The New York Times Book Review – December 3, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (December 3, 2023): This week features the Holiday Books issue that lands with a thump, a 56-page behemoth crammed with reviews, coffee-table book spreads, recommendations from our genre columnists, a children’s book gift guide and our 100 Notables list. 

100 Notable Books of 2023

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Each year, we pore over thousands of new books, seeking out the best novels, memoirs, biographies, poetry collections, stories and more. Here are the standouts, selected by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

How a Good Book Became the ‘Richest’ of Holiday Gifts

As Christmas came to be celebrated in the home, choosing the right volume was a way to show intimate understanding of the person opening the package.

By Jennifer Harlan

As long as people have been buying gifts for the holidays, they have been buying books. Books offer infinite variety, are easily wrapped, can be personalized for the recipient and displayed as a signifier of one’s own identity. They are, in many respects, the quintessential Christmas — or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or other December celebration — gift.

CULTURE: FRANCE-AMÉRIQUE MAGAZINE – DECEMBER 2023

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France-Amérique Magazine – December 1, 2023 –  The new issue features the foundations that are keeping the French-American friendship alive, from New Orleans to Washington D.C. to Paris, and pay a visit to the newly renovated Cartier Mansion – the Fifth Avenue palace where Pierre Cartier mingled with celebrities, titans of industry, and U.S. presidents. Also in this issue, read about the success of Rémy Martin in America as the iconic Cognac house is turning 300, and discover why, since the pandemic, so many Americans are putting up the “For Sale” sign and hopping on a plane to Paris, Lyon, or Marseille!

AU REVOIR, AMERICA

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side of the Atlantic?

For ideological, financial, or health care reasons, more and more Americans are moving to France (12,200 first-time residence granted in 2022, up 9,214 on 2021). But la vie is not always en rose.

By Anthony Bulger

RÉMY MARTIN

A French-American Heritage

Three hundred years after it was founded, the Cognac house renowned for its flagship Louis XIII sells half its bottles in America while continuing to uphold its tradition of excellence.

By Benoît Georges

THE FOUNDATIONS – of French-American Friendship

From Washington D.C. to New York City and from New Orleans to Paris, many philanthropic organizations continue to nurture the bonds connecting France and the United States through history, politics, economics, language, and culture.

By Roland Flamini

PIERRE CARTIER – The Man Who Made Jewelry for American Presidents

In the early 20th century, the three grandsons of the founder of Cartier were busy building their family name. Louis was in Paris, Jacques in London, and Pierre in New York City. To sell his jewelry in the United States, the latter sibling mingled with celebrities, titans of industry, and presidents, and created a network of alliances.

By Diane de Vignemont

News: Israel Resumes Full Combat Operations In Gaza, COP 28 Climate Deal

The Globalist Podcast (December 1, 2023) – After three people were shot by Hamas in Jerusalem, we discuss the latest from the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East. Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi examines how an agreement on a key climate deal was reached on the first day of Cop 28.

Plus: The EU announces new Slapp protections, the latest film news and a look at who topped ArtReview’s Power 100 list.

The New York Times — Friday, December 1, 2023

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Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago

Hamas-led gunmen seized an Israeli military vehicle after infiltrating areas of southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks. A blueprint for similar attacks was circulating among Israeli leaders long before Hamas struck.

A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignored specific warnings.

Hostages Freed From Gaza Recount Violence, Hunger and Fear

Hostages who have returned to Israel in the past week have come home malnourished, ill, injured and bearing psychological wounds.

Airlines Race Toward a Future of Powering Their Jets With Corn

Carriers want to replace jet fuel with ethanol to fight global warming. That would require lots of corn, and lots of water.

Biden Administration to Require Replacing of Lead Pipes Within 10 Years

The proposal to rip out nine million pipes across the country could cost as much as $30 billion but would nearly eliminate the neurotoxin from drinking water.