Page 318 "...and plucked from a small pile of books...Malraux's History of France"

From page 318 of the book:  He's reading Ebert's book, I thought, and I slumped onto my bed, and plucked from a small pile of books on my window sill Malraux's History of France. My eyes glued themselves to a chapter on Louis XIV, and how "The Monarchy's Greatness Prepared the Way for Its Downfall," and Owen's eyes were glued to a small section of Ebert's The Journal of Josef S.
Note:  In this excerpt, there is a typo.  It is not Andre Malraux's History of France, but A History of France by Andre Maurois, published in 1948.  Sometimes the typist in me segments from the writer.  I apologize for the mistake. --M.Z.

"If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.” [A.M.]

Andre Maurois