Paris Reborn

It's very well done and interesting book about the building of paris. These men took Paris from a dirty coshanty like city city and completely Read design for cito be a model for the rest of the world.

If you want to make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs.This book tells the fascinating story of how Napoleon III had an imperial vision for Paris and picked the ultimate egg breaker, Georges-Eugene Haussmann to implement this vision. The vision brought large scale demolition of existing structures, dislocation of citizens by the thousands, insider real estate deals, and financial deceit on a breath taking scale. The core of Paris as we know it originated with this modernization, which cleared traffic snarls, provided water and sewer service, and gave Paris its unique appeal for the generations that followed. Kirkland chronicles the massive urban changes, explaining how the streets and squares of the city were remade. He also goes into some intriguing detail on the politics and financing of the undertaking, and follows Haussmann's rise from provincial bureaucrat to the emperor's right hand man.The writing style is clear and accessible, but sometimes lacks the telling detail that makes history come alive. When the author says that the massive building boom stimulated French industry, I wished for more explanation and a few statistics. Thousands of apartments were built, but there are only a couple pages on these, mostly about their facades. How did life change for the Parisians moved into them?Books about design and technology often don't have enough illustrations to completely explain their ideas. Another reviewer provided information on Kirkland's website, which provides a wealth of detailed maps and street images. Going directly to Google maps and getting typical street views is also helpful. This shows the scale and details of the urban fabric that makes Paris such a wonderful city for pedestrians.

This extremely interesting study of the determined and relentless efforts during 1848 to 1870 to re-design and re-engineer the City of Paris casts a new light on the critically important involvement of the Emperor Napoleon III in the overall planning and empowerment of dedicated, efficient administrators and engineers led by Baron Haussmann who have been heralded as the architects of the Paris we know today. While there are many monuments and shrines recalling the accomplishments of Napoleon I, there are hardly any reminders of the fact that entire face of Paris as we know it today is largely due to the almost fanatical determination of Napoleon III to establish Paris as a modern, clean, efficient and breathtakingly beautiful city. Many people know of the contributions of Baron Haussmann, but have looked upon Napoleon III as a relative bystander and political showman rather than a visionary leader and driving force behind one of the most extensive urban modernization efforts in European history. This book succeeds in addressing that misconception.Yet this is not merely an attempt to rehabilitate the largely discredited monarch whose downfall is still treated as a national holiday in France (with a major thoroughfare in the Paris named for the date of his deposition, September 4, 1870). Kirkland doesn't neglect to mention the ruthless and often cruel manner in which hundreds of thousands of residents of "old Paris" were displaced and the role played by unscrupulous profiteers in the process. It was undoubtedly a massive undertaking that could only have been executed with the force of absolute, brutally despotic government behind the scenes. Students of modern French history and those who love Paris will definitely want to read this new book.I do agree with some of the other reviewers who lament that decent maps would have been extremely useful additions to this book. Their absence is a notable deficiency. Nevertheless, travel guides and their accompanying maps are readily available and may be more useful to follow along the text.

The book I ordered arrived quickly and was in perfect condition.

Recebi la capa correcta, pero el livro que venia dentro era otro completamente diferente. Tuve que pedir reembolso.

Permet de suivre la création du Paris moderne sous Napoléon III.et Haussman. Très bien écrit. Passionnant. Je recommande sans réserve.

If you love Paris this book is a must

This terrific book is written in a high-speed, highly voiced prose, but with all the lexical nuance and anecdotal digression that make social history (and architectural history) a consummation and reward for one's liberal education. It turns out that Napoleon III created, in 16 busy years, the first modern city, the greatest capital of Europe, and could do so only because he had the authority of an emperor, and the ruthless, take-no-prisoners efficiency of his notorious civil servant, Baron Haussmann.

Good read