James Gardner – författare

Almost nine million people from all over the world flock to the Louvre in Paris every year to see its incomparable art collection. Yet few, if any, are aware of the remarkable history of that location and of the buildings themselves, and how they chronicle the history of Paris itself-a fascinating story that historian James Gardner elegantly tells for the first time.Before the Louvre was a museum, it was a palace, and before that a fortress. But much earlier still, it was a place called le Louvre for reasons unknown. People had inhabited that spot for more than 6,000 years before King Philippe Auguste of France constructed a fortress there in 1191 to protect against English soldiers stationed in Normandy. Two centuries later, Charles V converted the fortress to one of his numerous royal palaces. After Louis XIV moved the royal residence to Versailles in 1682, the Louvre inherited the royal art collection, which then included the Mona Lisa, given to Francis by Leonardo da Vinci; just over a century later, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly established the Louvre as a museum to display the nation's treasures. Subsequent leaders of France, from Napoleon to Napoleon III to Francois Mitterand, put their stamp on the museum, expanding it into the extraordinary institution it has become.With expert detail and keen admiration, James Gardner links the Louvre's past to its glorious present, and vibrantly portrays how it has been a witness to French history - through the Napoleonic era, the Commune, two World Wars, to this day - and home to a legendary collection whose diverse origins and back stories create a spectacular narrative that rivals the building's legendary stature.

Prime Time: The Game of Television is a role-playing simulation of America’s television business. This book is the players’ manual to that simulation. It provides the rules, facts, and procedures through which students assume the roles of producer, network executive, and advertiser. Over the course of a semester, students live the history of television, beginning in a three network over-the-air broadcast environment and ending in a digital world where viewers can watch programming from multiple sources, with diverse forms of financial support, using a variety of different devices.Prime Time is organized into three seasons corresponding with the evolution of the medium. Season One, “The Broadcast Era,” introduces student-players to the essential roles that comprise network television including executives and producers, the judicial system, advertisers, and viewers. It also addresses program content standards, as well as finances.Season Two, “The Cable Era,” broadens students’ understanding of television to include cable networks, satellite and cable distributors, Independent Service Corporations and the Public Broadcasting System. Advertising demographics and ratings generated in the game become keys to programming strategy. Season Three, “The Digital Era,” brings the game into today’s multi-screen environment and includes player Awards of Merit and grading.Through the course, students develop a first-hand understanding of television as a multi-billion dollar industry subject to powerful outside pressures as well as internal competition.Prime Time: The Game of Television offers an active, creative, hands-on learning experience for students of media, television, and communications.