Paris Capital of Europe: From the Revolution to the Belle Epoque (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Eveline L. Kanes (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For anyone curious about what happened to the remains of the victims of the guillotine during the French Revolution, this is the source to consult first. Willms, the editor of culture and the arts at Suddeutsche Zeitung and author of Nationalism Without Nation: German History, 1789-1914, brings scholarly thoroughness as well as a readable style to this social history of Paris during the same years. During each of the standard time periods, he makes vividly clear class differences as well as sanitary conditions, in which Willms displays an intense interest. He carefully describes the cost of living, the condition of drinking water drawn from the Seine, the beginnings of restaurants open to the public, developments in street-lighting, and the city planning that led to the Paris of today. His narrative accounts of crucial factors during periods of revolutionary political change are meticulous and informative, though some background knowledge of French history is presupposed. There are extensive notes. A highly worthwhile acquisition for both public and academic libraries.?R. James Tobin, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Milwaukee
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

An absorbing and intimate history of the City of Lights. Willms, a senior editor of the newspaper Sddeutsche Zeitung, combines the intellectual rigor of the historian with the accessibility of the journalist in this study of the French capital. The locus of French culture during the ancien r‚gime, Paris became the undisputed center of European politics during the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Carefully tracing the evolution of the metropolis, Willms demonstrates how political, economic, and cultural currents converged to make Paris the ``capital of Europe.'' More than London, Berlin, or Rome, Paris became the major protagonist in the history of its nation-state. Whereas Italy was divided into fiercely independent cities, England influenced by the landed gentry, and Germany dominated by Prussia, the fortunes of France were more strongly tied to its capital city. We can only witness the dynamism and expansion of the city with awe; its inhabitants have been unceasingly at work for centuries shaping and reshaping their physical environment. The city, as Willms presents it, becomes a living, breathing construction, reflecting the foibles, fantasies, and desires of its citizens. As Willms points out, it was in Paris, rather than London or New York, that the social and moral phenomena of modern life (including the rise of urban planning, an aggressive new version of nationalism, and a heightened emphasis on such matters as race and health) first appeared in the 19th century. The city has prospered and suffered because of this for the last century. The city's coat of arms depicts a sailing ship with the motto Fluctuat, nec mergitur (tossed by the waves, it does not sink). And while the 20th century did not sink Paris, the First World War did begin the long process of its displacement as the capital of Europe. Based on a wide range of sources, this is a work that will delight the specialist and the tourist alike. (maps and illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 436 pages
• Publisher: Holmes & Meier Publishers (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0841912459
• ISBN-13: 978-0841912458
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,159,780 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FLUCTUAT, NEC MERGITUR, March 16, 2000

By A Customer

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid history of a fascinating city, September 16, 2002

By A Customer

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.