Books published by publisher Toronto: Popular Library

"Every Frenchman Has One" with its delightfully misleading title is a delightful look at French culture during Olivia de Havilland's lifetime. This is the uninhibited, delectable escapades of delicious Olivia, who fell in love with a Frenchman. Does the title refer to the legendary French mistress? A jaunty beret? A striped scarf? A massive...ego? The answer, of course, is a decided, "Non!" Instead, the British-born, American-raised actress refers to the foundation of all good health (according to the French anyway), the liver!(Never mind that every Frenchwoman has one as well, but that would make for a longer, perhaps unwieldy, title.) Written in the late 1950's, after Miss de Havilland moved to Paris and became Mrs. Pierre Galant, the book narrates her various "adventures" as she navigates her way through the thicket of French culture and tradition. There's the obligatory chapter on French fashion, the amusing chapter on her struggles learning how to "translate" Centigrade into Fahrenheit, and the delightful one describing how she fell happily into the French custom of reviving one's health at a spa on an annual basis. Short and written in a breezy manner, the chapters unfold in no particular order, but always adhere to the general theme of France as an interesting specimen to analyze. At times Miss de Havilland appears a bit bewildered, as if she had landed on an alien planet and was surrounded by incomprehensible creatures who are so different from what she'd known that her curiosity is tinged with a little fear. Exaggerated for effect, it remains as delightful as when it was written over 50 years ago. It's a quick read and a funny introduction into many of the things that make France unique. It holds special interest for those fascinated by what Paris was like at a particular point in history, a time when the greater world was enjoying a somewhat temporary peace and Paris still bore traces of its prewar glory.

history U.S.A. $14.95Canada $22.50This celebrated classic gives a soldier's-eye-view of the Guadalcanal battles--crucial to World War II, the war that continues to fascinate us all, and to military history in general. Unlike some of those on Guadalcanal in the fall of 1942, Richard Tregaskis volunteered to be there. An on-location news correspondent (at the time, one of only two on Guadalcanal), he lived alongside the soldiers: sleeping on the ground--only to be awoken by air raids--eating the sometimes meager rations, and braving some of the most dangerous battlefields of World War II. He more than once narrowly escaped the enemy's fire, and so we have this incisive and exciting inside account of the groundbreaking initial landing of U.S. troops on Guadalcanal. With a new Introduction by Mark Bowden--renowned journalist and author of Black Hawk Down--this edition of Guadalcanal Diary makes available once more one of the most important American works of the war.From the Trade Paperback edition.