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The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography, from the Revolution to the First World War by Graham Robb
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The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography, from the Revolution to…

by Graham Robb

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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
Reading this book was like watching TV while my husband holds the remote. Sometimes he changes the channel unexpectedly and it takes me a while to catch up with the new story I find myself watching. And when I really get interested, he pushes that button yet again....

Graham Robb has written a sweeping account of France's provinces (outside of Paris): the people, the geography, the history. But he jumps around so much in both time and space that I was often confused. And, without a good map as a reference point, I often didn't know where I was even when the context was otherwise clear.

Parts of the book were fascinating, but others were mind-numbingly dull. But, it's the kind of book where you can skip parts without missing information vital to the next section, which I didn't do because I read it for a book club discussion.

I learned some interesting facts, but not enough to make me glad I struggled through the full 358 pages of text. ( )
1 vote LynnB | Oct 2, 2009 |
A wonderful reflection on French history and the myths of French unity.
  nico_macdonald | Aug 10, 2009 |
A singular account of the history of France and its many, different peoples, told from the perspective of a frequent visitor with access to a bike. There are many surprises in store for the casual reader. I shall probably buy this.
  xnfec | Jun 10, 2009 |
Not so much a history, although it certainly is that, more a lecture from the bar-room bore that draws one in on a wave of fascinating facts. Robb weaves a stream of consciousness leading from one subject to another through a series of 'Did you know...?' revelations.

This book is a clear service to all countries in revealing the sham that is the glorious and heroic vision of the French fatherland stretching back into pre-history. Is this the first history of France where Paris hardly rates a mention? ( )
2 vote pierthinker | Jan 25, 2009 |
An interesting and often entertaining tour through the byways of French social history, eschewing the boulevards and faubourgs of Paris for the obscure reaches of France profonde. Graham shows how the history of 'the provinces' has been consistently suppressed in favour of the history of Paris, and how much we think we know of France is actually only what we know of Paris. ( )
  sloopjonb | Sep 21, 2008 |
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Ten years ago, I began to explore the country on which I was supposed to be an authority.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Cagot

Graham Robb

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Discovery of France

Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0393059731, Hardcover)

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. 8 pages of color and 8 pages of black-and-white illustrations.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:04 -0400)

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