Synopses & Reviews
An enormously entertaining account of contemporary France from the former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times. Bernstein combines personal memoir, informed observation, and news-hound curiosity to offer a stirring and unforgettable panaorama of France—at times exalted, troubling, and occasionally absurd.
Synopsis
"The most penetrating account of contemporary France we're ever likely to own. In looking for clues to French character, the author explores everything from wine culture to cultural politics, movies, food and the higher eroticism."--
New York Times An enormously entertaining account of contemporary France from the former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times. Bernstein combines personal memoir, informed observation, and news-hound curiosity to offer a stirring and unforgettable panaorama of France--at times exalted, troubling, and occasionally absurd.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Imaginary CountryI. FRANCE DEEP AND FRANCE PARISIAN
1. The Miracle of the Whole
2. The Persistence of the Parts
3. Villages
4. Paris the Conqueror
II. THE FRENCH: WHO THEY ARE
5. Blood, Names, and Identity
6. The R5 and Other Complexes
7. Gallic Shrugs and Other Supposed Imperfections
8. The Myth of the Anti-American
9. Jews, Arabs, and Other "Foreigners"
10. In Praise of Frivolity
11. The Revenge of the Bourgeoisie
12. The Noble Residue
13. Elegance and Anarchy
14. A Contentious Solidarity
III. THE REASONS AND THE MYSTERIES OF STATE
15. A Country Cut in One
16. The Sardonic Worship of the Political Class
17. The Way to Power
18. Above the Laws of the Republic
19. The Shadowy Paths of Grandeur
20. Gaullists and Bonapartists, Presidents and Kings
Afterword: An Elegy for the French Difference
Index