Now the race is down to two candidates, will this type of tub thumping give way to a more reasoned debate about whether France can still afford its way of life?

BBC: Nationalism looks set to remain on trend in France

By recommending that children be introduced to reading by means of some "easy pleasant book, " Locke pointed the way for the creation by England's John Newbery two generations later of a new type of illustrated children's book in which, unrepentantly, amusement shared pride of place with instruction as the publisher's stated goal.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Minders of Make-Believe'

Peer past the stuffed bongo (a type of antelope, apparently) making its way through fake vegetation and you'll see two huge skulls on a coffee table.

BBC: Jack White's meaningful style