Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light [Paperback]

David Downie (Author), Allison Harris (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

A collection of 30 witty, irreverent, perennial essays about Paris by the acclaimed author and journalist David Downie, a longtime Paris resident.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I hope these quirky, independent, skeptical, irreverent essays avoid the trap of the traveling curmudgeon. "Perhaps because I came to Paris expecting no favors, with few illusions, and a generous dose of curiosity," I write in my introduction, "I have yet to feel the betrayal some visitors and transitory residents distill into vague resentment. Paris has no monopoly on grumpy waiters, horizontal pollution, or enraged drivers, nor, in my experience, do the elusive, mythical Parisians focus their supposed disdain on any one nationality. I’ve been privileged to hunt for Paris in many places, with many people, including the occasional Parisian, for nearly twenty years, and these essays are part of my catch. My vision of the city still blurs from Paris to Paris in my daily pursuit of fluttering wings. Happily, I don’t want to pin them down and anyway, Paris always manages to fly away." I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed researching and writing them, a labor of love that took me nearly 10 years.

From the Back Cover

New York, Tokyo, London and Beijing are bigger, richer, more powerful, and more politically significant than Paris, an expensive backwater reportedly peopled by arrogant, retrograde "old Europeans" attached to a culture, language and customs that seem insignificant, even ridiculous in this globalized, English-speaking age. Yet Paris is still the world’s favorite city, an enchanting, baffling, frustrating, dream-city, the city of cities and – like it or not – the center of Europe. Read Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light and find out why.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Transatlantic Press (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976925109
• ISBN-13: 978-0976925101
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A native San Franciscan, I've called Paris home since 1986. I live and work in the Marais, and travel widely in France and Italy.
For over 20 years my travel, food, wine and arts features have appeared in about 50 magazines and newspapers worldwide, from Bon Appetit, Gastronomica, The Los Angeles Times and Town & Country Travel to the San Francisco Chronicle, concierge.com, epicurious.com, salon.com and gadling.com. I've been contributing editor, European arts editor or Paris correspondent for half a dozen magazines, and am currently a European correspondent for gadling, the popular literary travel website, as well as theramblingepicure.com, a site dedicated to real food.
My latest web venture is wanderingliguria.com, featuring everything you ever wanted to know about the Italian Riviera (Cinque Terre, Portofino, Genoa and more).
After writing a cookbook or two in the 1990s and early 2000s, I put together 30 essays about Paris and published them under the title Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light, with striking black-and-white photography by Alison Harris (www.alisonharris.com). The book got raves, went through multiple print runs, and was reissued in a fully updated, expanded and redesigned edition--with photos by Alison--in the prestigious Armchair Traveler series published by Broadway Books (Random House).
My other recent books include Paris City of Night, a classic thriller set in Paris; and three Terroir Guides--Food Wine Italian Riviera & Genoa, Food Wine Rome, and Food Wine Burgundy, published by The Little Bookroom.
In March 2011 the same publisher brought out the lavishly illustrated travel book Quiet Corners of Rome, with more stunning photography, again by Alison Harris.
For bite-sized portions, try some of the anthologies I've contributed to, from The Collected Traveler Paris, Southwest France and Italy to Salon.com's Wanderlust; Travelers Tales: Adventures in Wine Country; Saveur Cooks Authentic French and Italian; Pizza: A Slice of Heaven; the best-selling Secrets of the Code and Secrets of Angels & Demons; the humor anthology By The Seat of My Pants; and A Moveable Feast.
After a quarter century I continue to enjoy living in Paris, and working and traveling throughout Europe, especially Italy. And I enjoy sharing my experiences with my readers, and taking them on private tours of Paris, Rome, Burgundy and the Italian Riviera. Please visit my personal website www.davidddownie.com and my "Paris, Paris Tours" blog site: http://parisparistours.blogspot.com/. All the best, David

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey into Paris, Paris, October 21, 2005

By 

Nancy P. Wilson (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light (Paperback)

I own a large library of books about France and have probably read almost every major title that features Paris. David Downie's new book Paris, Paris is in a class all its own. It is the most superbly written book on Paris I have read. Downie has a very lively and intelligent style, as well as a deliciously ironic sense of humor. He is also a real journalist in his brave tenacity to "get the story." He takes us to places I would never otherwise have access to because I would be much too timid to make the approach. For instance, to penetrate the inner sancta of fortress-like Ile Saint Louis mansions, he tells how he systematically tested the outer doors and found a few to be always open. He marches right into luxurious courtyards, has a good look around, and describes what he sees in vivid prose. Or when researching the root of the expression "city of light," he heads right to the office of the chief engineer of Paris' municipal lighting department. I found myself very impressed with his approach towards his subject and with his straightforward, unselfconscious way of expressing himself.

Downie is an American who has lived in Paris for over twenty years; however I have to imagine that he has gotten to know the city better than most natives. His curiosity leads him to all Paris' corners, not just the obvious showy places we all know and love. He does take us to some of my favorite neighborhoods and shows us details I've never noticed before, but he also points out the off-beat and even really ugly spots from where we can get a different perspective altogether on this rich, multi-layered city.

The book has three parts: places, people and phenomena. Every chapter is both entertaining and informative. I ate the book up like a plate of many-colored macarons, savoring every flavor. I highly recommend it to arm chair travelers and committed Parisphiles alike. It's full of history, humor and intelligent insight, with never a dull moment.

An evocative black and white image by Alison Harris, Mr. Downie's professional photographer wife and companion in adventure, accompanies each of the 30 chapters to add to the enjoyment.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paris Paris: Journey into the City of Light, May 30, 2006

By 

wendy johnson "a Parisian New Yorker" (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light (Paperback)

David Downie is a magnificent writer. His exquisite prose reveals Paris as few other writers have. It is a must! As a native New Yorker and avid reader with eclectic tastes who has greatly enjoyed reading books on Paris and Parisians, for the more than 40 years I have lived here, Paris, Paris, has thoroughly delighted me. Every chapter is unexpected, original and yet finely tuned to reveal the universal truth or should one say truths of the City of Light. Downie writes with such extraordinary sensitivity and respect about this city, its history, its culture and most of all its people that he deserves a special place in the Pantheon of Americans who have found inspiration in their experience of the French capital. Downie demonstrates deep love of his subject matter but far from blind he also writes about the problems of Paris and the shortcomings of its population with compassion. More importantly perhaps he brings to the written page the kind of humanity that leaves his reader a better person for having taken the journey with him.

Wendy Johnson

A "Parisian" New Yorker

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the typical travel fare., August 14, 2005

By 

Jay Smith (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light (Paperback)

Paris, Paris is a refreshing compilation of tales of a city I have visited many times. Each essay is packed with interesting tidbits about Paris neighborhoods and sites. Next to it's well written insight, the thing I would say to recommend this book is that I didn't want to skip through as I do most travel books. I particularly liked the piece on Pere-Lachaise, and the way I got to weave through 350 years of monuments in the time it took me to drink one cup of coffee.