Review of FRANCE: An Adventure History
An unorthodox, insightful "tour de France" ...
If all of history was written like this entertaining but deeply informed tour of French history and France itself, we would all be better informed. Robb is a polymath with deep passions that begin with France and bicycles. Clearly, as you read through this book, his list of interests is a long one. If Robb isn’t a great dinner guest, I will eat my hat.
Flipping back and forth between a chronological but not at all linear (if that makes sense) treatment of French history and his bicycling through France’s nooks and crannies, Robb delivers an anecdotal narrative that begins with Gaul and ends with Macron and the yellow jackets. This is not one fact after another; rather, it is one illuminating story after another. His treatment of Versailles, Napoleon, Napoleon III and the Tour de France are worth reading all by themselves.
Though bulky, the read is a quick one and the supporting materials are simply superb!
FRANCE: An Adventure History
Graham Robb
394 pages 2022