Customer Reviews

France: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories (Hippocrene))

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More history than you'll find in a guidebook, but less than a semester course. Well written and up to date. It was just what I hoped for. Read it on the flights to and from Paris and was glad I did.

After having read this book here are some comments:

This book is titled "illustrated history" - which is in my mind rather misleading.

In the 200 written pages I counted exactly 39 photos and 19 art representations. The majority of these are less than 2X3" in size. But much worse than this is that these are

all in black and white, and horribly blurry. Some of these were clearly taken without

enough light and much of the others are simply too dark too see enough contrast.

I cannot figure out why anyone would write a new book and include such worthless pictures, much less do this and call it illustrated.

You will easily find thousands of better, more up to date photos online!

This book is rather light on its history and heavy on rosy-clored glasses. Many (not all) of the major people of power are represented briefly. There is no new historical information offered and very little of the intricate behind-the-scenes political agendas. Not much space is given to the religious presence and effects in French history. But worse yet is the deliberate re-characterization of each individual in a most pleasant and optimistic manner.

No matter that they waged wars, massacred thousands, beheaded more thousands and devised the most devious plots - each still comes out shinning in this strange history. I was raised in France and went to the French schools and can affirm that this is not the history that is known and taught. None there believes that Robespierre, Louis XIV, Catherine de Medici or Cadinal Richelieu were even close to being Saints - so this must nearly fall under revisionist history, or an attempt at Hollywood.

An excellent book about the history of France written in an easy-to-read style. The only thing that is missing is any reference at all to the United States. Interesting!