The Cambridge Illustrated History of France

The Cambridge Illustrated History of France
Author: Colin Jones
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1999-05-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521669924

Combining superb illustration with authoritative text, this is a major political and social history of France from earliest times to the eve of the new millennium. Colin Jones offers not only an expert's account of political, social and cultural developments, but also a fresh and full interpretation of French history. The Cambridge Illustrated History of France places an innovatory emphasis on the importance of issues of regionalism, class, gender and race in the French heritage. Ranging across social, political, geographical and cultural lines - from prehistoric menhirs to the Pompidou Centre, from Louis XIV's Versailles to twentieth-century high-rises, from Marie Antoinette to Marie Claire - the author provides a host of lively and penetrating new insights into the shaping of the modern nation.

A Bite-Sized History of France

A Bite-Sized History of France
Author: Stéphane Henaut
Publisher: The New Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2018-07-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1620972522

A "delicious" (Dorie Greenspan), "genial" (Kirkus Reviews), "very cool book about the intersections of food and history" (Michael Pollan)—as featured in the New York Times "The complex political, historical, religious and social factors that shaped some of [France's] . . . most iconic dishes and culinary products are explored in a way that will make you rethink every sprinkling of fleur de sel." —The New York Times Book Review Acclaimed upon its hardcover publication as a "culinary treat for Francophiles" (Publishers Weekly), A Bite-Sized History of France is a thoroughly original book that explores the facts and legends of the most popular French foods and wines. Traversing the cuisines of France's most famous cities as well as its underexplored regions, the book is enriched by the "authors' friendly accessibility that makes these stories so memorable" (The New York Times Book Review). This innovative social history also explores the impact of war and imperialism, the age-old tension between tradition and innovation, and the enduring use of food to prop up social and political identities. The origins of the most legendary French foods and wines—from Roquefort and cognac to croissants and Calvados, from absinthe and oysters to Camembert and champagne—also reveal the social and political trends that propelled France's rise upon the world stage. As told by a Franco-American couple (Stéphane is a cheesemonger, Jeni is an academic) this is an "impressive book that intertwines stories of gastronomy, culture, war, and revolution. . . . It's a roller coaster ride, and when you're done you'll wish you could come back for more" (The Christian Science Monitor).

An Infinite History

An Infinite History
Author: Emma Rothschild
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2021-01-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691208174

An innovative history of deep social and economic changes in France, told through the story of a single extended family across five generations Marie Aymard was an illiterate widow who lived in the provincial town of Angoulême in southwestern France, a place where seemingly nothing ever happened. Yet, in 1764, she made her fleeting mark on the historical record through two documents: a power of attorney in connection with the property of her late husband, a carpenter on the island of Grenada, and a prenuptial contract for her daughter, signed by eighty-three people in Angoulême. Who was Marie Aymard? Who were all these people? And why were they together on a dark afternoon in December 1764? Beginning with these questions, An Infinite History offers a panoramic look at an extended family over five generations. Through ninety-eight connected stories about inquisitive, sociable individuals, ending with Marie Aymard’s great-great granddaughter in 1906, Emma Rothschild unfurls an innovative modern history of social and family networks, emigration, immobility, the French Revolution, and the transformation of nineteenth-century economic life. Rothschild spins a vast narrative resembling a period novel, one that looks at a large, obscure family, of whom almost no private letters survive, whose members traveled to Syria, Mexico, and Tahiti, and whose destinies were profoundly unequal, from a seamstress living in poverty in Paris to her third cousin, the cardinal of Algiers. Rothschild not only draws on discoveries in local archives but also uses new technologies, including the visualization of social networks, large-scale searches, and groundbreaking methods of genealogical research. An Infinite History demonstrates how the ordinary lives of one family over three centuries can constitute a remarkable record of deep social and economic changes.

France, Story of a Childhood

France, Story of a Childhood
Author: Zahia Rahmani
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2016-01-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0300212100

"An intimate, autobiographical novel of an alleged Harki Algerian family's exile from home and unwelcoming reception in France. A timely and moving tale of uprooting and resettlement, imprisonment and escape, persecution and loss, narrated by the daughter of an alleged Harki, an Algerian soldier who fought for the French during the Algerian War of Independence. It was the fate of such men to be twice exiled, first in their homeland after the war, and later in France, where fleeing Harki families sought refuge but instead faced contempt, discrimination, and exclusion. Zahia Rahmani blends reality and imagination in her writing, offering a fictionalized version of her own family's struggle. With ingenuity that defies categories and genre, the author delves deeply into her past with the immediacy of memoir, the reflection of essay, the artistry of fiction, and the relevance of reportage. From the unique perspective of the daughter of an accused Harki, she examines France's complex and controversial history with its former colony and offers new insight into the French civil riots of 2005. She makes a stirring plea for understanding between generations and cultures, and especially for an end to the destructive practice of condemning children for their fathers' actions and beliefs."--Page 2 of cover (flap).

France in the World

France in the World
Author: Patrick Boucheron
Publisher: Other Press, LLC
Total Pages: 993
Release: 2019-04-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1590519418

This dynamic collection presents a new way of writing national and global histories while developing our understanding of France in the world through short, provocative essays that range from prehistoric frescoes to Coco Chanel to the terrorist attacks of 2015. Bringing together an impressive group of established and up-and-coming historians, this bestselling history conceives of France not as a fixed, rooted entity, but instead as a place and an idea in flux, moving beyond all borders and frontiers, shaped by exchanges and mixtures. Presented in chronological order from 34,000 BC to 2015, each chapter covers a significant year from its own particular angle--the marriage of a Viking leader to a Carolingian princess proposed by Charles the Fat in 882, the Persian embassy's reception at the court of Louis XIV in 1715, the Chilean coup d'état against President Salvador Allende in 1973 that mobilized a generation of French left-wing activists. France in the World combines the intellectual rigor of an academic work with the liveliness and readability of popular history. With a brand-new preface aimed at an international audience, this English-language edition will be an essential resource for Francophiles and scholars alike.

France Davis

France Davis
Author: France Davis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2007
Genre: African American Baptists
ISBN:

The life story of France Davis, the dynamic pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, who came of age in the segregation-era South and endured with honor the major issues of that difficult time within the U.S. This is an oral history, ethnography, memoir, and perhaps life-enhancing sermon delivered with the strong voice of a preacher.

Savoir-Faire

Savoir-Faire
Author: Maryann Tebben
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2020-09-06
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1789143314

Savoir-Faire is a comprehensive account of France’s rich culinary history, which is not only full of tales of haute cuisine, but seasoned with myths and stories from a wide variety of times and places—from snail hunting in Burgundy to female chefs in Lyon, and from cheese appreciation in Roman Gaul to bread debates from the Middle Ages to the present. It examines the use of less familiar ingredients such as chestnuts, couscous, and oysters; explores French food in literature and film; reveals the influence of France’s overseas territories on the shape of French cuisine today; and includes historical recipes for readers to try at home.

My Good Life in France

My Good Life in France
Author: Janine Marsh
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2017-05-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1782437339

Ten years ago, Janine Marsh decided to leave her corporate life behind to fix up a run-down barn in northern France. This is the true story of her rollercoaster ride.