Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris

Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb

I started this a few months ago and finally finished it a few days ago. Robb tells the history of Paris from the point of view and experiences of about 20 Parisians throughout history. The Parisians include: Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, Madame Zola, Juliette Greco, the students of May 1968, and others. Robb's history of Paris spans the time period from 1789 to the beginning of the 21st century. Robb tends to start each chapter/entry by slowly introducing the Parisian; it's not always clear until a few paragraphs or pages later who the person in question is.

At one point I read about half of Robb's the Discovery of France, a geographical history of France. In both cases, there is ample historical detail, but I find the writing to be a bit dry.