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"A witty, engaging narrativestyle....[Robb's] approach is particularlyengrossing."—New York Times BookReview, front-page reviewA narrative of exploration—full of strangelandscapes and even stranger inhabitants—thatexplains the enduring fascination of France.While Gustave Eiffel was changing the skyline of Paris, large parts of France were still terraincognita. Even in the age of railways andnewspapers, France was a land of ancient tribaldivisions, prehistoric communication networks,and pre-Christian beliefs. French itself was aminority language.

Graham Robbdescribes that unknown world in arrestingnarrative detail. He recounts the epic journeysof mapmakers, scientists, soldiers,administrators, and intrepid tourists, ofitinerant workers, pilgrims, and herdsmen withtheir millions of migratory domestic animals. We learn how France was explored, charted, andcolonized, and how the imperial influence ofParis was gradually extended throughout akingdom of isolated towns and villages.

The Discovery of France explains how the modern nation came to be and how poorlyunderstood that nation still is today. Aboveall, it shows how much of France—past andpresent—remains to be discovered. A New York Times Notable Book, PublishersWeekly Best Book, Slate Best Book, and Booklist Editor's Choice. 16 pages of illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

The best book I have ever read on France
A very unusual description of france looking outside Paris outside the elite and not concerned with past descriptions. For foreigners living in France probably the best introduction to their adopted home.

great to read while in france
this was a great book to read upon arriving here in france. helps to explain so many cultural, language, architectural and historical questions i had. really kept coming across things and immediately understood "why." can't wait to read "Discovery of Paris."

Too much of a good thing
Much of the book is extraordinarily interesting, but Robb keeps reinforcing points already made with excessive detail.A good editor would have helped.This would be a better book if it were one-third shorter.

"France", an alien planet
An amazing and strange book. A science-fiction story about an alien planet called "France". Only non-Frenchman could have looked at the available historical evidence and drawn this strange conclusion. Absolutely fascinating.

Discovery of France
This is the book for anyone interested in French society and the coming together of France as a nation during the past couple of centuries. The casual tourist will never discover how France developed from a disparate combination of rural enclaves with their own "patois" or that remnants of the past still pertain in the various regions that are now tourist enclaves. This book is a must for those with more than a passing interest in France. ... Read more

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Excellent book by preeminent Courbet Scholar
Gives insights on how the 19th century realist painter deftly used the media to spur his own career. Gives art historical, biographical, and general historical insights.

great history book
excellent book. thouroughly informative. speaks of courbet's work through the eyes and mouths of his contemporaries. paints a wonderful picture of his life and times. ... Read more

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Text and photographs present the topography, history, society, economy, and governmental structure of France. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Publisher: Paris, HachettePublication date: 1919Subjects: France -- Description and travelNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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All of the agricultural pressure groups in early modern France were important in shaping the evolution of French farming in this century.The transformation of an isolated peasantry into highly efficient agricultural producers, the role of the state in influencing agricultural modernization, and the place of the European community in French political and agricultural life have been affected by an increasingly complex network of organizations that are the subject of Cleary's book.Their history and geography is a revealing indicator of the social, cultural, and economic evolution of rural France.By combining an historical approach with a consideration of their contemporary role, the book serves to elucidate their role in shaping the countryside of the future. ... Read more

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

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The two leading thinkers in historical geography in the English-speaking world in the mid-twentieth century were Carl Sauer and H.C. Darby.Critical evaluations of the work of Carl Sauer have been published but so far none have examined the contribution of H.C. Darby, although the influence of his ideas on his students and many other contemporary scholars in geography, history and archaeology can be seen in the development of landscape studies and advances in the understanding of processes of geographical change.

This set of twelve previously unpublished essays on historical geography written by Darby in the 1960s explains the basis of his ideas.The material was intended by Darby as a book, but he failed to complete this in his lifetime.

The essays are divided into three quartets of studies relating to England, France and the United States.They are accompanied by contributions from Hugh Clout, T.J. Coppock, Hugh Prince and Michael Williams which both contextualize the material and bring it up-to-date. ... Read more

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In the first book of its kind to appear in the English language, two of France's leading scholars trace the historical geography of their country from its roots in the Roman province of Gaul to the present day. They demonstrate how, for centuries, France was little more than an ideological concept, and examine the relatively late development of a more complex territorial geography, involving political, religious, cultural, agricultural and industrial unities and diversities. Their conclusion is that it is only recently that France has achieved its territorial unity, and has overwritten the fragmentations of its past. ... Read more

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