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France: An Adventure History

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I have realised, halfway through it, that I should have read a convential history on France before I picked Robb's up. There is the memoir of the English girl who became an actual friend of Napoleon Bonaparte’s during his final captivity on St. Overall the book covered certain aspects very well, but suffers from huge gaps in history and the writing was overly complex but is still worthwhile reading. On the other hand, the book only discusses that specific time period in that area and not other time periods in the same area. The "idea" of France, its abstractions, hypocrisies, myths, and history were all meshed into one frame per chapter.

He reminds me of a comic plotting his course on a treasure map, going round and round until s/he reaches their destination; when a simple straight line would have reached their objective ages ago. Even with the helpful maps and a massive list of notes and references (which constitute nearly one-third of the hefty book), readers might appreciate the stories more if they have a ready understanding of French history, geography, and language. When I read it again – and I will read this book again – I might jump into one of the later essays first.

The tribes had a network of listening posts and traces of ancient life can still be found on low hilltops near rivers in the topography of the land.

To fully appreciate what I mean, perhaps a few other synonyms would help: lost, annoyed, impatient, or desperate for coherence.Frequently hilarious, always surprising, this is a a vivid, living history of one of the world's most fascinating nations, it will make even seasoned Francophiles wonder if they really know that terra incognita which is currently referred to as 'France'.

A vivid, living history of one of the world’s most fascinating nations, it will make even seasoned Francophiles wonder if they really know that terra incognita which is currently referred to as ‘France’. There is a lot I learned from these pages that I hadn't ever encountered before, and having read about it through Robb's journeys seemed to make it more relevant. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. Frequently hilarious, always surprising, this is a sweeping panorama, teeming with characters, stories and coincidences, and offering a thrilling sense of discovery and enlightenment. ambitious and original' - The Times_____Original, knowledgeable and endlessly entertaining, France: An Adventure History is an unforgettable journey through France from the first century BC to the present day.He won the 1997 Whitbread Book Award for best biography (Victor Hugo) and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Rimbaud in 2001. Robb’s scheme of time is geological: in his conclusion he looks forward to a time when there are new massifs and new cols climbed by bicyclists who won’t be speaking any recognizable form of French. Within the few 20 or pages, it appeared like it was written by Micheal Sheen's character in "Midnight in Paris".

His essays are mostly history mixed with part memoir, part travelogue, and a decent amount of humor. Robb’s reminiscing his own adventures allows the reader some connection to the ancient histories he’s discussing.I loved the idea of telling the history of France through a series of places and the places chosen were not the obvious and the history was not always the most well-known. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin. Louis XIV to the Second Empire civers considerably shorter span time, roughly 200 years from the mid-1700’s.

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