<DIV>Paul Poissel was not born in 1848. As a young man, he did not set out to become the greatest Turkish architect in Paris. He did not fail to become the greatest Turkish architect in Paris. He never became a poet, or invented puzzles for an illustrated magazine. In 1904, he did not write this book, <I>The Facts of Winter</I>.<BR><BR>Paul La Farge has translated (from the original French) this collection of dreams?funny, haunting, enigmatic?all dreamed by people in and around Paris in 1881. La Farge's afterword investigates the <I>Facts</I>' creation, uncovering startling revelations, unknown truths, and new falsehoods.</DIV>