A Traveller's History of France

by Robert Cole

This volume takes the reader from the first conquests of ancient Gaul through the Renaissance, the turmoil and triumph of the French Revolution, and on through the 20th century of French history, right up to the present day.

Genres: France, History, Travel, Nonfiction, European History

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Ensiform]

This slim but informative volume contains a sort of fast-forward tour of France's history, from a brief mention of Paleolithic cave paintings in the Dordogne Valley to Roman Gaul, from the fifth-century Frankish king Clovis to Charlemagne, from the Revolution to the failure of Eurodisney. Along the way, Cole gives insights to economic factors, movements in art and literature and trends in thought.

At times, I was bogged down by the endless litany of unfamiliar names, of, for instance, rival princes and their conflicts, and the book's analysis sometimes fell out of chronological order, which didn't help. But it did get the major points across, and details every now and then made it more readable. The book contained also a chronology, a list of heads of government, and a historical gazetteer which was intriguing in its odd snippets of information.

[Therese]

Liked it, learned a lot (which I've probably promptly forgotten. Will take it to France this summer to reread while I'm there.

[Meghan]

3.5 Stars

Jumps around a bit, especially in the beginning. The first twenty pages were very difficult to follow, but chronological progression followed after.

The author seems to put his opinion in on some subjects and it’s a bit distracting from what otherwise reads as a nice, concise history.

A bit fun that it ends in 1998.

[Tracy]

3.5. This was really informative, but it jumped all over and was a bit dry at times. Was really happy that I read it before we did a trip to France and Germany. I understood the history so much better from having read it recently.

[Regina Mastrogiacomo]

A thorough examination of France’s history. I found it is amazing that they survive each year. I read a similar book about Scotland and again can’t believe how barbaric and power hungry ever generation is.

[Lyn Sweetapple]

An incredibly clear and well written history of France from Neolithic through 2007 in a volume that a traveller can easily carry.

[Anthony Cleveland]

A short little work full of interesting facts about France. Would certainly recommend if you are planning a trip any time soon

[TrumanCoyote]

The writing is good (and nicely droll in spots). But the book simply isn't long and detailed enough to make the whole business seem like anything more than 2000 years of assorted (and fairly random) mayhem.

[Debbie]

(Nonfiction, History)

I struggled through this for the sake of our planned trip to France, starting in June and not finishing it until nearly the end of July.

It’s dense and reads like a textbook: empires and republics ad nauseam. A great Paris-centric overview if you’re studying the history of France but for someone interested in traveling to France for a three week visit and who wants to understand the regions of France and their attitudes, it was not so useful.

3 stars

[David]

This would more appropriately be titled "A Concise History of France". Except for a 13 page appendix, there is little the history addresses places you might want to visit.

As a short history, it is pretty good. There are a few places where he references events that could be expanded. But otherwise provides a good overview with some places of depths as well as interesting anecdotes.

[Erin]

Skips through things too quickly - mostly tells which kings bore which sons and talks about who gains or loses power but leaves out or skims over a lot. Need to find a more detailed/ interesting book on French history!

[Bonnie]

A great series of books on the histories of various countries. Style is readable, concise and offers a way to brush up on world history. We're preparing for a trip to France - and it was a recommended book by the tour company.

[Reuel]

Read in preparation for a family trip to France in July 1999.

[Cheryl]

8/10/2004

[Amy]

A dry, short history of France. My son is reading it for a high school course requirement.

[Annie]

I read this before my trip to France. It definitely reads like a history book, not a novel, but has a wealth of information. It was great to see the things I read about once I got there.

[Lisa]

Not a bad overview. It was helpful in preparing for my trip to Paris. A little dry and their govenmental system has been quite confusing since the revolution.

[Celeste]

Very informational, quick read. This book definitely has given me good material for my project!