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Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris
Graham Robb
No-one knows a city like the people who live there - so who is better to relate the history of Paris than its inhabitants through the ages? Taking us from 1750 to the new millennium, "Parisians" introduces us to some of those inhabitants: we meet spies, soldiers, scientists and alchemists; police commissioners, photographers and philosophers; adulterers, murderers, prisoners and prostitutes. We encounter political and sexual intrigues, witness real and would-be revolutions, assassination attempts and several all too successful executions; we visit underground caverns and catacombs, enjoy the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, are there for the opening of the Metro, accompany Hitler on a flying visit to the French capital - and much more besides. Entertaining and illuminating, and written with Graham Robb's customary attention to detail - and, indeed, the unusual - "Parisians" is both history and travel guide, yet also part memoir, part mystery. A book unlike any other, it is at once a book to read from cover to cover, to lose yourself in, to dip in and out of at leisure, and a book to return to again and again - rather like the city itself, in fact. Praise for "The Discovery of France" include: 'An extraordinary journey of discovery that will delight even the most indolent armchair traveller' - "Daily Telegraph"; and, 'A superior historical guidebook for the unhurried traveller, and altogether a book to savour' - "Independent".
Picador 2010
ISBN 9780330452441
Hbk £18.99
