Paris Then and Now (Then & Now)

Book Description

Celebrating beloved cities from around the world, this book on the City of Lights offers a unique combination of historic interest and contemporary beauty. Then and Now Paris features over 100 fascinating archival photographs contrasted with specially commissioned, full-color images of the same scene today. Each work is a visual lesson in the historic changes of this amazingly beautiful and wonderful urban landscape.

Customer Reviews:

Very well done..........2007-05-18

Beautifully explained and portrayal of one of the world's finest city.
I really enjoyed learning more about places I had visited while in Paris.

We know these places.......2006-04-18

Anyone who has come to know and love central Paris--the 'theme park' areas that capture its historical essence--will find this book charmingly evocative. In the sense of being able to revisit those places, many of them typical tourist attractions, the book is satisfying. The problem of not duplicating the precise angle and POV of the original 'then' photographs, raised by another reviewer, is relatively trivial and technical. The 'now' shots capture their subjects well. No photographer will 'see' a scene, place or person the same way and from an aesthetic standpoint the 'now' photos are satisfying and professionally executed, and book production is first rate.
If one had to carp, and that's what a review is for in part, one might wonder why the authors did not take the opportunity to broaden their canvases slightly to include 'then' paintings--such as the paintings executed from the balloon's-eye view conceived during the 1871 siege of the city (able to be seen today at the brilliant Le Bourget Musee de L'Air et de L'Espace) vs. 'now' photographs, for example to illustrate the notable Peripherique, and to compare previously fallow pieces of the city 'then' vs. their current situations, such as, for example, the stunning La Defense structures.
All in all, however, for what it is, the book is pleasing and will bring back many happy memories to Francophiles. Of course there are innumerable books of photos covering Paris, and naturally there are favorite places not covered in this book or not handled the way the individual reader might like, but on the whole this is a workmanlike job that captures its subject competently.
(Apologies to readers who will note, correctly, the absence of appropriate French accents in this review--not offered by Amazon's word processing system.)

Playing all the angles.......2006-03-06

Paris is, I think, the second most beautiful city in the world (full disclosure: I live in Rome, which is tops in my book) and so I was eager to take a look at this book when I saw it at a friends' house.

I was already familiar with the Then and Now series after receiving the Rome edition of the book for Christmas, and after seeing this book I can only conclude that what I had chalked up as weaknesses in the Rome book may just be faults in the series.

The central idea for the book is charmingly simple: the left-hand pages feature old photos of some of Paris' best-known spots, and the right-hand side of each page is made up of modern shots of the same sites.

The biggest problem is hard not to notice: the angles of the photos on the right are very often not taken from the same angle as the older images. I found this to be so puzzling as to be irritating. I think it shows a lack of planning on the part of the book's editors, and it also robs the reader of being able to make a complete comparison between the way things were and the way they are -- a process that is the book's very raison d'être.

I admit my patience for such sloppiness had already been tried with the Rome book, but the sins seem even greater here.

I also rue the absence of a table of contents listing the photographs in order, another weakness that now appears to be a characteristic of the series.

I'm not sure how likely these issues are to be solved in future editions, since by my count nearly 30 photos would have to be re-shot in order to solve the largest problems. But if the editors would like to release a book that reaches this volume's potential, they'd better get snapping.

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Lush photos of the Louvre's greatest artwork - itself

The Louvre: An Architectural History
Genevieve Bresc Bautier , Keiichi Tahara , Genevieve Bresc , and Genevieve Brise
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B00009MVI7

Customer Reviews:

Lush photos of the Louvre's greatest artwork - itself.......1999-07-09

This book is a must have for anyone who has ever fallen in love with the Louvre. The photos are incredible, with many panoramic views as well as detailed shots. Finding books on the works of art contained *in* the Louvre is easy, but this is the best book I've seen on the fantastic artwork that is the buildings, rooms, and courtyards of the Louvre itself.

I also loved the historical info on the Louvre provided by the text. Simple staircases I have walked down a number of times suddenly have rich meaning and context for me now. And I appreciated the focus on all parts of the Louvre complex. There's info on the more popular, touristy parts of the Louvre, like the pyramids and Denon, but also details on the more out-of-the way spots tucked away in Sully or elsewhere.

The only problems I found with the book are that the historical info at times assumes that the reader knows quite about about French history. If your history is lacking in a certain period, the text can be a bit hard to follow. I also would have appreciated maps and floorplans of the Louvre to remind me where each area being discussed is and how it relates to the other areas.

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In Through the Windows of Paris, the reader is spirited away, like Alice through the looking glass, to a Paris where old-world skill and personal service are still the rule. Each of the 50 listings--every one the sort of establishment you'd love to seek out on your next trip--is treated with a rich spread of color photographs and an evocative depiction:

[Le Pont Traversee] One of the grandest boucheries in Paris, with the patterned marble façade and carved wood frames, has become a wonderfully ramshackle bookshop that specializes in literature of every kind. Established in 1974 by the poet Marcel Béalu, it is now run by his widow, Josée. Ceiling hooks recall the sides of beef and lamb that must once have occupied the space; now the challenge is to step lightly around tottering piles and climb the ladder past laden shelves, hoping they won't come crashing down in your search for an elusive volume of Baudelaire's poetry.

Step through doors decrepit or grand, deco or nouveau, and discover a wealth of unique, handmade treasures that would put Cartier to shame. The wine merchants, chocolatiers, toy makers, milliners, antiques shops, and lingerie makers celebrated in this charming little book define craftsmanship and good taste, and provide a sumptuous alternative to a day in line at the Louvre. --Jhana Bach

Book Description

Shop windows and interiors are among the glories of Paris-as enticing as its museums and grand vistas but far less tiring to explore. They distill the qualities we most admire in the City of Light: a love of fantasy and tradition of craft and style, and the art of doing simple things well. The richly illustrated text of Through the Windows of Paris sketches the history of shopping in Paris and evokes the special character of the city. There is no better place to find it than in the boutiques selling crusty bread and creamy cheese, witty hats and luxurious lingerie. Michael Webb has chosen fifty of the most intriguing shops in Paris for their individuality and the beauty of their displays. New or old, tiny or expansive, they engage all the senses and reveal the true character of the capital. This book comprises 160 color images of fifty unique shops and a comprehensive list of addresses, telephone numbers, and metro stops. Whether you make the trip from your armchair or hop on the next plane, this book will guide you, in words and pictures, through the windows of Paris.

Customer Reviews:

the character of paris.......2000-10-05

a wonderful book, showing the real character of paris to whet your appetite. as someone who is soon to go to Paris for the first time, i loved this book for doing the legwork for me in finding those little boutiques that add character to your holiday , that i probably would have missed. i'm sure they will lead me to other great little shops and experiences.

Beautiful book - great addresses!.......1999-06-09

As a part-time resident of Paris, I thought I knew all of the "bons addresses", those hard-to-find shops where you can find that perfect, unique gift for yourself or someone at home. I was wrong! On my next trip to Paris, I'll be looking into a number of the lovely boutiques mentioned in this book. Not only are the addresses provided, complete with compelling descriptions, but there are gorgeous photos that make your mouth water in anticipation of actually visiting these havens of shopping pleasure, if only to browse and take in the beauty of their wares. Bravo to the authors and photographer!

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Paris: An Architectural History
PARIS
How to take the fun out of Paris
The best book I've found on Paris architecture and history

Paris: An Architectural History
Anthony Sutcliffe
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0300068867

Book Description

In this lavishly illustrated book, one of Paris`s leading historians links the beauty of the city to its harmonious architecture, the product of a powerful tradition of classical design running from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Anthony Sutcliffe traces the main features of the development of Parisian building and architecture since Roman times, explaining the interaction of continuity and innovation and relating it to issues of power, the social structure, the property market, fashion, and the creativity of its architects.

Customer Reviews:

Paris: An Architectural History.......2007-09-24

the book will serve to be very beneficial to my daughter which is studying architecture in Paris.

PARIS.......2007-01-21

First of all let me state that one star for this book is absolutely ridiculous, I must confess, I dont hold a PH.D in Parisian architecture, but i do know a thing or two about Paris, and this book is excellent, there are images and information about the architecture of Paris, that I had not seen before. I love Paris, and have always been fascinated with the architecture and Hausemans layout of Paris. If you have any interest in the architectural history of Paris, then really I cannot imagine you not having some appreciation of this book, maybe when your in Paris you can run by the afore mentioned reviewers copy he left out of disgust and save yourself some money. Highly recommended.

How to take the fun out of Paris.......2003-08-20

I took this book with me on a month-long architecture study trip to Paris this summer. I started reading it before the trip, and found it very dry and badly written (I have a B.A. in History, so I've read my share of dry texts!). I hoped that being in Paris would enliven the book. That didn't happen; Paris itself only highlighted the deficiencies in the book, the most glaring of which being the complete omission of the city's pre-Roman, Roman, and early Middle Ages history. (Saint-Chapelle is not in there at all!) In lieu of this, Sutcliffe spends an inordinate amount of documenting the development of the distinctive hotel-style residences in the city. There are the obligatory bits on Haussman and the Pompidou Center, but both - particularly the latter - are so opinionated that it made me question the credibility of the entire book. At the end of the trip, I left my copy behind in my dorm room. Au revoir!

Unfortunately, I haven't found a good Paris architectural history to recommend instead of this one. If you're in the city and want a good, well-illustrated book on the development of early city (pre-Roman through the Middle Ages), pick up the exhibition catalogue at the archeological museum under the plaza in front of Notre-Dame.

The best book I've found on Paris architecture and history.......1999-07-10

This is without a doubt the best book I've found yet on Parisian architectural history. Sutcliffe has done an incredible job of merging discussion of the architectural features of Parisian buildings and monuments with the historical context that influenced (and was influenced by) them.

If you have ever been fascinated by the spectacular buildings, monuments, and boulevards of Paris, this book will be a treat. After reading this book, Paris seemed like a totally new city to me. Apartment rows that I'd previously not even noticed suddenly took on meaning and importance for me. The larger patterns of the city became clear to me. And I felt a physical link with the history of Paris.

I loved Sutcliffe's writing style, mixing humor with information and sharing his personal opinion of buildings with the historical facts. I also enjoyed the insights on the social atmospheres and values of each timeperiod and how they influenced the way in which the structures were built and what the public reaction to them was at the time.

Book Description

Part of the photographer's challenge lies in capturing a familiar scene in a startling and original way, and Michel Setboun has succeeded in his beautiful work, Bell Towers of Paris. The acclaimed photojournalist spent five years climbing the steps of the French capital's famed bell towers (most of them inaccessible to the public), cutting a bird's-eye-view trail through the city that he records lovingly in the pages of this spectacular book.

From Notre Dame to Invalides, Sacré- Cœur to Hôtel de Ville, here are 160 breathtaking views of the City of Light as even its long-term residents have never experienced it—adrift and timeless. With a helpful map, and informative historical text by French journalist Pierre Guicheney, Bell Towers of Paris provides a whole new way of seeing one of the world's most beguiling cities.

Customer Reviews:

Like a trip to Paris without the hassles of air travel.......2007-09-30

Beautiful images. The author's descriptions are confusing and poorly organized but you can get information on the churches in other books.

Bell Towers of Paris.......2007-01-12

The 'romance of Paris' is all thoughout the pages of this beautiful book! Highly recommended for anyone who wants to be taken away without having to leave home!!

Horse-Drawn Cabs and Omnibuses in Paris: The Idea of Circulation and the Business of Public Transit

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Horse-Drawn Cabs and Omnibuses in Paris: The Idea of Circulation and the Business of Public Transit
Nicholas Papayanis
Manufacturer: Louisiana State Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Transforming Paris: The Life and Labors of Baron Haussman

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But whereýs the story?
Author and Subject Share Similar Qualities

Transforming Paris: The Life and Labors of Baron Haussman
David P. Jordan
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0029165318

Book Description

The Paris we know today, with its grand boulevards, its bridges and parks, its monumental beauty, was essentially built in only seventeen years, in the middle of the nineteenth century. In this brief period, whole neighborhoods of medieval and revolutionary Paris -- over-crowded, dangerous, and filthy -- were razed, and from the rubble a modern city of light and air emerged. This triumphant rebuilding was chiefly the work of one man, Baron Georges Haussmann, Napoleon III's Prefect of the Seine.

It was Haussmann's task to assert, in stone, the power and permanence of Paris, to show the world that it was the seat of an empire of mythic proportions. To this end, he imposed grand visual perspectives, as when he transformed Napoleon I's Arc de Triomphe into a magnificent twelve-armed star from which radiated the broadest boulevards of Europe. Below ground, his modern sewer system became one of the wonders of the civilized world, eagerly toured by royalty and commoners alike.

Haussmann's mandate was not only to create an impression of grandeur but to secure the city for better control by government. By creating formal spaces where there had previously been a maze of chaotic streets, Haussmann opened Paris to effective police control and thwarted the recurrent demonstration of its well-known revolutionary fervor. The determined and autocratic Haussmann imprinted rational order and bourgeois civility on the unruly city which had for so long simmered with riot and insurrection.

Though he planted chestnut trees, installed gas lights, rebuilt the water supply, and improved transportation and housing, Haussmann's labors were (and remain) controversial. He forced tens of thousands of the poor from the center of the city, and destroyed significant parts of old Paris. But in this important new biography David Jordan reminds us that Haussmann was not immune to the charms of the old city. By leaving some areas intact, the Baron achieved the grand effect of implanting a modern city boldly within an ancient one. Here, at last, Haussmann's labors are given the aesthetic as well as the historical appreciation they deserve.

Customer Reviews:

But whereýs the story?.......2000-03-27

Is Jordan's book a popular history or a scholarly work? Professor Jordan is in a better position to say than I, but I had difficulty seeing it as a scholarly work, despite its fifty pages of endnotes. Mostly this is because Jordan uses the terminology of class struggle. Surely even academia has reached the point of recognizing that this is all nonsense, and not even important nonsense, despite the millions of lives it has cost. Jordan must be aware that the very word "bourgeoisie," which he uses in the belittling way you'd expect, literally means "city-dwellers." But he never points out that, for all the difficulties of the workers' lives, they evidently found the city, and specifically Paris, preferable to the alternatives.

It's also a bit hard to take Jordan seriously when he, more than once, uses the word "hoard" to mean "horde." The mind, violently derailed, seeks a subtle bon mot, but in vain, for there is no humour in this book. This may well be Jordan's editor's failing, but Jordan bears the responsibility. The writer's language is a chauffeur, carrying us effectively but above all unobtrusively to our destination.

Worse even than the fallacies inherent in class-struggle terminology is the simple fact that it's deadly boring. And that was the problem I had when I viewed the book as a popular history. Compare Jordan with Robert Caro's Power Broker, the popular biography-history of Robert Moses and the remaking of New York, quite similar in many ways to the haussmannization of Paris. Caro fills his book with characters and anecdotes. In sad contrast, Jordan has but a few characters, Haussmann and Louis Napoleon chief among them. The other humanity affected by their activities is lumped together into anonymous classes: the bourgeoisie, the landlords, the workers, the national assembly. But where's the story? Stories are about individuals, and there just aren't any!

Jordan tells us repeatedly, and with evident contempt, that Haussmann was an archetypal bureaucrat, an authoritarian, an opportunist, an autobiographer blindly in love with himself. Well, yes, but we don't want to be told this; we want to be shown. Where are the examples? Where are the stories? We get only a few self-aggrandizing quotations from the autobiography.

So the book fails as popular biography. We see Haussmann in one dimension only, and by the end, we really don't care to learn more. But there must have been more! There was a wife, there were daughters, there were colourful mistresses, about whom the wife exercised restraint. But we learn little more than what I write here.

Or if the real Haussmann was in fact deadly dull, how about the thousands of people whose lives he affected? Surely, some of their stories must have survived, and some of the surviving stories must be worth the telling.

Jordan tells us how the Louvre was extended, the Rue du Rivoli was punched through, the Opera was built, the Hotel de Ville and the Tour St Jacques were isolated from the city - these are but statements of brick and mortar. Even in brick-and-mortar terms, one suspects there is a story about, for example, the Sainte Chapelle, imprisoned by the court. The closest we get to the life of the city are remarks that the neighborhood of Les Halles was clogged with the daily traffic of the markets, that the boulevardiers adopted Haussmann's chestnut-lined avenues, and that the wide streets were barricaded by insurrectionists as effectively as the old passageways. Collective humanity, all of it, no stories, no interest. Even when Jordan cites Victor Hugo, he fails to capture our interest. Rather remarkable, that, when you think of it!

What was I expecting, what had I hoped for? Jordan himself (and thanks!) mentions Robert Moses, reminding me of Caro's book, which I hadn't read for some years. It's a good contrast. Caro doesn't explicitly discuss New York in the terms of Jane Jacobs' Death and Life of Great American Cities, but it's easy for the reader to supply the analysis himself, and if he knows New York, to observe the effects of Moses' actions in the quality of the city. Sadly, Jordan doesn't give us enough to do the same with Paris. The material surely exists: even today, hotels on the left bank - which was neglected by haussmannization - advertise themselves as being "in the safe part" of Paris. Someone as intimately familiar with the geography and history of Paris as Jordan could have given us that view.

The first thing I had hoped for was, then, the ability to go somewhere in Paris, or perhaps on a map or only in my memory, and say, "This is how it was, and these interesting events were part of its transformation into what we see today." I already play these little mind games with Hugo's Paris.

Though a Jane-Jacobs analysis might well disagree with the conclusion, both Jordan and Caro lead us to the view that, thirty, fifty, a hundred years later, when the ruined have died and the bonds have been paid off, the city is the better for having undergone her ordeal, that eventually, the end justifies the means. Even if we were to accept the conclusion as a matter of pragmatism, however, we cannot accept it morally or ethically. Surely there must be a way for men to build congenial and functional environments by mutual consent, without having to despoil one another. Can a city be renewed - probably a continuous process, not an overhaul - without the use of authoritarian force or major disaster? London had her fire, Germany had the war, Paris had Haussmann, New York had Moses. Hong Kong, maybe?

To the best of my knowledge, this question has never been addressed by any author. The writer who does this, with intellectual rigor, imagination, lots of examples, and a lively style, will make a real contribution. That's the book I'd really like to read.

Author and Subject Share Similar Qualities.......1998-06-04

Jordan has marshalled his impressive research and writing skills to tell the story of how such an arrogant, unsentimental, and philistine man created one of the most magnificent urban centers in the world. When Jordan discusses how certain roads and venues were decided upon, the laying of the sewers, the struggles that the Prefect of the Seine had with his political opponents and landlord antagonists, how he cooked the books to raise the necessary cash for the effort, and Haussmann's inglorious fall, the book is a first-rate monograph. The author's presentation makes us see how Paris became the prime example of "authoritarian urban planning" and yet also bravely suggests that such iron-fisted control was needed to defeat the coterie of landlords, politicans, and entrepreneurs whose personal interests lay in defeating Haussmann's schemes. Yet Jordan's prose is a bit too Haussmann-like itself. Jordan conceives of Haussmann as the prefect did of Paris -- in a singularly determined way -- and repeatedly insists that we share this view. He constantly hammers away at Haussmann's arrogance, contempt for democratic procedures, his political ruthlessness and his disdain for the poor. And while these details are not correct, they're repeated so constantly that they ultimately detract from Jordan's achievement -- it's as though the author came to resent spending all those years and efforts researching a man who ultimately repelled him. Jordan is so insistent that we see Haussmann on his terms that he doesn't let us enjoy for ourselves the paradoxes and foibles of his protagonist. When the baron writes some feeble pastoral poetry about his youth, Jordan doesn't trust us enough to relish the absurdity of this autocrat imagining himself as a romantic, he insists on telling us how absurd it is and why we should think so. We're also constantly and needlessly told each time he took credit for the work of someone else and how much his arrogance was flattered by the attentions of Napoleon III. Jorda! n grounds his protagonist's character so early on that these repeated instances of his appalling behavor seem petty. Inasmuch as he criticizes Haussmann for creating a Paris that orders around its citizens, Jordan himself overly-directs his readers. Moreover, the book spends less time than I would have liked discussing the myriad problems of transforming Paris -- there's less here about the expropriations, the architecture of the new Haussmann buildings (virtually non-existent in the book despite the early presence of the intriquing quote that "Haussmann's Paris represents a paradox in that he created an architectually fascinating city without creating any memorable buildings"), and the forced relocations of the poor into the banlieue than on Haussmann's bullying tactics in the Yonne and Bordeaux (fascinating as those episodes are Jordan overly relishes them as evidence of the Baron's ruthlessness). In other words, there are several instances where there's more build-up than pay-off. Why issue it a seven despite these critical flaws? For one thing, Jordan has turned an administrator's career into a compelling read -- no mean achievement -- and he successfully alters our traditional view of the Second Empire as a "carnival empire" to show how it had serious modernizing concerns. Aside from Jordan's personal interjections, all of the episodes in the book are fascinating and well-written if a little disproportionately represented and the author gives us the first clearly written book in English as to how Paris became the city it did. Mostly, like Haussmann's achievement, Jordan's book, despite being a bit overbearing and contemptuous, shows us how the most mundane details of bureaucratic life can produce a work of fascination and, yes, beauty.

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How Hauss-mann succeeded in revamping Paris

Planning Paris before Haussmann
Nicholas Papayanis
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0801879302

Book Description

Long before Baron Haussmann remade Paris, several generations of intellectuals, planners, architects, engineers, and politicians envisioned a radical transformation of medieval Paris into a modern city that would be beautiful, rational, sanitary, and responsive to the needs of commerce and industry. Historian Nicholas Papayanis examines the emergence and evolution of modern urban planning in Paris between the end of the eighteenth and the middle of the nineteenth century, focusing on the principles and concerns that informed competing plans for the city.

Papayanis examines three major planning traditions in this period: functionalist, Saint-Simonian, and Fourierist. The latter two drew their inspiration from the utopian-socialist philosophers, while the former comprised practical proposals by civil engineers and administrators. Regardless of their perspective, the thinkers within each tradition critiqued the disorder, inefficiency, and social misery of Paris as it was, imagining a new city that balanced commerce, public health and safety, circulation, and social order. Ultimately, Papayanis finds, this vision of the modern industrial and commercial city lent itself to the creation of a hegemonic order that suited the demands of the state, capitalism, and the middle-class urbanite, often at the expense of other interests.

Planning Paris before Haussmann uncovers the intellectual ferment about city planning and urban reform that constituted a powerful intellectual and theoretical foundation for Haussmannization and for modern urban planning.

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How Hauss-mann succeeded in revamping Paris.......2005-04-06

How did the transformation of Paris change Europe and the world? It began with the Napoleon III regime and the work of one Baron Haussmann, who created the vision of a new Paris and established the idea of a modern magnet which would lead the world in urban planning achievement. Paris history expert and history professor Nicholas Papayanis provides an excellent introduction to just how Hauss-mann succeeded in revamping Paris, the various writings and observations of peers which helped refine his ideas, and three major planning traditions of his times. Planning Paris Before Haussmann thus provides many important urban planning insights which are key to understanding the very foundations of modern urban design choices.

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A fascinating study of 19th century Paris
a very interesting piece of reading
Photography and spiritual dislocation in Haussmann's Paris
Amazing

Parisian Views
Shelley Rice
Manufacturer: Mit Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0262181843

Book Description

During the Second Empire (1852-1870), Baron Haussmann and Emperor Napoleon III reconstructed Paris into the "City of Light" we know today. The government and other public institutions commissioned many photographers--among them Charles Marville, Henri Le Secq, Edouard-Denis Baldus, and Gustave Le Gray--to record the old Parisian architecture and to document the demolition and reconstruction. In Parisian Views, Shelley Rice explores not only the literal connections between photography and the transformation of Paris but also the metaphorical ones. For like Haussmann and Napoleon III, the photographers forged a new visual image of the city. As they constructed their "views" of Paris, they imposed order on the architecture, vistas, and street life of a city-in-progress perceived from above and below, from the skies and the sewers, from the marketplace and the windows of passing trains.

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating study of 19th century Paris.......2003-08-31

Shelley Rice's superb PARISIAN VIEWS is a stimulating collection of essays on aspects of 19th century photography in Paris, especially during that period of time in which Baron Haussmann was in charge of gutting medieval Paris and rebuilding it as the city we know today. Like a flaneur, the essays range almost randomly over a host of subjects, overlapping to a great deal in the end, but not having a particular or central thesis that permeates them all.

The photographs themselves are both beautiful and profoundly disconcerting. I found myself looking at particular photographs for extended periods of time. One in particular that troubled me was an 1838 photograph by Daguerre of the Boulevard du Temple, one of the first ever made. Because of the long exposure time, despite the boulevard's being an extremely busy street, only a single individual is visible, and he only because he was standing at a boot black to have his boots polished. Otherwise, we see an eerily deserted street, devoid of people. One of the earliest photographic images of a human being in history, if not the earliest, and the man himself was utterly unaware of his historic moment. Many of the photographs in the book inspire reflections along these lines.

Rice's book should be of interest to individuals interested in a variety of subjects: history, the development of photography, art, city planning, and cultural criticism, to name but a few. The focus of the book is not narrowly restricted to any one subject, as the wide-ranging bibliography will demonstrate.

A book that makes a perfect companion volume is the one that Rice credits with inspiring the initial work on this book: Marshall Berman's ALL THAT IS SOLID MELTS INTO AIR, which traces developments in modernism in the past two centuries. All his chapters are exciting and riveting, but one of the finest is the one on Haussmannization, both in Paris and elsewhere, in places like New York with the work of Robert Moses. In addition to Berman, the ghosts of Baudelaire and Walter Benjamin hover over many of the pages in the book.

a very interesting piece of reading.......1999-03-08

I am Ms.Rice's student from Bogazici University in Turkey. I have read a couple of chapters of this book yet, however only that much was enough to take my attention and keep me going on. The things that normally we know nothing and do not really wonder much about is presented in a way that would attract intention from both proffesional and amateur readers. Its language is a little bit difficult but the content is very interesting. It is very obvious that a real amount of effort has been put in creation of this book.

Photography and spiritual dislocation in Haussmann's Paris.......1998-11-20

Rice produced a fascinating study of Parisian photography in the age of Haussmannization, when artists predicted and hundreds of thousands literally watched their familiar Old Paris uprooted and its sites of historic memory obliterated one by one. The book makes a nice contrast to T.J. Clark's The Painting of Modern Life in its sensitivity to the worldview of the historical agents themselves. Whereas Clark sees in modernist paintings a failure of Parisians to recognize the ongoing class struggle and the embourgeoisement of the proletariat, Rice pays more attention to the actual discourse of mobility, loss of unity, fragmentation of meaning, and a sense of loss of self in this constantly changing "soulless" city. Its inhabitants are alienated in time as much as in space, and the one most sensitive to this change (Baudelaire) acknowledges the degree to which urban space has come to inject social meaning in his most private and intimate affairs: love. The book equally deserves high praise for its beautiful and moving prose. Plus, it has plenty of fun pictures! Rice, without a doubt, lives and breathes the world of the people she depicts. It is the most enjoyable and powerful book I read in this entire school year, and for a grad student in history at Berkeley, that says a lot!

Amazing.......1998-02-26

This book begins with the first photograph ever taken, in 1838, in Paris, which co-incides with the beginning of Paris' physical modernisation (under Hausmann in the 1850's). Two parallel tracks: of the development of photography and how that influenced our *viewing* of the physical world; of the development of urban-planned and -modernised Paris and how that influenced our viewing of a city. Both developments began with a difinitive demarcation from the past. I can't remember if I've ever read a *scholarly* anlysis that has been so *lively* and immediate.

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