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A review by stephszeto
Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong: Why We Love France, But Not the French by Jean Nadeau, Julie Barlow
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down to a 3. First section was by far the most interesting - had some very astute cultural observations between the French and Americans that I found really insightful: how notions of private / public spaces and spheres can vary quite a bit across both cultures, just how much the state and identity of France was and is held together by language and culture, just how federalist France is as a state vs the US, how education and politics work in France. It gave me so much more meaty insight into how French society works, so much more so than all the typical high-level surface material that you usually see. This section alone deserves five stars.
Second section about major events that was less interesting but still informative - I didn’t realize all the baggage and backstory the French have with WWII and just how complicated their relationship with that period of time was and also came to realize just how large of a figure CDG was in their history.
The third section about “modern” day politics (the book is now 20yo) was a complete slog to get through - very dry and dull in comparison.
Second section about major events that was less interesting but still informative - I didn’t realize all the baggage and backstory the French have with WWII and just how complicated their relationship with that period of time was and also came to realize just how large of a figure CDG was in their history.
The third section about “modern” day politics (the book is now 20yo) was a complete slog to get through - very dry and dull in comparison.