Paris: From 1789 to the Belle Epoque

For all its faults, this is an engrossing and valuable history. The Revolution and the Commune are brought to life particularly well and the broad scope of Parisian life between the two is portrayed in a painterly way, or in as painterly a way as possible in a book almost totally devoid of pictorial illustration and, more damagingly, worthwhile maps. For all intents and purposes, this book ends with the Commune. The rest of the story -- it purports to take the reader up to the First World War -- is dealt with in 9 pages which feel like an appendix. The most important social/political crisis of the period, the Dreyfus affair, gets half a sentence, two lines, which is inexplicable even under the circumstances. There is a problem with continuity. Following the excellent discussion of the Revolution, we are plopped down in the middle of the Consulate without a word about the rise of Napoleon. All of a sudden Charles X is king. What happened to Louis XVIII? This may not have much import for the story of Paris but it sure does for the continuity of the telling. A man's name appears without description -- we're supposed to know who he is. But he only appeared once, with his function, 30 pages previously. Fortunately, his name appeared in the index, but much else that should does not -- the index is inadequate. A glossary is needed; one forgets what the many French words and phrases mean and some are not translated. The one phrase we're all familiar with, however, "Ancien Regime", appears colorlessly only as "Old Regime". The text had, apparently, a good translator but needed a good editor and publisher to make it the book it could have been. These are not quibbles. But for all its inadequacies Paris: Capital of Europe is nevertheless a vivid in-depth portrayal of a fascinating city during a time when events there periodically gripped the attention of the world in a way unique among modern cities.

While Paris in not my alltime favorite city, I do have to admit it's special. This book, written by a German historian and journalist, traces the development of Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries and its transformation into the intellectual and artistic capital of Europe. Meticulously researched, Paris, the Capital of Europe, covers the years from 1789 to the First World War. The author presents the city to us in detail: the street life and repression, social customs, architecture, the growth of trade and commerce, health and hygiene, class problems, morality and art and entertainment. Willms then weaves all these threads together to show the reader why and how Paris became the capital of Europe. Anyone who loves Paris, European history or both should love, Paris the Capital of Europe. Paris! There really is no place like it!