Around and About Paris, Volume 1: From the Dawn of Time to the Eiffel Tower (Arrondissements 1 - 7) [Paperback]

Thirza Vallois (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Vallois, a 30-year resident of Paris, has written three wonderful volumes about her favorite city. She has spent seven of those years walking down every one of its streets, reading every available book written about it, interviewing old-timers, and then compiling all her research into these three extraordinary books. As each chapter unfolds, the reader walks with Vallois district by district along the streets of Paris, sharing in the art, literature, music, history, politics, science, religion, economics, entertainment, crime, passion, and local color of each unique arrondissement. The scenery changes from the past to the present, bringing Paris alive with tales from lifelong residents. Vallois's in-depth knowledge of the city and her acute attention to detail, delivered with fast-moving style, will be intriguing for both travelers and scholars. Recommended for larger libraries.AStephanie Papa, Baltimore Cty. Circuit Court Law Lib., Towson, MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"There are guides to every aspect of Paris, from museums and bars to sex and shopping -- and then there are Thirza Vallois's extraordinary Around and About Paris."

Anthony Sattins, The Sunday Times, London

"I think we can safely toss all other Paris guides aside [...]

Paris is made for walking and Thirza Vallois's guides are made for Paris [...]. They should soon achieve legendary status."

William Boyd, The Spectator, London

"An astonishingly informative companion,"

The Times Literary Companion, London

"This is a book for those who think of Paris as an urban paradise [...].Vallois captures -- and opens up for all to taste -- the incomparable sense of the past one experiences walking the streets of Paris. Here's to Around and About Paris. On your next flight to Paris, don't leave home without it."

Patsy Baudoin, The Boston Book Review

"For in-depth coverage of the sights, sounds and smells of Paris, nothing tops Thirza Vallois' Around and About Paris books.

Janet Delong, The Paris Free Voice

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Illiad Press (1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 095253780X
• ISBN-13: 978-0952537809
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thirza Vallois is an expert on all things Parisian. She has lived in Paris most of her life and holds the most prestigious doctoral-level Agrégation degree from the Sorbonne. Her "Around and About Paris" books have been universally acclaimed as the best travel books ever written on Paris, her "Romantic Paris" as the most exquisite. Her latest book, about the last hidden corner of France, "Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia" was hailed as a revelation. She is also the author of the Paris entry to the Encarta Encyclopaedia.

Thirza Vallois lectures on Paris and France worldwide. Her audience includes museums, arts clubs, universities, libraries and various cultural institutions.She contributes regularly to television, radio and the international press. She has appeared on BBC, PBS, the Travel Channel, CNN, Discovery, the French Cultural Channel, has been aired on scores of radio stations in the US and Britain and has contributed articles to The Financial Times, United Airlines' Hemispheres, Condé Nast Traveller, among others. Her "Three Perfect Days in Paris" for Hemispheres Magazine has won her the NATJA (the North American Travel Journalists' Association) award. It was aired as a film on all United Airlines international flights and on television throughout the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dense, difficult, and informative, April 10, 2001

By 

Ivy (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Around and About Paris, Volume 1: From the Dawn of Time to the Eiffel Tower (Arrondissements 1 - 7) (Paperback)

Around and About Paris, Volume 1, reads pretty much like a medium-quality textbook; it's dense (*tiny* print and very small amounts of white space), it's informative (*filled* with trivia and fascinating - as well as not-so-fascinating - facts), and it's obtuse in places. The book does provide lots of information and some very nice Paris walks, but you'll have to sieve through a lot of junk to get to the meat of it.

The book's most serious problem, at least for me, is the writing. I suspect, though I don't know, that the author's English was a second language. The sentences are at times torturously constructed. Often, subjects and verbs are in places where a native English speaker probably wouldn't put them; sometimes one or the other is even missing - when you parse the sentence, you realize it's actually just a very long fragment, with lots of clauses that confuse the issue. Sometimes, too, it isn't clear what a modifier is supposed to be modifying, or which noun a pronoun refers to. In the worst cases, the meaning of a sentence cannot be divined at all because an error has been made at a crucial point. Some careful, detailed editing could've made this book a lot easier to read and use - and more informative, too.

However, there is still a lot of information in Around and About, even if you do have to work to get at it. The maps aren't the clearest in the world, but they're good enough, especially since prominent landmarks are marked. And the walks themselves provide an interesting take on Paris; the idea of walking through history is a great one. Parents with older children could probably use this as a resource for some very educational traveling, though I would recommend that the adults do the reading and then condense and prune somewhat for the kids.

All in all, despite the book's flaws, it's a nice supplementary resource for people visiting Paris - or those studying French history. You will, however, also want more conventional guidebooks or textbooks unless Paris and its history is already very familiar ground indeed.

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely the most fun and interesting historical account!, July 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Around and About Paris, Volume 1: From the Dawn of Time to the Eiffel Tower (Arrondissements 1 - 7) (Paperback)

I have never been able to appreciate history until Around and About Paris! Ms. Vallois has brought centuries of Paris history to life in the fun and interesting way she tells its stories. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about Paris than what's housed in the Louvre.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite and 100% perfect, February 15, 2002

By 

SG Fox (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Around and About Paris, Volume 1: From the Dawn of Time to the Eiffel Tower (Arrondissements 1 - 7) (Paperback)

After reading every travel guide I could get my hands on concerning Paris, France, finally I've found one that actually quenches my thirst and feeds my hunger! This is the Bible of Paris. The little details are so fascinating and exquisite, you can read this book over and over again. If I were stuck on a deserted island, as far from Paris as possible, I'd still want this to be one of the top five books I took with me. It would keep me going for a long, long time. Don't go to Paris without it. In fact, don't go to the doctor's office without it-- perfect to take everywhere.