I was concerned a book about politics and the economy would be boring, but decided to take a chance because I love nonfiction and books about France. The first chapter almost made me give up on the book, with a disorganized overview of the contents of the book and a laundry-list of the things which make France great. I stuck it out though and if you’re someone interested in learning about modern France, I’d highly recommend you do the same. The author has collected many great stories of both historical events and his own experiences in France. He did a great job bringing France to life and made me very hungry reading about French cuisine.

I was initially dubious about the book’s organization by subject rather than chronology. Especially as someone not familiar with the history of France’s politics, it took me a little while to grasp the order of the events being discussed. By the middle of the book though, the references to the same events as they related to different subjects actually made it easier to learn from the book. The organization by subject also meant I could benefit more from the author’s grasp of the big picture of French politics and history. Had I simply read about the events in chronological order, I might never have gotten many of the author’s insights. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and was surprised when the initially dry-appearing book made me laugh out loud at several of the author’s stories.

This review first published at Doing Dewey. ( )

I was concerned a book about politics and the economy would be boring, but decided to take a chance because I love nonfiction and books about France. The first chapter almost made me give up on the book, with a disorganized overview of the contents of the book and a laundry-list of the things which make France great. I stuck it out though and if you’re someone interested in learning about modern France, I’d highly recommend you do the same. The author has collected many great stories of both historical events and his own experiences in France. He did a great job bringing France to life and made me very hungry reading about French cuisine.

I was initially dubious about the book’s organization by subject rather than chronology. Especially as someone not familiar with the history of France’s politics, it took me a little while to grasp the order of the events being discussed. By the middle of the book though, the references to the same events as they related to different subjects actually made it easier to learn from the book. The organization by subject also meant I could benefit more from the author’s grasp of the big picture of French politics and history. Had I simply read about the events in chronological order, I might never have gotten many of the author’s insights. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and was surprised when the initially dry-appearing book made me laugh out loud at several of the author’s stories.

This review first published at Doing Dewey. ( )

I was concerned a book about politics and the economy would be boring, but decided to take a chance because I love nonfiction and books about France. The first chapter almost made me give up on the book, with a disorganized overview of the contents of the book and a laundry-list of the things which make France great. I stuck it out though and if you’re someone interested in learning about modern France, I’d highly recommend you do the same. The author has collected many great stories of both historical events and his own experiences in France. He did a great job bringing France to life and made me very hungry reading about French cuisine.

I was initially dubious about the book’s organization by subject rather than chronology. Especially as someone not familiar with the history of France’s politics, it took me a little while to grasp the order of the events being discussed. By the middle of the book though, the references to the same events as they related to different subjects actually made it easier to learn from the book. The organization by subject also meant I could benefit more from the author’s grasp of the big picture of French politics and history. Had I simply read about the events in chronological order, I might never have gotten many of the author’s insights. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and was surprised when the initially dry-appearing book made me laugh out loud at several of the author’s stories.

This review first published at Doing Dewey. ( )

I was concerned a book about politics and the economy would be boring, but decided to take a chance because I love nonfiction and books about France. The first chapter almost made me give up on the book, with a disorganized overview of the contents of the book and a laundry-list of the things which make France great. I stuck it out though and if you’re someone interested in learning about modern France, I’d highly recommend you do the same. The author has collected many great stories of both historical events and his own experiences in France. He did a great job bringing France to life and made me very hungry reading about French cuisine.

I was initially dubious about the book’s organization by subject rather than chronology. Especially as someone not familiar with the history of France’s politics, it took me a little while to grasp the order of the events being discussed. By the middle of the book though, the references to the same events as they related to different subjects actually made it easier to learn from the book. The organization by subject also meant I could benefit more from the author’s grasp of the big picture of French politics and history. Had I simply read about the events in chronological order, I might never have gotten many of the author’s insights. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and was surprised when the initially dry-appearing book made me laugh out loud at several of the author’s stories.

This review first published at Doing Dewey. ( )

I was concerned a book about politics and the economy would be boring, but decided to take a chance because I love nonfiction and books about France. The first chapter almost made me give up on the book, with a disorganized overview of the contents of the book and a laundry-list of the things which make France great. I stuck it out though and if you’re someone interested in learning about modern France, I’d highly recommend you do the same. The author has collected many great stories of both historical events and his own experiences in France. He did a great job bringing France to life and made me very hungry reading about French cuisine.

I was initially dubious about the book’s organization by subject rather than chronology. Especially as someone not familiar with the history of France’s politics, it took me a little while to grasp the order of the events being discussed. By the middle of the book though, the references to the same events as they related to different subjects actually made it easier to learn from the book. The organization by subject also meant I could benefit more from the author’s grasp of the big picture of French politics and history. Had I simply read about the events in chronological order, I might never have gotten many of the author’s insights. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and was surprised when the initially dry-appearing book made me laugh out loud at several of the author’s stories.

This review first published at Doing Dewey. ( )