Marjorie Williams knew Washington from top to bottom. Beloved for her sharp analysis, elegant prose and exceptional ability to intuit character, Williams wrote political profiles for the Washington Post and Vanity Fair that came to be considered the final word on the capital's most powerful figures. Her accounts of playing ping-pong with Richard Darman, of Barbara Bush's stepmother quaking with fear at the mere thought of angering the First Lady, and of Bill Clinton angrily telling Al Gore why he failed to win the presidency — to name just three treasures collected here — open a window on a seldom-glimpsed human reality behind Washington's determinedly blank façade. Williams also penned a weekly column for the Post's op-ed page and epistolary book reviews for the online magazine Slate. Her essays for these and other publications tackled subjects ranging from politics to parenthood. During the last years of her life, she wrote about her own mortality as she battled liver cancer, using this harrowing experience to illuminate larger points about the nature of power and the randomness of life. Marjorie Williams was a woman in a man's town, an outsider reporting on the political elite. She was, like the narrator in Randall Jarrell's classic poem, "The Woman at the Washington Zoo," an observer of a strange and exotic culture. This splendid collection — at once insightful, funny and sad — digs into the psyche of the nation's capital, revealing not only the hidden selves of the people that run it, but the messy lives that the rest of us lead.

In 2005, The Woman at the Washington Zoo was published to major critical acclaim. The late Marjorie Williams possessed "a special voice, one capable not just of canny political observations but of tenderness and bracing intimacy," observed the New York Times Book Review. Now, in a collection of profiles with the richness of short fiction, Williams limns the personalities that dominated politics and the media during the final years of the twentieth century. In these pages, Clark Clifford grieves "in his laborious baritone" a bank scandal's blow to his re-pu-taaaaaay-shun. Lee Atwater likens himself to Ulysses and pleads, "Tah me to the mast!" Patricia Duff sheds "precipitous tears" over her divorce from Ronald Perelman, resembling afterwards "a garden refreshed by spring rain." Reputation illuminates our recent past through expertly drawn portraits of powerful -- and messily human -- figures.

In 2005, The Woman at the Washington Zoo was published to major critical acclaim. The late Marjorie Williams possessed a special voice, one capable not just of canny political observations but of tenderness and bracing intimacy, observed the New York Times Book Review. Now, in a collection of profiles with the richness of short fiction, Williams limns the personalities that dominated politics and the media during the final years of the twentieth century. In these pages, Clark Clifford grieves in his laborious baritone a bank scandal's blow to his re-pu-taaaaaay-shun. Lee Atwater likens himself to Ulysses and pleads, Tah me to the mast! Patricia Duff sheds precipitous tears over her divorce from Ronald Perelman, resembling afterwards a garden refreshed by spring rain. Reputation illuminates our recent past through expertly drawn portraits of powerful - and messily human - figures.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has accumulated one of the premier collections of Japanese art in the West, and this publication brings together its best examples of Japanese art.

“Another gem for the Francophile traveler: a guide to Provençal markets that’s comprehensive, carefully researched, and a pleasure to read.” —Clotilde Dusoulier, author The French Market Cookbook Provence, France, is justly famous for its dazzling light, vibrant colors, rich history, and flavorful foods and wines. And its markets have been the beating heart of Provençal life since the Middle Ages. In Markets of Provence, Marjorie R. Williams whisks you away to 30 of the best. This pocketable guide, complete with detailed maps and organized by days of the week, gives you all the information you need for your visit to this Mediterranean region. Included are: indispensable advice on timing, navigation, negotiation and payment; tips on etiquette while surveying vendors’ produce; and even some French language lessons to help you brush up on your essential français. Complete with restaurant recommendations and other useful tips, this book will help you get the most out of the experience. Supplemented with beautiful full-color photographs and color-coded maps, Markets of Provence is a must-have for every traveler. “Thorough, accurate and mouth-watering. Essential reading.” —Peter Mayle, bestselling author of A Year in Provence “A cracking, pocket-sized guide . . . full of flavours, advice and side-glances. She captures the relish brought to eating in a Provençal culture which segues seamlessly from spirituality to sensuality.” —The Telegraph “The French shopping bible—a day-by-day guide to the thirty best markets Provence has to offer.” —The French Revolution “Her tips on brocantes, local goat cheeses, vegetable vendors, and more had me dreaming of a sun-drenched vacation, straw basket slung over one arm.” —Ann Mah, bestselling author of Instantly French!