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sophronisba's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I could not put this book down. The history of Paris is fascinating and I loved the clear writing and organization of the book.
sjgochenour's review against another edition
3.0
Lively and interesting, but the author’s conceit of Paris as an ever-changing woman would work better if he didn’t so clearly lack interest in and respect for women.
ETA: I feel like his handling of the Algerian war is weird enough to also merit a mention. I will not be consulting his work on the subject.
ETA: I feel like his handling of the Algerian war is weird enough to also merit a mention. I will not be consulting his work on the subject.
ericgaryanderson's review against another edition
Beguiling though beset by the occasional bad judgment. Ends with an inspired and nicely turned epilogue about Pere Lachaise cemetery that pulls the entire book together.
cmbohn's review against another edition
3.0
Themes: civilization, war, government, religion, politics, city development, art, architecture, royalty
Setting: Paris, France from before 1000 AD to 1968
The author starts by saying that every city is like a person, and Paris is definitely a woman. Like any fascinating woman, she is changeable and captivating. I'm not entirely sure this conceit works, but it's not a bad way to start off the book.
Here's what works: I could certainly feel the amount of research that must have gone into this book. I'm sure it was staggering, and it shows. The author is obviously really familiar with all the key people, places, and ideas. And I liked being able to link things together. For the first time, I really got a sense of how all those Louis's fit together and exactly who Cardinal Richelieu was.
What didn't work: Really, it was too much. I was overwhelmed. Some of that may have been my fault, for trying to read the book straight through, without putting it down for very long, but I was afraid I would lose my place, so to speak, if I set it down. So I pushed through and it got to be confusing.
Personal feelings: I was actually glad to see that the writer sort of skimmed through the French Revolution. It became just one of a series of revolts occuring in the capital, and rather than go into all the disgusting violence in a lot of detail, he just hit on a few things, especially how it affected the look of the city itself and the economy. I read The Lost King of France last year and that one had gory detail piled upon detail of dismemberment, torture, and so on, until I couldn't wait to put it down. This book spared me all that, and I was glad. But if you are interested in the history of France primarily during the French Revolution, this is probably not a great book for you.
My other observation is probably not the author's fault, but the publishers. This is the kind of book (or I am the kind of reader, I don't know which) where you need some more maps and illustrations and so on to figure out what's going on. Instead of having them throughout the text, there are a few pages of color pictures and a few pages of black and white pictures, and that's it. I would have liked at least a black and white picture of all the major monarchs and landmarks. He assumes that you know what Paris looks like, but I only know what I've seen in books and movies. But like I say, that may be the publisher. They seem to be very picky about how many pictures they will include.
Overall: I enjoyed this book, somewhat, but I came away with the strong impression that I am EXTREMELY glad that I do not live in Paris, especially in Paris before 1900. It sounds like a horrible place to live for most people. Yes, there were great artists, musicians, scientists, and politicians who lived there and left their marks on the city. But most of the time, it was a miserable place to be, with plagues, fires, open sewage, constant violence, and little or no civil liberties. Various groups would be rounded up for whatever reason - heresy, political unrest - and summarily executed or tortured. I know this went on in most of the world, but wow, I got really tired of reading about it page after page. I debated between 2.5 stars and 3, but I decided to round up, because I think the author did a pretty good job. It's just that I found the subject rather grimmer than I expected.
Setting: Paris, France from before 1000 AD to 1968
The author starts by saying that every city is like a person, and Paris is definitely a woman. Like any fascinating woman, she is changeable and captivating. I'm not entirely sure this conceit works, but it's not a bad way to start off the book.
Here's what works: I could certainly feel the amount of research that must have gone into this book. I'm sure it was staggering, and it shows. The author is obviously really familiar with all the key people, places, and ideas. And I liked being able to link things together. For the first time, I really got a sense of how all those Louis's fit together and exactly who Cardinal Richelieu was.
What didn't work: Really, it was too much. I was overwhelmed. Some of that may have been my fault, for trying to read the book straight through, without putting it down for very long, but I was afraid I would lose my place, so to speak, if I set it down. So I pushed through and it got to be confusing.
Personal feelings: I was actually glad to see that the writer sort of skimmed through the French Revolution. It became just one of a series of revolts occuring in the capital, and rather than go into all the disgusting violence in a lot of detail, he just hit on a few things, especially how it affected the look of the city itself and the economy. I read The Lost King of France last year and that one had gory detail piled upon detail of dismemberment, torture, and so on, until I couldn't wait to put it down. This book spared me all that, and I was glad. But if you are interested in the history of France primarily during the French Revolution, this is probably not a great book for you.
My other observation is probably not the author's fault, but the publishers. This is the kind of book (or I am the kind of reader, I don't know which) where you need some more maps and illustrations and so on to figure out what's going on. Instead of having them throughout the text, there are a few pages of color pictures and a few pages of black and white pictures, and that's it. I would have liked at least a black and white picture of all the major monarchs and landmarks. He assumes that you know what Paris looks like, but I only know what I've seen in books and movies. But like I say, that may be the publisher. They seem to be very picky about how many pictures they will include.
Overall: I enjoyed this book, somewhat, but I came away with the strong impression that I am EXTREMELY glad that I do not live in Paris, especially in Paris before 1900. It sounds like a horrible place to live for most people. Yes, there were great artists, musicians, scientists, and politicians who lived there and left their marks on the city. But most of the time, it was a miserable place to be, with plagues, fires, open sewage, constant violence, and little or no civil liberties. Various groups would be rounded up for whatever reason - heresy, political unrest - and summarily executed or tortured. I know this went on in most of the world, but wow, I got really tired of reading about it page after page. I debated between 2.5 stars and 3, but I decided to round up, because I think the author did a pretty good job. It's just that I found the subject rather grimmer than I expected.
thesassybookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I have always been fascinated with Paris and in fact it is one of the cities I wish to call home in the future (London being the other), so when I spotted this book I knew I had to pick it up! Often times books like this can be bogged down with names, dates etc. and quickly become dry reading and although this book was certainly filled with those things I never found it boring or hard to get into, just the opposite in fact! If you are interested in the history of Paris and want to read a wonderfully written account then this is the one to pick up!!
lnkc's review against another edition
2.0
This was not the cultural history of Paris I thought it would be; only the short epilogue embraces this idea. It is a rather a dense political history of France, with only small sections devoted to Paris itself. Very disappointing.
the_forest_one's review against another edition
3.0
It says it's about Paris, but barely mentions the catacombs underneath at all. It's a mix of city history and leaders of France history. The author's bias is very clear, especially by the end of the book. Overall I did like it but some things were either not talked about enough or were biased in a way that jt had not been at the beginning of the book.