Having spent a busy weekend sightseeing, shopping and eating in Lille thanks to this amusing and shrewd guidebook, I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone else travelling in France and Belgium. The book had all the information we needed for using public transport, getting to know the locals and seeing the sights without ever making us feel like hicks or gawping visitors. We will be in Paris this Easter and have already chosen our hotels and at least two restaurants from the same book. Does this guy write about anywhere else? If he knows other cities like he knows this one, I want to read about it.

Laughter and good food make an excellent combination. This book is full of annecdotes and gossipy tips and snippets, yet it also is as mouthwatering as a recipe book. The author reviews restaurants without resorting to fashionable cosmopolitan cliches. Your mouth waters as he remembers succulent sauces and naughty desserts, you smile as he gossips about the waiters and restaurant owners, you want to linger on the salivating detail of every favourote dish and each evocative evening spent in cellars and dining rooms. Yet, when he talks of history, you are as enchanted by the true human nature of kings and artists that he conveys. I love his casual and very individual approach to sightseeing. He can give equal status to a shop selling haute couture for dogs as an art gallery or monument, and he seems to know where all the good stuff is hidden away from the coach trade. I have queued for hours at the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay in Paris, yet this guy knows of a private house with dozens of Monets on view. And best of all he knows where to find the best meals in town without breaking the bank. This book is hot on the practical side of travelling as well. Following his tips, I found out how to travel first class on Eurostar for less than the price of a second class ticket. My only complaint is that this is not part of a series. I travel all over France and Europe and would love to listen to this author's advice on the rest of the country and the continent.

Don't read this book when you are hungry. the food descriptions will make you drool. I used this guide when friends from London came over for the weekend. Mouth-watering restaurant reviews and spot-on opinions and advice about Paris. Useful, good value and sometimes very funny. The book also has full sets of city maps and subway guides, and give very clear directions with every listing. I reckon it would be a great read on the train or the plane as well.

I've loved Belgian beers for years, but never truly understood them fully until now. Where do you begin to classify them? To choose one to drink? Michael Jackson shows you how. From the ancient beginning of the brewing of Belgian beer, to now, as you smell, taste, and swallow, Michael Jackson takes you through the process. This is education in the most delightful way. Great photographs, delightful anecdotes,You almost feel you are on a stool beside him. My wife,who is Belgian born,loved the insights into her native land and traditions. If you can only buy one book on beer, this must be it!

This is a great book if you love belgian beer. So many great pictures and chapters to browse through on a cold winter night by the fire with a bottle of aged Westmalle tripel or perhaps a Kwak. Very thorough, he obviously spent a lot of time "researching" his topic!

Michael Jackson belies his English heritage to write perhaps the best Belgian beer book in existance. More than just tasting notes, he describes his visits to the breweries, his discussions with the brewers, the smells, the sounds, everything you need to feel like you are there! A prized addition to any library.

I am only 3/4 through in 5 hours last evening. Will continue this evening! A page turner, and interesting learning: as Dr. Bodson learns, we too, learn. Recommend for ALL readers! Dr. Bodson was a professor of mine in college and his writing is as he speaks - concise and not to be forgotten after a first read (or listen.)

This is a fascinating book about a subject too few people know anything about. The book is extremely well written by a very thoughtful author. It's history but it reads like a novel. Excellent!

I re-read this book not long ago, and on a recent trip to Belgium, I made a point of taking a day to visit the places where the author was active during the war. This book made it all come alive.

I borrowed the book from a family friend and could not put it down! I hung on every suspenseful turn. Mr. Bodson's account was brutally honest and extremely informative. I learned a great deal about the true face of the war and many detailed events I never would have imagined. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in underground tactics or a love of war stories. An incredible journey!

I married into a Belgian family, and I have to say, I was intimidated by my mother-in-law's wonderful cooking. How would I ever measure up? In fifteen years, I've learned quite a few of her recipes, but after reading this book, I finally understand where she's coming from. Ruth Van Waerbeek not only introduces Belgian food and cooking, but an entire way of life. The recipes are great, and the stories and anecdotes are even better. This is one of those cookbooks you can sit and read cover-to-cover, even when you're not looking for a recipe. I'm ordering one for my mother-in-law --she'll love it!

You don't have to be Belgian to love this cookbook! It's truly awesome! All the recipes I've tried so far are great - and very easy to follow. If they ever come out with a 2nd edition, I hope they include some photographs of the recipes... this is easily the cookbook I use the most!

I am trying these recipes one by one and they are excellent so far and I am no great cook. The sidebars are full of interesting tidbits and I am planning my garden around ingredients needed in these recipes. Anyone who has been to Belgium knows they have the best beer in the world. The people are lovely, their country is gorgeous, their food superb and their beer un-beatable. This is my very favorite cookbook. I only hope I can learn to grow Belgian endive and white asparagus. If you don't love this cookbook, you don't love food. It is a treasure!

Norman Bogner's new novel, "The Deadliest Art", is fantastic! It is a sequel to "To Die In Provence", but it can easily be read on its own. If you read this book, you'll definitely want to read the first book anyway. The story follows French detective Michel Danton as he struggles to honor his promise to his new bride to give up his dangerous work, while being presented with a case of unimaginable horror. The book alternates between the actions of the criminals and their pursuers in a non-synchronous manner that works perfectly. "To Die In Provence" was a great mystery, plunging one into the customs and culture of the South of France. "The Deadliest Art" surpasses it, with an even deeper immersion into French psyche and attitude, coupled with an exploration of the Venice of Southern California. As you are simultaneously drawn into the madhouse of the killers and Michel Danton's increasing desperation, you won't be able to put this book down!

While agreeing with the other readers' comments, I was most fascinated by the storytelling device that Norman Bogner invented in this novel: Unsynchronized chronology of converging stories. This differs from standard thriller technique in which the point of view swings back and forth between the good guy and bad guy like the arm of a metronome or clock pendulum, with the story driven by advancing time.

The novel opens in Provence, France, where Bogner reintroduces us to Det. Michael Danton and art historian Jennifer Bowen, now in a state of prenuptial bliss. Next, a continent away in Venice, California, Bogner introduces murderous Garrett Lee Brant "and his beautiful Eve" who are just stepping out for a millennium New Year's party hosted mammary-enhanced Heather Malone, Garrett's benefactor and sometime lover. Garrett is a frustrated artist who is fascinated by Gauguin, with whom he "holds regular conversations." (His back story reveals the ability to speak in a number of voices.) Garrett has received no recognition for his work on canvas but is enjoying enormous commercial success doing tatoos on the Venice (CA) boardwalk. Eve is skilled in the art of makeup. Switch to Provence where Michael is called to investigate a girl's body washed up on the beach. Switch back to Heather Malone's party, an upscale S&M affair. Heather introduces to Mr. Jan Korteman, a Belgian photographer who specializes in high-grade pornography. Eve makes her own moves and a four-way psychological sex drama unfolds.

And thus two "parallel" stories evolve, with Michael investigating the girl's death and consoling the parents and with Jan taking Garrett and Eve to live as his house guests in Belgium where they engage in a sinister artistic collaboration. The stories evolve asynchronously: The protagonists working slowly to stop the crimes that the antagonists have yet to commit. This yarn is not driven by the beat of a metronome. It is driven by the fascination of the reader who realizes that by the end of the book the two stories must converge. As the book begins to run out of pages, the antagonists' story accelerates and catches up with the protagonists, with fascinating and deadly results. Bogner has invented a new technique in thriller fiction: Converging stories told in warped time.

And as if this was not clever enough, Bogner throws in one final twist which will make the reader pinch himself, turn back to the first page and read the story once more. "The Deadliest Art" is high art, every bit as clever as "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari."

Some might have said that Norman Bogner was playing bad poker and attempting to draw to an inside straight when he wrote 'To Die In Provence' in 1998. After all, he was a writer of mainstream fiction -- Seventh Avenue, The Madonna Complex, California Dreamers, among others - and the Provence book is a mystery. But after you read it you find it is much more than a mystery. The major characters, Michel Danton, chief investigator for the Special Circumstances Section of the French Judicial Police, and Jennifer Bowen, an American art history professor, remain with you and breathe on, as well as a host of minor characters. You find that you want to know more and that is a sign of a good book. The author filled his straight and won the hand.
What is meant by 'more than a mystery'? I mean that the author has widened the scope, brought more to the table. Mysteries usually present the good man or good woman, usually a detective or cop, who then pursues the bad guy who has perpetrated a crime on usually good folks. The progression is linear from start to finish with few detours. Subplots are usually absent along with any serious reflections from the hero, minor characters appear and disappear after they help the hero, the bad guys are caught, resolution is complete, and a new book will appear next year. Along the way it is sometimes difficult to suspend disbelief because the hero carries a 25 shot 6-shooter. Examples are MacDonald's Travis, Parker's Spenser, Grafton's Kinsey, Child's Reacher, White's Doc Ford and a thousand others. A lot of these are good men and women detecting, pursuing and catching the bad folks in very good books. I've read them and like them. Norman Bogner, on the other hand, takes a lot of time defining and exploring his characters. With precise use of literary hydrofloric acid he etches very real people in glass. Because the people are real they have flaws and sometimes the glass fractures because of internal struggles within the characters, as well as cracking under the pressure of the externals not under their control. The crimes, along with the accompanying mystery/detective motif, the setting in southern France, and the pyscho-killer, presented in 'To Die In Provence' act as a catalyst to bring the strengths and weaknesses of Michel and Jennifer, as well as others, to the surface and we see them struggle and reflect and we wince and fret over them and we want them to 'grow out of it' and overcome. We want to know the answer to the question, 'If it doesn't kill you, does it make you stronger'?
Bogner uses the same deft strokes to paint the canvas of his settings and the minor characters evolving in the background. Whether we want to or not we painlessly and relentlessly learn about the town of Aix-en-Provence, a good French restaurant, food, wine, and the friends, acquaintances, and parents of Michel, the French Judicial system, and, most surprising and different, how a killer operates and what makes him tick within the clock of the mystery. As one reads larger, more encompassing, questions surface. How is a man's behavior affected by his origin? How can a rich young girl-woman be captivated by a killer? The latter, of course, is the 'Manson' question. If you want to know how the author answers these, read the book
After an intervening book, 'Honor Thy Wife', a 'mainstream' novel, Norman Bogner has returned with another compelling mystery, 'The Deadliest Art.' The author, not content with leaving Michel and Jennifer in literary limbo, brings them back in an even more intricate plot. While it is nice to have read the previous book, it is not at all necessary for Bogner, with wide reach and skill, reintroduces you with great detail. And a whole new set of questions is asked while the 'mystery' evolves. A young girl's body washes ashore near Aix-en-Provence. Her back is disfigured. Why? Thus, the mystery is triggered. Danton takes charge of the investigation and the backgrounds change, ranging from the back alleys of San Antonio, Texas, to Bruges in Belgium, the ever present Provence in France and, finally, to Venice, California. Again we relentlessly but painlessly learn about art, food, places and people, French and American cultures and, amazingly, tattoos. While the mystery unfolds and the murders pile up so do the larger questions. Bogner attacks the question of why, especially in America, are we so intent on being someone else, where is the benefit in illusion, what is art, and where are we going. Along with this the author has created a killer and his accomplices so diabolical and sociopathic and tied and knotted them to art in such a clever way that future villains may be defined as Bogner-esque in scope. When the book finally and fittingly ends, it ends with exploding revelation in Venice, California. Today, standing on the Venice Boardwalk in front of the Small World Bookstore, both of which front the frequently polluted Pacific Ocean, one can watch the unending parade of current American Culture before you in all its glory. One can only smile and nod one's head at the author's choice of a concluding locale. And one realizes that 'The Deadliest Art' has presented us with a slice of American culture presented as a reflection of ourselves. Whether we want to or not. If one has read 'From Dawn To Decadence' by Jacques Barzun, that giant tome, or Morris Berman's, 'The Twilight Of American Culture', or watched 95% of recent American movies or television, one cannot help but see the undercurrents in 'The Deadliest Art.' The author has succeeded again in giving us not only a compelling mystery but a compelling novel. More important, he has asked tough questions. If you read one book, you'll want to read the other.

This entire series is powerful. The first historical fiction series I have read and I am HOOKED!

In this sequel, we see our hero, Claes or Nicholas, thrown into the complex situation in the middle east. Will the Sultan take over Trebizond where he has been sent as consul for Florence? If anyone can find succes in such a venture, Nicholas is the person, and he does. He succeeds not only in his trading, he saves his people from the Turks and also his step-daughter, Catherine.

Once again, the author has written a masterpiece. We are thrown from Florence to the middle east with all its complexities, but all the time we are rooting for our hero and he makes us proud!

And to think I still have more books to enjoy! I can't wait...

Reading this book is like taking a magic carpet to a mystical place. Ms. Dunnett has the knack of taking her readers to whatever era and place in the world she chooses. In this book our Niccolo has matured somewhat but he still has some hard lessons to learn about how lonely it is to be a leader. He also has to learn that a true leader leads without his employees or friends knowing that that is what he's doing. In fact, these books of Niccolo could be used for demonstrating leadership. I'm surprised that no corporate videos have been made from them. This is a good book even though Niccolo fails to fascinate as much as Lymond does, but I don't think there ever can be another Lymond. I don't find the characters as likeable in this series for one, and Catherine is certainly no Philippa (at least not yet), but there is high adventure, intrigue and enough court gossip to keep anyone interested in the politics of the 15 century.

My mother's baby brother was killed in the Pacific in WW II. It devastated the family. Until I read 'A Soldier's Armagedon" his service overseas was just a vague visualization. This book made the war all real to me because I suddenly realized that all battlefield soldiers are about the same with their variations. Now I know how my uncle felt--fear, anger, humor, and everyday living in a war zone.

As the son of the author, I was exposed to the contents of this book all my life. They were presented to me in such a way that they had a positive effect on my upbringing and there were many valuable lessons which helped me while serving as an officer in the U.S. Army.

When I was handed James B. Simms' book about his war-time experiences, I thought "Oh,my. I'll be polite and I'll read a chapter or two, but I know I won't be very interested in a book about WWII." When I began reading, I didn't put the book down until I'd read every page. Simms has a writing style that is conversational and almost poetic. His depictions of battle are graphic and moving, while his descriptions of people he met and places he went are incredibly vivid. This isn't just a man's book; it can be read and appreciated by everyone. This is a piece of history that needed to be written. I'm so happy I have had the opportunity to read it and learn from it.

I just finished reading this in the paperback version and felt the characters and plot were very well developed. It's hard to believe the Davenports' mother was as uncaring as she was portrayed, but I've met a similar type. The up and down romance between Judith and Marcus was very poignant. Enjoy!

This story is so ingrossing I didn't want to put it down. Love, suspense, strong characters. A brother and sister that are a fabulous pair. There aren't many of Ms Feather's books that don't hold my interest till the end. Two of her books I found on auction, as I did this one, and both times someone cut out the insert art done by Pino Dangelico. Not fair, his work is beautiful. I definitely recommend this great book

This was a great book - the heroine was complex and unpredictable, the hero was passionate and loving, but determined not to be made into a fool. The tension-filled love scenes were memorable. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book was the close relationship that the heroine has with her brother - unusual in a romance novel. Who will win the battle for Judith's loyalty - her passionate lover or her beloved brother, who cannot regain his stolen estate and title without his sister's help?

The Guns of Victory is a fascinating account of what it was like to be an artillery officer for the Canadian army during some of the heaviest fighting of the second World War.

Blackburn is not a full "grunt", he is an officer. But he is on the front lines, and by war's end, he has become the longest-serving artillery officer on the front lines. That is a rather dubious honor as Blackburn learns that an informal betting pool has been established on when he would be either wounded or killed.

This is the third book in Blackburn's trilogy, Where The Hell Are The Guns and The Guns of Normandy being the first two. As in the others, you get a wonderful picture of the emotions of serving in the war, the fears, joys and hardships. There are some things that happen in a war that are simply weird and Blackburn reports them as well.

This would be a 5-star review, but the book fails in providing enough pictures. The two or three maps included are woefully inadequate. Plus the book does a poor job of explaining the various companies, troops etc. Perhaps they were explained in other parts of the trilogy, but a glossary is badly needed.

A companion CD-ROM would have helped greatly in showing more of the faces, sites and campaigns of the war.

The third of Blackburns' stunning wartime trilogy sees out the end of the war in Europe. He continues to refer to himself as 'you' throughout the book, which at first is a little strange, but quickly becomes transparent.

Taking the three books together, the reader is left with a very good comprehension of the techniques of battle of the artillery, and to a lesser degree the infantry they supported, during the campaign in NWE in '44 and '45.

In addition to the technical detail, the human side that Blackburn injects into his books left me grief striken on more than one occasion. The sense of relentless, dogged courage in the face of seeming futility shown by the infantry he was supporting, and the feeling of dread as one by one his friends were killed an wounded, makes for powerful reading.

I can't speak highly enough of this trilogy - if you have an interest in the Canadian or the Commonwealth forces in WWII, or in very candid personal wartime stories I would commend this book to you.

The Canadians have driven the opposing German forces into the Falaise Pocket, where they were destroyed, and they have secured their sector of France. This we read about in "The Guns of Normandy" by Blackburn (which I reviewed).

Even though in this book we move to new battlefields, I wondered what more George Blackburn could have to say about his war. Plenty, I discovered. He was a young newspaper reporter when he enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1939. He never stopped thinking like a reporter, always somehow managed to take notes, and preserve them. We are fortunate he lived through his battlefield experiences, are more fortunate still that he wrote of them with such brilliant detail. He reveals over and over a truly human mixture of compassion - Gunner Hardtack was a hen that miraculously survived the destruction of a farm to be adopted by B Troop as a mascot -- and detachment - what can you do for the thousands of dead all around you, all the time?

Captain Blackburn, commander of Able Troop, 2nd Battery, 4th Field Battalion, spends much of his combat time as a Forward Observation Officer, or FOO. So they can to accurately call down fire from a 4-gun troop, a 24-gun regiment, the 72 guns of the division, or even the 216 guns of 2nd Canadian Corps, FOOs lived at the front. When the action is the hottest, FOOs must be at the front of the front to order artillery fire precisely where it is needed. A FOO is often observing from a place where he can be spotted, or deduced to be there through common sense by those being shelled. The Canadians lost a lot of FOOs.

An incident in the book: Blackburn is FOOing from a towering windmill in Groesbeek, The Netherlands. It is a commodious structure, high and offering a broad view of the front from the fan window. Footsteps on the stairs, and a Canadian general appears. Blackburn diplomatically keeps shooing him back from the fan window to keep him from being visible to some German peering through binocs. Another general joins them. The two comment on such a fine observation post, an OP without peer in Groesbeek, and wonder why Fritz has left it alone. Blackburn offers the opinion that the Germans must believe that no one in his right mind would dare occupy such an obvious OP. Ahem, yes, and the generals depart.

"The Guns of Victory" takes up where "The Guns of Normandy" left off, and we're in furious combat most of the time. That courageous and enterprising Commander of D-Company, Major Bob Suckling, repeatedly earns our admiration: In one of many of his hair-raising escapades his infantry company is under a furious counter attack, and via field phone he's calling down fire dangerously close to his own position. "Can you bring your shells a bit closer?" he asks the battery commander. Another heavy barrage of 120 rounds of 25-pounders and Suckling reports, "You're right on." Then there is silence from his end, a long and ominous silence. Did we shell Suckling? the fire controller wonders. Further calls fail to draw any response until Suckling's drawl comes over the line to report, "The Heinies seem to have pulled back." The Gunners would learn later that a German had poked his head in the door of Suckling's OP house. After taking time out to pistol the enemy soldier Suckling came back on the air. So many of the soldiers and officers I had come to like got killed along the way. I worried that every next page might report that Suckling "got it" until the end of the book. Thank goodness there was no such report.

This is a splendid narrative, one that would make a fine novelist proud.

The book has some good photos, a fine index. Footnotes appear on the relevant pages, not as endnotes that require endless flipping back and forth.

This book has all of the interesting aspects of the previous two, such as politics and fighting, plus there is more romance though still not quite enough. I am disappointed in that even after reading the first three books of the series I still don't feel like I know the main character. The only other complaint I have is the lack of explanation as to how Niccolo has survived all of his injures without the least problem. Perhaps there is some magic involved? Even with today's medicine, someone with Niccolo's injures would at least have some trouble with their arms or legs. The story is none-the-less quite engaging especially in seeing how Niccolo gets out of all his difficulties.

On this, the third chapter in the Niccolo series, we fin Nicholas has been "kidnapped" by the 'presumptuous' King of Cyprus who is actually trying to recover his kingdom from his sister.

Nicholas is able to help the king and at the same time obtain franchises in his dye works and sugar fields. He meets with Katelina, the mother of his only child, only to lose her once more after they reconcile. Finally, once the island is secure to King Zacco, Nicholas is allowed to return to Venice, where he faces once more his rival family, the de St Pol and Riberac.

In this chapter of the story the author makes great use of description in her scenes and they are so vivid! the characters, the settings everything is so masterfully blended with reality and fiction.

I loved this book and I have already started the fourth chapter. Good!

Dorothy Dunnett never disappoints her faithful readers. This, third in the Niccolo series is a wonderful book that depicts the unsettledness of the Island of Cyprus. We learn that this tempestuous island has always been an important one because of its strategic location. I enjoyed this book, because we actually got to see some of the mask come off Nicolo in his encounter with his Katelina. In true Dunnett fashion, this encounter did not take place in a private and safe bedchamber, but in a place where nature abounded, as well as danger. The history that we find out in this book is also equally interesting and true to what actually happened. This is certainly another great series.