidebook for travellers and seekers. It is full of fascinating information, such as the name of the Spanish cathedral that holds the cup of the Last Supper, the story of how a fig tree carried the Precious Blood to France and the secrets of the Grail castles of Germany. 'I believe that Ean and Deike Begg have done something of great importance in exploring the myth of the Holy Grail that played such a vital part in the deeps of Jung's spirit, and in re-establishing how now it is still one of the most dynamic elements in the search of the lost and bewildered modern soul for wholeness.'-Sir Laurens van der Post 'Deike and Ean Begg have revitalized the idea of pilgrimage.'-Michael Baigent 'An exemplary and vividly written guide to the many strange and beautiful sites associated with the Grail quest throughout Europe.'-Count Nikolai Tolstoy
The Grail
Author: Dhira B. Mahoney
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317947258
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 611
Book Description
"This volume of the "Arthurian Characters and Themes" series is the only one dealing with theme, rather than character. Essays include both newly commissioned and reprinted articles that explore a variety of issues regarding the Arthurian search for the Holy Grail. Topics include analysis of the Grail as vessel, Perceval's sister in the Grail quest, the symbolism of the Grail in Wolfram, chivalric nationalism, and investigations of the use of the Grail in poetry and literature by authors such as Tennyson, T.S. Eliot, and Walker Percy"--Barnes & Noble.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317947258
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 611
Book Description
"This volume of the "Arthurian Characters and Themes" series is the only one dealing with theme, rather than character. Essays include both newly commissioned and reprinted articles that explore a variety of issues regarding the Arthurian search for the Holy Grail. Topics include analysis of the Grail as vessel, Perceval's sister in the Grail quest, the symbolism of the Grail in Wolfram, chivalric nationalism, and investigations of the use of the Grail in poetry and literature by authors such as Tennyson, T.S. Eliot, and Walker Percy"--Barnes & Noble.
Guardians of the Holy Grail
Author: Mark Amaru Pinkham
Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press
ISBN: 9781931882286
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372
Book Description
Presenting the ancient Holy Grail lineage from Asia and how the Knights Templar were initiated into it, this book reveals how ancient Asian wisdom became the foundation for the Holy Grail legend.
Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press
ISBN: 9781931882286
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372
Book Description
Presenting the ancient Holy Grail lineage from Asia and how the Knights Templar were initiated into it, this book reveals how ancient Asian wisdom became the foundation for the Holy Grail legend.
Goddess and Grail
Author: Jeffrey John Dixon
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476668663
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 270
Book Description
The early chroniclers of Britain presented the island as the promised land of the Roman goddess Diana. Later, when the story of Arthur was transformed by Christian mythology, a new literary concept of the island was promoted: the promised land of the Holy Grail. As the feminine enchantment of the Goddess gave way to the masculine crusade of the Grail Quest, the otherworld realms of the fays or fairy women were denigrated in favor of the heavenly afterlife. The dualism of the medieval authors was challenged by modern writers such as Blake and Tolkien, as well as by the scholars of the Eranos conferences. This book explores the conflict between Goddess and Grail--a rift less about paganism versus Christianity than about religious literalism versus spiritual imagination--which is resolved in the figure of Sophia (Divine Wisdom).
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476668663
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 270
Book Description
The early chroniclers of Britain presented the island as the promised land of the Roman goddess Diana. Later, when the story of Arthur was transformed by Christian mythology, a new literary concept of the island was promoted: the promised land of the Holy Grail. As the feminine enchantment of the Goddess gave way to the masculine crusade of the Grail Quest, the otherworld realms of the fays or fairy women were denigrated in favor of the heavenly afterlife. The dualism of the medieval authors was challenged by modern writers such as Blake and Tolkien, as well as by the scholars of the Eranos conferences. This book explores the conflict between Goddess and Grail--a rift less about paganism versus Christianity than about religious literalism versus spiritual imagination--which is resolved in the figure of Sophia (Divine Wisdom).
Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail
Author: Alfred Trübner Nutt
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail" (With Especial Reference to the Hypothesis of Its Celtic Origin) by Alfred Trübner Nutt. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail" (With Especial Reference to the Hypothesis of Its Celtic Origin) by Alfred Trübner Nutt. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
A New History of French Literature
Author: Denis Hollier
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674254619
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 1202
Book Description
Designed for the general reader, this splendid introduction to French literature from 842 A.D.—the date of the earliest surviving document in any Romance language—to the present decade is the most compact and imaginative single-volume guide available in English to the French literary tradition. In fact, no comparable work exists in either language. It is not the customary inventory of authors and titles but rather a collection of wide-angled views of historical and cultural phenomena. It sets before us writers, public figures, criminals, saints, and monarchs, as well as religious, cultural, and social revolutions. It gives us books, paintings, public monuments, even TV shows. Written by 164 American and European specialists, the essays are introduced by date and arranged in chronological order, but here ends the book’s resemblance to the usual history of literature. Each date is followed by a headline evoking an event that indicates the chronological point of departure. Usually the event is literary—the publication of an original work, a journal, a translation, the first performance of a play, the death of an author—but some events are literary only in terms of their repercussions and resonances. Essays devoted to a genre exist alongside essays devoted to one book, institutions are presented side by side with literary movements, and large surveys appear next to detailed discussions of specific landmarks. No article is limited to the “life and works” of a single author. Proust, for example, appears through various lenses: fleetingly, in 1701, apropos of Antoine Galland’s translation of The Thousand and One Nights; in 1898, in connection with the Dreyfus Affair; in 1905, on the occasion of the law on the separation of church and state; in 1911, in relation to Gide and their different treatments of homosexuality; and at his death in 1922. Without attempting to cover every author, work, and cultural development since the Serments de Strasbourg in 842, this history succeeds in being both informative and critical about the more than 1,000 years it describes. The contributors offer us a chance to appreciate not only French culture but also the major critical positions in literary studies today. A New History of French Literature will be essential reading for all engaged in the study of French culture and for all who are interested in it. It is an authoritative, lively, and readable volume.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674254619
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 1202
Book Description
Designed for the general reader, this splendid introduction to French literature from 842 A.D.—the date of the earliest surviving document in any Romance language—to the present decade is the most compact and imaginative single-volume guide available in English to the French literary tradition. In fact, no comparable work exists in either language. It is not the customary inventory of authors and titles but rather a collection of wide-angled views of historical and cultural phenomena. It sets before us writers, public figures, criminals, saints, and monarchs, as well as religious, cultural, and social revolutions. It gives us books, paintings, public monuments, even TV shows. Written by 164 American and European specialists, the essays are introduced by date and arranged in chronological order, but here ends the book’s resemblance to the usual history of literature. Each date is followed by a headline evoking an event that indicates the chronological point of departure. Usually the event is literary—the publication of an original work, a journal, a translation, the first performance of a play, the death of an author—but some events are literary only in terms of their repercussions and resonances. Essays devoted to a genre exist alongside essays devoted to one book, institutions are presented side by side with literary movements, and large surveys appear next to detailed discussions of specific landmarks. No article is limited to the “life and works” of a single author. Proust, for example, appears through various lenses: fleetingly, in 1701, apropos of Antoine Galland’s translation of The Thousand and One Nights; in 1898, in connection with the Dreyfus Affair; in 1905, on the occasion of the law on the separation of church and state; in 1911, in relation to Gide and their different treatments of homosexuality; and at his death in 1922. Without attempting to cover every author, work, and cultural development since the Serments de Strasbourg in 842, this history succeeds in being both informative and critical about the more than 1,000 years it describes. The contributors offer us a chance to appreciate not only French culture but also the major critical positions in literary studies today. A New History of French Literature will be essential reading for all engaged in the study of French culture and for all who are interested in it. It is an authoritative, lively, and readable volume.