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  French Armoured Cruisers 1887–1932

  John Jordan, Philippe Caresse

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  “Offers a fascinating look at the French Navy during the years leading up to World War I . . . an excellent addition to any naval library.” —Naval Historical Foundation 
   
  Of all the threats faced by the Royal Navy during the first years of the twentieth century, the one which stood out was the risk to Britain’s sea lines of communication posed by France’s armoured cruisers. Fast, well-armed and well-protected, these ships could have evaded any attempted blockade of the French ports and, supported by a worldwide network of overseas bases, could potentially have caused havoc on the trade routes. Between 1898 and 1901 the French laid down thirteen ships, and completed nine in 1903–4 alone. 
   
  This book has as its subject the French armoured cruisers built from the late 1880s until shortly before the outbreak of the Great War, beginning with the revolutionary Dupuy-de-Lôme, the world’s first modern armoured cruiser, and ending with the impressive six-funnelled Edgar Quinet and Waldeck-Rousseau. The primary focus of the book is on the technical characteristics of the ships. Detailed and labelled drawings based on the official plans are provided by John Jordan, and each individual class of ship is illustrated by photographs from the extensive personal collection of Philippe Caresse. The technical section is followed by a history in two parts, covering the Great War (1914–18) and the postwar years, during which the surviving ships saw extensive deployment as “station” cruisers overseas and as training ships. This is the most comprehensive account published in English or in French, and is destined be the standard reference for many years to come. 
   
  “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.” —War History Online

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  Renoir

  Nathalia Brodskaya

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  Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges on 25 February 1841. In 1854, the boy’s parents took him from school and found a place for him in the Lévy brothers’ workshop, where he was to learn to paint porcelain. Renoir’s younger brother Edmond had this to say this about the move: “From what he drew in charcoal on the walls, they concluded that he had the ability for an artist’s profession. That was how our parents came to put him to learn the trade of porcelain painter.” One of the Lévys’ workers, Emile Laporte, painted in oils in his spare time. He suggested Renoir makes use of his canvases and paints. This offer resulted in the appearance of the first painting by the future impressionist. In 1862 Renoir passed the examinations and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and, simultaneously, one of the independent studios, where instruction was given by Charles Gleyre, a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The second, perhaps even the first, great event of this period in Renoir’s life was his meeting, in Gleyre’s studio, with those who were to become his best friends for the rest of his days and who shared his ideas about art. Much later, when he was already a mature artist, Renoir had the opportunity to see works by Rembrandt in Holland, Velázquez, Goya and El Greco in Spain, and Raphael in Italy. However, Renoir lived and breathed ideas of a new kind of art. He always found his inspirations in the Louvre. “For me, in the Gleyre era, the Louvre was Delacroix,” he confessed to Jean. For Renoir, the First Impressionist Exhibition was the moment his vision of art and the artist was affirmed. This period in Renoir’s life was marked by one further significant event. In 1873 he moved to Montmartre, to the house at 35 Rue Saint-Georges, where he lived until 1884. Renoir remained loyal to Montmartre for the rest of his life. Here he found his “plein-air” subjects, his models and even his family. It was in the 1870s that Renoir acquired the friends who would stay with him for the remainder of his days. One of them was the art-dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who began to buy his paintings in 1872. In summer, Renoir continued to paint a great deal outdoors together with Monet. He would travel out to Argenteuil, where Monet rented a house for his family. Edouard Manet sometimes worked with them too. In 1877, at the Third Impressionist Exhibition, Renoir presented a panorama of over twenty paintings. They included landscapes created in Paris, on the Seine, outside the city and in Claude Monet’s garden; studies of women’s heads and bouquets of flowers; portraits of Sisley, the actress Jeanne Samary, the writer Alphonse Daudet and the politician Spuller; and also The Swing and The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette. Finally, in the 1880s Renoir hit a “winning streak”. He was commissioned by rich financiers, the owner of the Grands Magasins du Louvre and Senator Goujon. His paintings were exhibited in London and Brussels, as well as at the Seventh International Exhibition held at Georges Petit’s in Paris in 1886. In a letter to Durand-Ruel, then in New York, Renoir wrote: “The Petit exhibition has opened and is not doing badly, so they say. After all, it’s so hard to judge about yourself. I think I have managed to take a step forward towards public respect. A small step, but even that is something.”

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  Small Bungalows

  Christian Gladu

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  Small Bungalows is a compact guide to getting started on building a new  Arts and Crafts home that fits today's modern lifestyle-all under 1,800  square feet. Author Christian Gladu shares valuable information on  choosing a plot of land, following green building principles, staying  true to the principles of Arts and Crafts style, plus incorporating  modern necessities into this classic home style. Also included are  photographs, illustrations, and home plans to get you started; plus a  comprehensive resource section that makes it easy to gather the right  information.

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  The Little Book of Bob - Life...

  James Bowen

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  The audiobook from James and street cat Bob."One thing I've known about Bob from the very beginning is that he possesses a wisdom that is unusual, even in cats. In the decade since we met, he's grown even wiser in my eyes. This book is a collection of the insights I've gained during my years with Bob."In the spring of 2007, busker James Bowen came across an injured ginger tom cat in the hallway of his shelter in north London. What he didn't know was that this would be the start of a friendship that would turn both their lives around, and lead to A Street Cat Named Bob, the international best seller that tells the story of their friendship.The Little Book of Bob is a collection of the wisdom James has learnt from Bob throughout the years, as they go through thick and thin together. From the power of friendship to staying calm and finding the joys in a simple life, let Bob be your guide on how to navigate the ins and outs of life like a wise street cat.

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  Big Wonderful - Notes From Wyoming

  Kevin Holdsworth

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  What begins with simple observations from a Utah transplant to Wyoming becomes an ode to family and place, and perhaps an elegy for it all.” —Jeffe Kennedy, author of Wyoming Trucks, True Love, and the Weather ChannelIn this unconventional memoir, Kevin Holdsworth vividly portrays life in remote, unpredictable country and ruminates on the guts—or foolishness—it takes to put down roots and raise a family in a merciless environment.Growing up in Utah, Holdsworth couldn’t wait to move away. Once ensconced on the East Coast, however, he found himself writing westerns and dreaming of the mountains he’d skied and climbed. Fed up with city life, he moved to a small Wyoming town.In Big Wonderful, he writes of a mountaineering companion’s death, the difficult birth of his son, and his father’s terminal illness—encounters with mortality that sharpened his ideas about risk, care, and commitment. He puts a new spin on mountaineering literature, telling wild tales from his reunion with the mountains but also relating the surprising willpower it took to turn back from risks he would have taken before he became a father. He found he needed courage to protect and engage deeply with his family, his community, and the wild places he loves.Holdsworth’s essays and poems are rich with anecdotes, characters, and vivid images. Readers will feel as if they themselves watched a bear destroy an entire expedition’s food, walked with his great-great-grandmother along the icy Mormon Trail, and tried to plant a garden in Wyoming’s infamous wind.Readers who love the outdoors will eagerly partake, as “Holdsworth invites us to sit down at his literary campfire and listen to vivid, unforgettable stories” (High Country News).

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  HowExpert Guide to Ephemera...

  HowExpert, Charlotte Hopkins

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  Ephemera items include everything made from paper. At its start, ephemera products were not created to last long. They were never meant to be saved and were usually thrown away immediately after being used. However, savvy collectors and people with sentimental views recognized the importance of these paper treasures and started preserving them for the future. Ephemera has such a wide variety of collectible pieces that you can start anywhere with any sized budget. 
  HowExpert Guide to Ephemera Collectibles is filled with what you need to know to start and grow your ephemera collection. There is a wide variety of ephemera to collect, and this book covers them all. Learn the many avenues to buying and selling ephemera and how to age these items to avoid those replicas popping up in shops and estate sales. This book goes even more in-depth and shows how to properly preserve and store the different types of ephemera, along with ideas for meeting fellow collectors and celebrating the history and beginnings of the many styles of ephemera. Going down the road of ephemera collecting, you will find an exciting hobby that will last a lifetime. We are leading the way with the tips inside this comprehensive, structured, and step by step guide. 
  About the Author 
  Charlotte Hopkins is a freelance writer from Pennsylvania. She is an author of nine books, including her children’s books, featuring Pixie Trist and Bo, and her “365 Days” series. She wrote the book, From the Dark Tunnel, about surviving child abuse, under the pen name Tori Kannyn. She was also published in Shadows & Light Anthology, Authors for Haiti, and three times in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She has released a line of journals and logbooks under “Kannyn Books.” She is also an avid collector of several items. Her first collection was keychains. 
  HowExpert publishes how to guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.

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