Synopsis: This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Napoleon's Grande Armée, which, at its peak, numbered over a million soldiers. Elting explores its organization, command structure, logistics, weapons, tactics, discipline, recreation, and medical care. It traces the army's formation from Revolutionary France to its conquests across Europe and its defeat at Waterloo. Through soldiers' letters, eyewitness accounts, and firsthand details, readers are immersed in the experiences of both conscripts and generals in Napoleon's army.

Synopsis: This collection showcases the remarkable poetry of 20th-century France, a century shaped by war and liberation. Paul Auster curates a selection that reflects the profound impact of this era on modern poetry.

Synopsis: This volume presents two novels, six short stories, and a pair of essays by Albert Camus, a prominent thinker of the twentieth century. *The Plague* (1947) is a gripping tale of horror and resilience during a devastating epidemic. *The Fall* (1956) features a chilling confession by a French lawyer in an Amsterdam bar, exploring modern conscience in the face of evil. The six stories in *Exile and the Kingdom* (1957) showcase Camus’s narrative prowess, portraying characters at pivotal moments of revelation. Complementing the fiction, Camus’s essays “The Myth of Sisyphus” and “Reflections on the Guillotine” further highlight his philosophical insights.

Synopsis: Explore the extraordinary life of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the eighteenth-century literary figure who reshaped history. From his beginnings as a motherless child and failed apprentice to his emergence as a literary provocateur, Rousseau's impact on social and political thought is profound. Leo Damrosch examines Rousseau’s influential works—The Social Contract, Emile, and the Confessions—integrating them with the tumultuous life that inspired them. Through Rousseau’s own words and those of his contemporaries, Damrosch crafts a vivid portrait of a complex man who captivated and disturbed those around him. This biography offers a deep dive into Rousseau's singular experiences and the revolutionary ideas he introduced.

Synopsis: A Tomb for Anatole is a profoundly moving poetic work that explores a father's deep pain following the death of his child. Authored by the great French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé, the work consists of 202 fragments of a long poem he could never complete after the death of his son Anatole at the age of eight. This deeply personal reflection contrasts with Mallarmé's other poetry, which often sought to achieve a cooler, more abstract aesthetic. Unpublished in France until 1961, these fragments convey raw emotion and an unfiltered perspective on the sorrow of loss.

Synopsis: Eugene Ionesco, a key figure in absurdist theater, didn't write his first play, The Bald Soprano, until 1950. He became known for his innovative approach to modern drama, blending humor and tragedy in a way that highlights the complexities of the human experience. Ionesco believed that "Theater is not literature... It is simply what cannot be expressed by any other means."

Synopsis: Dans un univers complexe, six factions s'affrontent : la Pax, le Mercantilus, le Technocentre caché, les Extros, Énée et un joueur mystérieux. Malgré l'apparente diversité, le conflit, qui dure depuis des millénaires, recèle des secrets. Martin Silenus émerge d'une fugue cryogénique, rêvant de ses "Cantos" inachevés. Énée, avec Endymion, découvre l'amour tout en étant plongés dans un drame cosmique. L'enseignement d'Énée sur le Vide qui Lie attire des millions de disciples, mais la Pax conserve des atouts dans ce jeu d'intrigues.

Synopsis: The Rebel is a classic essay by Albert Camus that explores the theme of revolution as an essential aspect of human nature. Camus examines the Promethean struggle against existential conditions and the historical uprisings against established orders. He analyzes the inevitability of tyranny resulting from revolutions, using the French Revolution as a focal point. The work serves as a poignant voice of conscience for contemporary issues. Translated from the French by Anthony Bower.

Synopsis: "Memoirs of Hadrian" is an exploration of character and a reflection on the meaning of history. Marguerite Yourcenar reimagines the life of Emperor Hadrian, detailing his challenging boyhood, triumphs, and reversals. As emperor, he works to restore a war-torn world, using a prose style that combines imaginative insight with elegance and precision reminiscent of Latin stylists from Hadrian's era.

Synopsis: Inspired by Flaubert’s own youthful passion, *Sentimental Education* explores the amorous adventures of Frederic Moreau, a law student who becomes infatuated with the older Mme Arnoux upon returning to Normandy from Paris. As he befriends her husband, an influential businessman, the paths of Frederic and Mme Arnoux intertwine over the years, with her remaining the constant, unattainable love in his life. This novel blends romance, historical authenticity, and satire, showcasing the intricacies of love and society in nineteenth-century France.