History
Richard Cobb
,
The French and their Revolution
(John Murray, UK). A selection of expert essays on the French Revolution, with a personal touch.
Alfred Cobban
,
A History of Modern France
(3 vols: 1715-99,...
read more >>
Society, culture and politics
John Ardagh
,
France Today
(Penguin). Comprehensive journalistic overview, covering food, film, education and holidays as well as politics and education. Good on detail about the urban suburbs and the shift there from the centre of Paris....
read more >>
Art, architecture and photography
Brassaï
,
Le Paris Secret des Années 30
(Gallimard, France). Extraordinary photos of the capital's nightlife in the 1930s - brothels, music halls, street cleaners, transvestites and the underworld - each one a work of art and a familiar...
read more >>
Cookery
Linda Dannenberg
,
Paris Bistro Cooking
(C. N. Potter). Poule au Pot and Rum Baba among other delicious French traditional dishes as cooked by some of Paris's best bistros.
Alain Ducasse
,
Flavours of France
...
read more >>
Paris in literature
British/American
Shari Benstock
,
Women of the Left Bank: Paris, 1900-1940
(Univ of Texas, US). Follows the lives and creativity of two dozen American, British and French women who moved to Paris and dared to be different.
...
read more >>
