The Invention of Paris is a tour through the streets and history of the French capital under the guidance of radical Parisian author and publisher Eric Hazan. Hazan reveals a city whose squares echo with the riots, rebellions and revolutions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Combining the raconteur's ear for a story with a historian's command of the facts, he introduces an incomparable cast of characters: the literati, the philosophers and the artists-Balzac, Baudelaire, Blanqui, Flaubert, Hugo, Maney, and Proust, of course; but also Doisneau, Nerval and Rousseau. It is a Paris dyed a deep red in its convictions. It is haunted and vitalized by the history of the barricades, which Hazan retells in rich detail. The Invention of Paris opens a window on the forgotten byways of the capital's vibrant and bloody past, revealing the city in striking new colors.
The Invention of Paris: A History in Footsteps
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This is a wondrous book, either to be read at home with a decent map, or carried about sur place through areas no tourists bother with. --Adam Thorpe, Guardian
Hazan wants to rescue individual moments from general forgetting and key sites from the bland homogenisation of international city development; he is also a passionate left-wing historian seeking to rescue the truth of Paris's revolutionary past. --Julian Barnes, London Review of Books
Hazan is all business. He trudges through Paris street by street, quoting what Balzac, Hugo, Baudelaire or Kafka said about a particular spot, pointing out where barricades were once erected and thieves gathered for drinks. --Donald Morrsion, Financial Times
Hazan wants to rescue individual moments from general forgetting and key sites from the bland homogenisation of international city development; he is also a passionate left-wing historian seeking to rescue the truth of Paris's revolutionary past. --Julian Barnes, London Review of Books
Hazan is all business. He trudges through Paris street by street, quoting what Balzac, Hugo, Baudelaire or Kafka said about a particular spot, pointing out where barricades were once erected and thieves gathered for drinks. --Donald Morrsion, Financial Times
About the Author
Eric Hazan is the founder of the publisher La Fabrique and the author of several books, including Notes on the Occupation. He has lived in Paris, France, all his life.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By KSG
Format:Paperback
Coming up for what must be my 15th visit to Paris I have read many guidebooks and histories of the city and this one is up with the best! I find myself sitting with a street map of Paris as I read and, while this slows down the reading, it brings the book to life.
I have new insight into the development of the city and I am very much looking forward to sharing the new nooks and crannies with my group in Paris.
An excellent addition to my Paris library!
I have new insight into the development of the city and I am very much looking forward to sharing the new nooks and crannies with my group in Paris.
An excellent addition to my Paris library!
By G. MCKAY
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Adds to the fascination of this great City. Buy it, Read it and enjoy it ! Increased my knowledge whilst raising my inquisitveness, can't wait to return to Paris and explore !
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
If You Go to Paris
17 Sep 2011
By S. C. Rocha
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has some good overview of the city of Paris, its physical body, the author goes district by district of Central Paris, describing its streets, stories and history. This gives you a better notion of the city's urban space. The thing missing is a map, a good one, since reading the first part of the book means following the descriptive, but not boring, speech of the author. Without a map reading this book would be like reading words without meaning (unless if you already knows the city very well, of course). The final chapters are about the Commune and representations of Paris made by artists. But I found the first part of the book the real fun in reading it. I'm reading now "Parisians" which is another good book about Paris. I also recommend "Walks through lost Paris", a beautiful small illustrated book about parts of city that no longer exist.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A deelight... with a witty and opinionated gem on almost every page.
14 Nov 2012
By Eddie
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
One may complain that it's hard to follow without a map -- a good map is essential and historical maps of the changing dity might be especially helpful -- or of too much detail, which is sometimes too much of a good thing... but most readers would miss those highly clarifying historical asides.
Chapeau!
Chapeau!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
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