Fighting insurgents has always been one of the greatest challenges for regular armed forces during the 20th century. The war between the Germans & the French resistance also called FFI (Forces Franaises d Interieur) during World War II has remained a near-forgotten chapter in the history of these Small Wars. This is all the more astonishing as agencies like the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) & the American OSS (Office of Strategic Services) pumped a good amount of their resources into the support of the French resistance movement. By diversionary attacks on German forces in the occupied hinterland the Allies hoped the FFI could provide assistance in disrupting German supply lines as well as crumbling their morale. The mountain plateau of the Vercors south-west of Grenoble was the main stronghold of the FFI & in July 1944 some 8 000 German soldiers mounted an operation on the plateau & destroyed the insurgent groups there. The battle of the Vercors was the largest operation against the FFI during World War II & the Germans suit & crushing victory has caused traumatic memories for the French that persist to the present day. ...

The 35 paintings that have come down to us from the hand of Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) place him beside Rembrandt & Frans Hals as one of the great masters of the golden age of Dutch art. Most of his pictures all of which are reproduced in this text show women about their daily business. Vermeer records the tasks & duties of women the imperatives of virtue under which their lives were lived & the dreams that provided the substance of their contrasting counter-world. ...

Vermeer's Hat" offers us a rich new understanding both of Vermeer's paintings & of the era they portray. ' Effortless & compelling Brooks is a wonderful storyteller. I doubt I will read a better book this year'
- " Sunday Telegraph". In one painting a Dutch military officer leans toward a laughing girl. In another a woman at a window weighs pieces of silver. In a third fruit spills from a porcelain bowl onto a Turkish carpet. The officer's dashing hat is made from beaver fur which European explorers got from Native Americans in exchange for weapons. Beaver pelts in turn financed the voyages of sailors seeking new routes to China. There
- with silver mined in Peru
- Europeans would purchase by the thousands the porcelains so often shown in Dutch paintings of this time. Vermeer's haunting images hint at the stories behind these exquisitely rendered moments. As Timothy Brook shows us in " Vermeer's Hat" these pictures which seem so intimate actually open doors onto a rapidly expanding world."


...

Vermilion Sands is a fully automated desert-resort designed to fulfil the most exotic whims of the idle rich but now languishes in uneasy decay populated only by forgotten movie queens solitary impresarios & the remittance men of the artistic & literary world. It is a lair for beachcombers hangers-on & malignant obsessions
- a place where sensitive pigments paint portraits of their mistresses in a grotesque parody of art; where prima donna plants are programmed to sing operatic arias; where dial-a-poem computers have replaced poets; where psychosensitive houses are driven to murder by their owners' neuroses; & where love & lust in the hands of jewel-eyed Jezebels pall before the stronger pull of evil.
...

Fifteen-year-old Vernon Gregory Little is in trouble & it has something to do with the recent massacre of 16 students at his high school. Soon the quirky backwater of Martirio barbecue capital of Texas is flooded with wannabe CNN hacks eager for a scapegoat. ...

Footprintfocus Verona & Lake Garda is the only dedicated guide available covering this popular Italian destination. Features an Essentials section with practical tips to help plan a trip detailed information on attractions & comprehensive listings of where to eat sleep & have fun. * Essentials section with tips on getting there & around * Up-to-date recommendations of great places to stay & eat * Highlights map of the region plus detailed street maps where relevant * Slim enough to fit in a pocket Loaded with advice & information on how to get around this concise Footprintfocus guide will help travellers get the most out of Verona & Lake Garda without weighing them down. The content of the Footprintfocus Verona & Lake Garda guide has been extracted from Footprint's Italian Lakes guide. ...

The new novel from internationally acclaimed author Paulo Coelho
- a dramatic story of love life & death that shows us all why
...

This follow-up to the hugely popular Louvre showcases another of Frances most treasured landmarks in its signature format offering fresh analysis & compelling visuals. One of the worlds most spectacular opulent relics of royal wealth & power the Chateau de Versailles boasts a fascinating tumultuous history. Starting with its metamorphosis from humble hunting lodge to luxurious palace by Louis XIV in 1661 then fast-forwarding to the extravagant additions of Louis XIV & Marie Antoinette to the dismantling of its collections during the French Revolution & finally to its restoration & status today as a grand reception hall for foreign heads of state. The book begins by introducing the sites vibrant history & the colourful figures that resided there. Subsequently Versailles explores the singular Chateau offering a photographic tour of the many artistic & architectural treasures of the palace. ...

Git permits practically an infinite variety of methods for development & collaboration but its flexibility also means that some users dont understand how to use it to best advantage. This book offers tutorials on ways to use it as well as friendly yet rigorous advice to help you navigate Gits many functions. In step by step fashion youll learn how to track branch merge & manage code revisions with Git. The second edition has been thoroughly revised with extended coverage of the reflog & stash tips for tree munging & tips for using the Github repository. Learn how to use Git in several real-world development environments Gain insight into Gits common-use cases initial tasks & basic functions Understand how to use Git for both centralized & distributed version control Use Git to manage patches diffs merges & conflicts Acquire advanced techniques such as rebasing hooks & ways to handle submodules (subprojects) Learn how to use Git with Subversion Git has earned the respect of developers around the world. Find out how you can benefit from this amazing tool with Version Control with Git. ...

The disappearance of Richey Edwards troubled guitarist with the Manic Street Preachers is one of rock & rolls great unresolved mysteries. His Vauxhall Cavalier was found abandoned in a service station car park near the Severn Bridge a notorious suicide spot in February 1995 a fortnight after Edwards had last been seen. The location of the car & the tape left in the deck
- Nirvanas album In Utero
- tended to point to one conclusion. However it almost seemed too obvious a statement & in A VERSION OF REASON Rob Jovanovic unravels the complicated life & final days of Richey Edwards. Piecing together testimony from those close to Edwards Jovanovic seeks to produce an authoritative account of the life & times of Richey Edwards.

...