A History of France

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The authors, ardent participants in the movement in Paris, documented the unfolding events as they pelted .

Although he is not entirely unfriendly to the convoluted prose of Jacques Derrida, his own style is determined instead by Rivarol’s dictum that “ce qui n’est pas clair n’est pas français” [What is not clear is not French]. We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview. The history of Franco-British relations has been, over the past twenty centuries, chequered to say the least; but in those centuries France has made a contribution to European culture greater than that of any other nation – and we have been, among many others, the blessed beneficiaries.

Since its first publication to mark the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989, this Oxford History has established itself as the Revolution's most authoritative and comprehensive one-volume history in English, and has recently been translated into Chinese. From Vercingetorix's attempt to unite the Gauls against the Roman Empire to Charlemagne and from Francis I to Napoleon, Norwich chronicles France’s fascinating history. Despite the final pages making an effort to sour my fondness for him by describing Ravel's Bolero as "dreadful", he will be missed. From the way, he speaks about the great Age of Charlemagne or the Carolingian kings, the Crusades, the court of Louis XIV, or the Revolution. Work and Revolution in France is particularly appropriate for students of French history interested in the crucial revolutions that took place in 1789, 1830, and 1848.

Sometimes it's a telling phrase, as when the Capetians are credited with "transforming [France] from a Carolingian custard into a nation". Not that the general's pie earns him an easy ride; Norwich is still prepared to admit that, on a larger stage, "The folly and pettiness of de Gaulle pass belief". From Julius Caesar in Gaul to De Gaulle, The book covers nearly 2000 years of French history in about 400 pages. The teenager replied: “I said that it would be an honor to eat the general’s ash — a remark that proved a distinct success. Nonetheless, it is still an exceptional historical book that will serve as an excellent survey and general overview of the history of France.As a historian, my attitude to France, nice country shame about the people, is not all together positive. In addition to the public lives of the various rulers, the author give a peek at their private ones as well.

To manage these new residents, the French government devised Europe's first guest worker program, then encouraged family settlements and finally cracked down on all foreigners on the eve of the Second World War. In discussing the Royal Mistresses, he tells how being the King’s Mistress almost became an official court position.Little noticed by much of the world, France, during the 1960s and 1970s, developed into one of the most generous welfare states in the world. The leading British interpreter of French history from 1940 produced this valuable guide to a period of major transformation in French history. The second Viscount Norwich or the late John Julius Cooper if you prefer, wrote and finished his final book, not long before he died.