I finished reading all 500+ pages of Andrew Hussey's book, as well as several interviews with him explaining how and why he wrote the book. I began reading Hussey's gargantuan tomb as background for my own book, Intoxicating Paris, which debuts this month. Interestingly, I finished writing my book while reading Hussey, and then I was able to enjoy the last half of Hussey's history without the pressure of needing to be writing myself. I often read late at night, so I feel the essence of the text somehow went into my dreaming psyche. Often I found myself "floating over the streets of Paris" as I slept, somehow observing the history and locales of the Paris Hussey described in the pages I'd read. It seemed to have a great impact on me psychologically as well as intellectually. As far as the content essence of the book, I now understand Hussey was striving to depict the "street world" of Paris from its inception on the Île de la Cité through the Roman invasion, all the way through royal rule, past the revolution, on through the world wars and the Algerian conflict, to modern day Paris (up to 2004).

Stylistically, I was first put off by Hussey's preoccupation with whores, wars, famine, and survival struggles. But as I read, I realized Hussey was really describing foundational Paris, right down to the urine on the streets, the muck on the cobblestones, the bullet holes you can still see on buildings in the Marais, and above all, the resilient spirit of Paris that Hussey reveres despite some of its ugliness. He still lives and works there--and cherishes all of it--profane or transcendent.
Originally as a tourist, I saw the white washed version of Paris: the gleaming Louvre, the shiny couture, the fancy cuisine. But as I got more comfortable and began to explore the real Paris, I've wandered off the tourist path and began to see the ancient Paris that Hussey believes is still speaking to us around Cafe Procope for example or in the arrondissements to the east or in the Marais. Moreover, Hussey sets up an explanation for the new Paris that we can witness in the off streets near Les Halles or around Bir Hakeim near the Eiffel, where diversity churns and cultural change is happening every day, here and now.

I agree with the critics that the book is an important work representing a more realistic perspective on historical France. I personally enjoyed the fact that near the last third of the book, Hussey arrives at a similar conclusion as I have in my book that Paris is unique (and inspirational) in that it is a microcosm of a historical and cultural evolution that is old, yet still churning. The spirit of Paris--old and now--can be savored by merely walking around and experiencing life there. Hussey's book helps any casual reader (or scholar) to sift the contributions of Parisian culture. But its most important contribution may be that it lays a foundation for what is yet to come for future Paris as a cradle of evolving cultural power that perhaps ripples out to the whole planet.