Customer Reviews

Portraits of France

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I read this book while staying at my friends home in Venasque, France. It was clear from the beginning sentence that Robert Daley had a very special eye and ear for story telling. I became deeply fascinated with his story of the great revolutionary the Marquis de Lafayette. And I was deeply touched that Lafayette was buried in American soil that he carried back to France and used for his grave at Picpus cemetery. And as a serious recreational cyclist I loved the Jacques Anteill story. This is a very special book written from a perspective that would be difficult to duplicate today.

A wonderful book about selected towns in France. For those of you travelling to France--a must read. For those of you WISHING to travel to France -- a must read. For those of you interested in the history of France -- a must read. This book is difficult to explain because it is an historical overview of many areas, but almost reads like a novel. History, antedotes, reasons,perspectives and historic explanations about each area. You will definately have a different viewpoint of your visit. I've read it over and over....and it is fresh every time. ENJOY.

Should be read by anyone with an interest in France. Each of the chapters deals with a different aspect of French culture, and they bind together to form an entertaining whole. French history is the story of great triumphs in the arts, and great tragedies as well. My own favorite personal chapters include the chapter on Bordeaux,which is Micheneresque in its complexity(he starts out by describing Bordeaux's complex river geology which makes it suitable for wine grapes, and continues through its prominent medieval families of wine growers and its tragic role in the French Revolution) , the first chapter on Nice, the incredibly tragic chapters on World War I and Charles De Gaulle's role in World War II, the chapter on Avignon and its popes, the chapter on Le Puy and the Marquis de Lafayette's role in the American Revolution, and the chapter on Brittany--but I am leaving out quite a lot in this brief summary.

This book is a must-read for those interested in French culture. Robert Daley is a skilled writer who describes with vivid details his various experiences with the French people and culture when he worked in France for the foreign branch of the New York Times newspaper. Daley's gives an unforgettable description of Verdun (northeast France) - the location of one of the worst battle areas of World War I. He gives the reader a true appreciation of the human devastation that occurred in France during that war. He also honestly accounts his joy, education, and eventually emotional fatigue as living the life of an expatriate in another country. I highly recommend this book.

This is one of the most interesting and informative books I have ever read. It is well-researched, but much of it is the author's own experiences of living many years in France. Well written, it is a treasure !! zukiman