Since translating a French military citation for a friend, I’ve been on a bit of a World War I jag. Both of my grandfathers served in the American military during the Great War. Yet, luckily for me, neither served as soldiers. One worked in a Washington bureau; the other drove…
There was a time in my life when I thought I hated history. My irritation with the subject developed in high school. History classes were taught by athletic coaches, most of whom didn’t seem particularly interested in the subject matter and I found our textbooks to be completely devoid of…
Since it’s “Nonfiction November” I thought I’d spend some time reviewing my favorite nonfiction reads from this year. I’d say that on the whole, 2022 has been a better-than-usual year for nonfiction—basing that statement on nothing other than my personal experience. I feel like this year I broke through a…
Several years ago, a friend dropped off a book for me to read. Translated from the original French and titled The Memoirs of a Breton Peasant, it sat on a shelf for many months before I finally cracked the cover, but I’m glad I did. I’ve read myriad memoirs and…
This summer I’m featuring a few guest posts from fellow francophile bloggers. Below you’ll find an interview that centers on the remarkable life of the Marquis de La Fayette. Known in the United States as Lafayette, the young French marquis played a pivotal role in helping America defeat the British…
I love to cook and I love French bandes dessinées, so when I learned that the comic author and artist, Christophe Blain, had written a book about one of France’s top chefs, I wanted to check it out. Published by Gallimard in 2011, En cuisine avec Alain Passard is the…
On May 18, 1922, one of Paris’ grandest hotels was the site of a legendary dinner party. Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, James Joyce, and Marcel Proust, were among the attendees. The evening is featured in a book, titled Proust at the Majestic: The Last Days of the Author…
In the fall of 2011, I signed up for a French literature course at Eastern Michigan University. I loved the class and am indebted to our professor, Benjamin Palmer, who improved my understanding of great literature and its relationship to history. I enthusiastically enrolled in a second semester that winter…
