Paris: The Secret History

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	Paris: The Secret History
	by Andrew Hussey Sales Rank: 56688	~~List Price: $32.50~~ $21.45 At Amazon on 5-28-2008.

*Features* Cover Type: Hard Cover with 512 pages Published by: Bloomsbury USA; First Edition edition November 28, 2006 Written in: English ISBN 10 Number: 1596913231 ISBN 13 Number: 978-1596913233 Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches Weighs: 1.8 pounds *From Publishers Weekly* The 16th-century French wars of religion were less about Christian theology than about who ruled France; centuries later the French authorities, aided by , a significant number of ordinary citizens "willingly and enthusiastically" sent tens of thousands of Parisian Jews to their deaths during WWII. In his sprawling, eclectic, self-indulgent and entertaining unofficial antihistory of Paris, Hussey (The Game of War: The Life and Death of Guy Debord), head of French and comparative literature at the University of London in Paris, tells the story of Paris from the perspective of the city's marginal and subversive elements—insurrectionists, criminals, immigrants and sexual outsiders. Highlights include descriptions of the Pont-Neuf during the reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIII as a cultural epicenter, a hangout for con artists and prostitutes, and a cauldron of antigovernment, antiroyal and antireligious activity. Hussey also tells of the "sacred geometry" of Notre-Dame as vivified by Victor Hugo. Also noteworthy in this overstuffed, unrestrained effort are Hussey's critique of former French president Mitterrand as "a master of double-dealing and double-talk whose only real loyalty was to himself and his position in power," and Hussey's take on the 2005 riots instigated by violent black and Arab suburban youths. black and white illus. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. *Product Review* “In his outrageously readable, impressively researched, shockingly violent alternative history of Paris, Andrew Hussey illuminates the city's gutters, stews, slaughters, riots, underbellies and crimes in the shadowy corners that Balzac relished. The result is, literally and figuratively, a fascinating riot of a book.”—Simon Sebag Montefiore “awesome and entertainingAt every turn, on every corner, the idle traveller through the book finds something new.”—*London* *Observer* *Reader Reviews* An opinionated and informed British author's selective cultural history of the City of Light. Those who have a special interest in Paris will find this book rewarding, but occasionally irritating. (One would think the only women of note for many historical periods were whores.) This book provides an example of an author's over-written introduction that should have been severely shortened or done away with. I am sorry but I do not think the death of Princess Diana "could have only happened here." Nor do I think anyone should lug this good-sized tome on his own visit to the bars or metro of Paris, as is helpfully suggested by the author. Comment \| \| (Report this) Back To Top
Paris: The Secret History Available from Amazon Price: $21.45 Updated on 5-28-2008.

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