Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The French smoke, drink and eat more fat than anyone in the world, yet they live longer and have fewer heart problems than Americans. They take seven weeks of paid vacation per year, yet have the world's highest productivity index. From a distance, modern France looks like a riddle. But up close, it all makes sense. Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong shows how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Decrypting French ideas about land, food, privacy and language, the authors weave together the threads of French society--from centralization and the Napoleonic code to elite education and even street protests--giving us, for the first time, an understanding of France and the French. Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong is the most ambitious work published on France since Theodor Zeldin's The French. It goes beyond Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon to explain not only the essence of the French, but also how they got to be the way they are. Unlike Jonathan Fenby's France on the Brink, the authors do not see France in a state of decline, but one of perpetual renewal.
Synopsis
A journey into the French lifestyle--heart, mind, and soul.
The French drink, smoke and eat more fat than anyone in the world, yet they live longer and have fewer heart problems than Americans. They work 35-hour weeks and take seven weeks' paid vacation each year, yet they are the world's fourth-biggest economic power. So how do they do it?
From a distance, modern France looks like a riddle. It is both rigidly authoritarian, yet incredibly inventive; traditional (even archaic) yet modern; lacking clout on the international stage yet still hugely influential. Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong is so much more than a mere French history book or book about France for adults; it is a French culture book that reveals their ideas about land, food, privacy and language and weaves together the threads of French society, uncovering the essence of life in France and giving, for the first time, a complete picture of the French.
Keep it for yourself or buy one as a gift for a Francophile or France lover
Praise for Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong:
" A] readable and insightful piece of work." --Montreal Mirror
"In an era of irrational reactions to all things French, here is an eminently rational answer to the question, 'Why are the French like that?'" --Library Journal
"A must-read." --Edmonton Journal
Synopsis
A historical and cultural guide revealing the French approach to land, food, privacy, language, and more and how globalization led France to become one of the unlikeliest influential countries in the world.
The French drink, smoke and eat more fat than anyone in the world, yet they live longer and have fewer heart problems than Americans. They work 35-hour weeks and take seven weeks' paid vacation each year, yet they are the world's fourth-biggest economic power. So how do they do it?
From a distance, modern France looks like a riddle. It is both rigidly authoritarian, yet incredibly inventive; traditional (even archaic) yet modern; lacking clout on the international stage yet still hugely influential. Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong is so much more than a mere French history or culture book; it reveals their unique ideas about land, food, privacy and language and weaves together the threads of French society, uncovering the essence of life in France and giving, for the first time, a complete picture of the French.
Keep it for yourself or buy one as a gift for a Francophile or France lover
Praise for Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong:
A] readable and insightful piece of work.--Montreal Mirror
In an era of irrational reactions to all things French, here is an eminently rational answer to the question, 'Why are the French like that?'--Library Journal
A must-read.--Edmonton Journal