City of Light: The Making of Modern Paris

Price: $30.00 - $26.27
(as of Oct 01, 2026 11:21:29 UTC – Details)


A sparkling account of the nineteenth-century reinvention of Paris as the most beautiful, exciting city in the world
In 1853, French emperor Louis Napoleon inaugurated a vast and ambitious program of public works in Paris, directed by Georges-Eugè Haussmann, the prefect of the Seine. Haussmann transformed the old medieval city of squalid slums and disease-ridden alleyways into a “City of Light” characterized by wide boulevards, apartment blocks, parks, squares and public monuments, new rail stations and department stores, and a new system of public sanitation. City of Light charts this fifteen-year project of urban renewal which — despite the interruptions of war, revolution, corruption, and bankruptcy — set a template for nineteenth and early twentieth-century urban planning and created the enduring landscape of modern Paris now so famous around the globe.
Lively and engaging, City of Light is a book for anyone who wants to know how Paris became Paris.
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 9, 2018
Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1541673395
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1541673397
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 7.75 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #1,240,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #375 in Paris Travel Guides #617 in Urban & Land Use Planning (Books) #1,106 in General France Travel Guides
Customer Reviews: 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (99) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers find the book’s content positive. However, the informative value receives mixed feedback.