Paris: Biography of a City by Jones, Colin (2006) Paperback Paperback

It is easy to read and follow along for a history of Paris' architecture and geography; it's supported by the context of the period well making it easier to understand how many of the city's structures came to fruition and the construction of the population of the city. It's a must-read for anyone wishing to learn more about the development of Paris and understanding the past of the architecture when visiting it.

One of my favorite historians ever. This book is a masterpiece.

Having read the description and a number if positive 5 star reviews of this book, I chose it to develop my understanding of Paris as a city before a recent trip. I was expecting a mix of geographical history, economic history and social history, with more of a leaning towards the latter. I was disappointed. It is mainly geographical history, an overview of Paris's town planning over the millennia. For me it lacked the personal. There wasn't enough time given to how changes in the physicality of the city affected the people who lived there. People seem incidental to the streets and buildings they interact with. The dry tone of the book sent me to sleep on more than one occasion. I read the Kindle version, and the structure of side panels didn't work at all well. I can imagine that, with a physical book, flipping between the main narrative and the incidental asides would be easier. In the Kindle version, they interrupt the flow of the narrative - mainly because they're plonked into the text and are more interesting, so that when the main narrative resumes, there is a moment of disorientation. I wish the whole book had been more on the model of the side panels. Having said that, the author has carried out extensive research, knows his subject and seems passionate about the geographical history of the city. If that's what you're looking for, this is undoubtedly a good choice. If, like me, you're after more social history, you'll probably wind up wishing you'd bought Alistair Horne's book.

I'm not a historian: I can only comment on this book as a general reader.I was disappointed by what seemed to me the almost complete suppression of historical imagination. Part of my reason for buying the book was wanting to know what living in Paris felt like to real individual people in different periods. There's very little of that. Especially in the later chapters, there are plenty of snippety references to things said in novels or poems or presented in paintings or films, but none of a kind to suggest that Jones had much interest in getting into the mindset of the artists in question so as to see things from their point of view, and there's little or none of the testimony from personal documents and letters that could have told us so much.That said, Paris: Biography of a City has a hugely interesting story to tell. It marshals a vast array of facts clearly and efficiently in a brisk, workmanlike prose that may not offer much interest in itself but never clogs the narrative either. It has all the virtues of a good textbook on a grand scale. In terms of bringing the past to life it seemed to me altogether inferior to John Hale's The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance, but it was well worth reading and is a book I envisage going back to for reference purposes.

History as a novel, a novel as history

Informative and detailed. Not portable though

good

There's no shortage of guides to Paris for the English-speaker; there are plenty, too, that stray off the beaten track and take in the less touristed quarters of the city, that cover Belleville and Bercy as well as the Île de la Cité and the Champs-Elysées. However, for the English-speaker who wants a feeling for the city's variety over time as well as space, who wants detail on how the city grew and treasures the quirky details and unvisited suburbs as well as the main boulevards - the sort of detail that's copiously available on London, of course - there's much less. Colin Jones's history, then, fills a need, and fills it brilliantly.There's a detailed history of the growth of Paris, covering both the politics and also, more importantly, the social history - the river-merchants' trade and their guild are crucial, as witness the ship on the arms of the city. Jones also, in a series of "side-bars", explores particular themes or localities in a manner that cuts across the chronology and opens up fascinating sidelights on the city - subjects here include the Roman amphitheatre, the Arènes de Lutéce, which was lost under the growing city and remains strangely off the tourist trails; the Rue Mouffetard and its role first as major artery out of the medieval city and then as Bohemian hang-out in the early twentieth century; lost rivers such as the Bièvre, the iceworks on which gave its name to the Glacière metro stop, and so on.I could have done with a little more information on the area outside the fortifications, the "banlieu" beyond the Ville-de-Paris department (Jones covers its modern form well, but we hear little about these settlements before the city sweeps over them in the twentieth century) but this is a trifling point: this is a fantastic guide to the multi-layered history of the city and warmly recommended to any English speaker visiting the city or just wanting to wallow in it vicariously.

nice book and good service

This book is somewhat of a heavy read but well worth the time. It covers the entire history of Paris with interesting facts and information that the average tourist, visiting the city, would never learn. Since reading Paris: The Biography of a City, I can hardly wait to return to Paris and this time, see it again with new eyes. The book makes the history come alive and gives the landmarks an understandable timeline.

This is an excellent book for anyone seriously curious about the history of one of the most fascinating cities in the world. Exceedingly well researched and full of interesting details, this book will take the reader beyond the cliches and postcard images into a comprehensive and very readable account of how this city has evolved over the centuries.

Interesting book about a fascinating city. I've been to Paris over two dozen times, and I know the city quite well. The writer of this book also knows the beautiful city of lights quite well.

Great read