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Product Description
'Not only travelers but Parisians will have the Paris Metro explained by perusing this book in ways they never have before. An absolutely essential guide to really knowing Paris.' observes Robert Cole, author of "A Traveller's History of Paris". What was the original name of the Place de la Concorde? Why was the Tuileries palace so called and when was it destroyed? Who built the Palais Royal? Find the answers to these questions and many others in this fascinating new book, which gives you the history behind the names of all the Metro stations in Paris. Arnold Delaney's text is full of illuminating insights into hidden corners of the history of the world's most elegant city. Take Le Kremlin - Bicetre, an intriguing example of how, over many centuries, names evolve and become corrupted: "...known for its Bicetre Hospital, parts of which date back to the seventeenth century. The town's website explains that the Kremlin portion of the name is due to the fact that after Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812 a hospice for his soldiers was set up in the town and the local pub was called Le Sergent du Kremlin. Bicetre came about because at the end of the thirteenth century Jean de Pontoise the Bishop of Winchester owned land here. The locals had difficulty pronouncing Winchester which became Vincestre and evolved to become Bicetre." The text is complemented by colour photography especially commissioned for the book, which takes a slightly idiosyncratic look at the city as well as giving a taste of the quintessential design and feel of the Metro system.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Not by any means a history or detailed description of the Paris Metro, but rather an explanation for the names of the stations. So, if like me, you sat in the carriage wondering why the next station on the line was called Quatre September, now you'll know with the aid of this book. This book told me much about the background to many events in French history of which I was already aware, but I also learned a lot too.
Don't expect much depth in the analysis of names and the history they tell: the author's list of sources demonstrates he is no professional historian. But if you want some brief background information to whet your appetite, then this is an ideal introduction to why so many station names have the word 'porte' in their title or why Madeleine lives next to the Pyramids!
The book comes in a handy pocket size and has high production values. Good glossy paper, interesting photos, and a station index. The standard Metro map is included for reference.
Don't expect much depth in the analysis of names and the history they tell: the author's list of sources demonstrates he is no professional historian. But if you want some brief background information to whet your appetite, then this is an ideal introduction to why so many station names have the word 'porte' in their title or why Madeleine lives next to the Pyramids!
The book comes in a handy pocket size and has high production values. Good glossy paper, interesting photos, and a station index. The standard Metro map is included for reference.
Format:Paperback
A slim book, easy to slip into a pocket and take with one in the Metro, which explains the names of all the stations. It's a simple concept but on the way it tells you an awful lot about the history of Paris (for example, we learn that the Glacière stop is named after the point on the lost river Bièvre on which ice would gather that would provide refrigeration for the city for the coming year, and hear about lost hamlets such as Grenelle or Passy now swallowed by the city) and of France in general (metro stations are named inter alia after Ancien Régime figures such as Malesherbes or Miromesnil, various generals of the Napoleonic era, the dramatis personae of the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune such as Denfert-Rochereau or Gambetta, and so forth). As many stations are double-barrelled, combining two individuals' names (usually because these people give their names to two intersecting streets up above), you can get a lot of history in for your money - Richard-Lenoir is one example of this. (Others, such as Marx Dormoy, turn out surprisingly to relate to only one.)
It's not a history of the metro, and it captures just one moment in time - so we get no explanation of former names, for instance. It would have been interesting to learn the former names of, for instance, those stations renamed after the Second World War - Stalingrad is an obvious example but there are others, such as Jacques Bonsergent (named after a victim of the occupying Germans). A little more background might have been nice, rather than taking the metro as if it arrived fully formed in today's shape. It would be difficult, however, to do this without losing its pocket-book format. What it sets out to do, in any case, it does admirably.
It's not a history of the metro, and it captures just one moment in time - so we get no explanation of former names, for instance. It would have been interesting to learn the former names of, for instance, those stations renamed after the Second World War - Stalingrad is an obvious example but there are others, such as Jacques Bonsergent (named after a victim of the occupying Germans). A little more background might have been nice, rather than taking the metro as if it arrived fully formed in today's shape. It would be difficult, however, to do this without losing its pocket-book format. What it sets out to do, in any case, it does admirably.
Format:Paperback
To be honest this book is sparse in places and is not particularly well written but the author has clearly done his research. The result is a very useful factbook. I wanted a simple potted explanation of each metro station's name, and this book provides it.
For a more erudite historical discussion (albeit of just 12 metro stations) I would recommend Gregor Dallas' "Metrostop Paris", but Delaney's book is better suited for stuffing in your pocket while you ride the metro.
For a more erudite historical discussion (albeit of just 12 metro stations) I would recommend Gregor Dallas' "Metrostop Paris", but Delaney's book is better suited for stuffing in your pocket while you ride the metro.
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