The discovery of France : a historical geography from the Revolution to the First World War

a Witty, Engaging Narrative Style....[robb's] Approach Is Particularly Engrossing.— new York Times Book Review , Front-page Review The Barnes & Noble Review Graham Robb Wants You To See France -- Not The Country You Think You Know, The One With The Louvre, The Existentialism, The Sublime Cuisine, And The Fashion Sense. Nor The Picturesque Version Of Laid-back Life In Provence Made Famous By Peter Mayle Et Al. The Author Of Award-winning Biographies Of Balzac And Rimbaud Explores A Truly Unknown Country In the Discovery Of France: A Historical Geography From The Revolution To The First World War . On Bicycle (enabling A Horse-bound Traveler's Perspective), The Author Meanders Through The French Landscape Spatially, While His Deeply Researched Book Dives Backward In Time, Recovering With A Sense Of Wonder France's Assemblage Of Wildly Diverse Tribes. He Gives Us A Nation Of Competing Languages, Of Wild Wastes And Prehistoric Rituals, Where Wolves Were Still A Danger To Village People In Dordogne At The Turn Of The 20th Century. Most Winningly, Robb's France Is A Mosaic Of Indelible Images And Still-resonant Tales: Stilt-walking Shepherds In The Landes; A Rock-ledge Hamlet In The Pyrenees Where The Dead Were Lowered By Ropes To The Valley Below; And The Strange, Moving Saga Of The Cagots, A Persecuted Caste Whose Ethnic Identity Remains A Historical Mystery. Connecting The Plight Of The Cagots To The Later Effects Of Anti-semitism (and Modern French Controversies Over Islamic Assimilation), Robb Proves That His Tour Of The Vast Countryside Of The Past Inevitably Winds Up Returning Us -- Wiser Or Not -- Directly To The Present. -- bill Tipper "A witty, engaging narrative style....[Robb's] approach is particularly engrossing."— New York Times Book Review , front-page review A narrative of exploration—full of strange landscapes and even stranger inhabitants—that explains the enduring fascination of France. While Gustave Eiffel was changing the skyline of Paris, large parts of France were still terra incognita. Even in the age of railways and newspapers, France was a land of ancient tribal divisions, prehistoric communication networks, and pre-Christian beliefs. French itself was a minority language. Graham Robb describes that unknown world in arresting narrative detail. He recounts the epic journeys of mapmakers, scientists, soldiers, administrators, and intrepid tourists, of itinerant workers, pilgrims, and herdsmen with their millions of migratory domestic animals. We learn how France was explored, charted, and colonized, and how the imperial influence of Paris was gradually extended throughout a kingdom of isolated towns and villages. The Discovery of France explains how the modern nation came to be and how poorly understood that nation still is today. Above all, it shows how much of France—past and present—remains to be discovered. A New York Times Notable Book, Publishers Weekly Best Book, Slate Best Book, and Booklist Editor's Choice. 16 pages of illustrations **"A witty, engaging narrative style....[Robb's] approach is particularly engrossing."—__New York Times Book Review__, front-page review** A narrative of exploration—full of strange landscapes and even stranger inhabitants—that explains the enduring fascination of France. While Gustave Eiffel was changing the skyline of Paris, large parts of France were still terra incognita. Even in the age of railways and newspapers, France was a land of ancient tribal divisions, prehistoric communication networks, and pre-Christian beliefs. French itself was a minority language. Graham Robb describes that unknown world in arresting narrative detail. He recounts the epic journeys of mapmakers, scientists, soldiers, administrators, and intrepid tourists, of itinerant workers, pilgrims, and herdsmen with their millions of migratory domestic animals. We learn how France was explored, charted, and colonized, and how the imperial influence of Paris was gradually extended throughout a kingdom of isolated towns and villages. __The Discovery of France__ explains how the modern nation came to be and how poorly understood that nation still is today. Above all, it shows how much of France—past and present—remains to be discovered. A __New York Times__ Notable Book, __Publishers Weekly__ Best Book, __Slate__ Best Book, and __Booklist__ Editor's Choice. 16 pages of illustrations "A narrative of exploration--full of strange landscapes and even stranger inhabitants--that explains the enduring fascination of France. While Gustave Eiffel was changing the skyline of Paris, large parts of France were still terra incognita. Even in the age of railways and newspapers, France was a land of ancient tribal divisions, prehistoric communication networks, and pre-Christian beliefs. French itself was a minority language. Graham Robb describes that unknown world in arresting narrative detail. He recounts the epic journeys of mapmakers, scientists, soldiers, administrators, and intrepid tourists, of itinerant workers, pilgrims, and herdsmen with their millions of migratory domestic animals. We learn how France was explored, charted, and colonized, and how the imperial influence of Paris was gradually extended throughout a kingdom of isolated towns and villages. The Discovery of France explains how the modern nation came to be and how poorly understood that nation still is today. Above all, it shows how much of France--past and present--remains to be discovered."--Publisher description "From maps, migration and magic, to linguistic differences and tribal disputes, The Discovery of France tells the whole story of this remarkable - and surprising - country."--Jacket