France in the World

Praise

“A kaleidoscopic anthology of brief, vivid essays considering French culture from prehistoric times to today.” —New York Times Book Review

“Boucheron presents French history as a product of diverse ethnic and geographical influences.” —New York Times Magazine

“A major work, exhaustive, controversial and fresh—and entirely relevant to Anglophone readers…[France in the World’s authors] deploy literary verve and narrative skill.” —The Guardian

“This provocative history of France cover[s] a striking array of topics…The aim of this disparateness is to replace a nationalist narrative of linear progression, from the Gauls to now, with a web of surprising transnational connections.” —The New Yorker

“After several decades of somnolence, academic history is a hit…[France in the World] marks the arrival of a new generation of historians, full of energy and élan…in hooking essays onto events, [this collection] forces the reader to see the past from a different perspective, one that is not merely global but also connected with current issues.” —Robert Darnton, New York Review of Books

“An eclectic and forward-looking history…engaging…Patrick Boucheron and his merry band of historians have succeeded in putting more dynamic and inclusive…visions of Frenchness back into the limelight…their bracing scholarship looks set to shape the agenda of historical research and civic debate in France for years to come.” —Times Literary Supplement

“Traditional readings of French history are challenged in this fascinating, often provocative collection…entertaining and grounded in good scholarship…Its translation deserves a wide readership in the anglophone world.” —Financial Times

“Lively…The book is meant to serve as a reaction to the idea that there exists a single version of French history, and…it’s hard to argue, both on the virtue of the book’s content and also the success of it, that it hasn’t succeeded in making that argument.” —TIME

“Boucheron shines a refreshing new light on the history of France.” —France-Amérique

“A most inviting entree to the breadth of French history…Approachable and entertaining, yet academically driven, France in the World is written by historians intent on helping readers make use of France’s singular past.” —Foreword Reviews

“From Charles the Fat to Coco Chanel, France in the World manages to be both entertaining and encyclopedic. Diderot would approve.” —Sue Prideaux, author of I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Nietzsche

“How often does one come upon a book produced by dozens of authors covering centuries that is absolutely a joy to read! This collection of essays reframes French history by expanding historical time from the arrival of humans in ‘France’ long before there is a France. The consistency of style and talent is stunning—to say nothing of the rich content. One can read this book front to back, or by choosing topics from its rich table of contents. Each ‘chapter’ is at once stand-alone and an element in the narrative of a truly longue durée.” —Thomas Bender, author of A Nation Among Nations: America’s Place in World History

“We often say that ‘the past is a foreign country.’ France in the World brilliantly shows us that understanding the past of any country requires insistent rethinking of what ‘foreign’ means. The histories in this collection render visible the often starkly political reasons certain minor distinctions are transformed into forbidding walls. Boucheron and company have pioneered an approach to ‘French’ history that we—from the other side of the Atlantic or the Channel—need in order to understand the world in which we live and comprehend how we got here.” —Todd Shepard, author of The Invention of Decolonization: The Algerian War and the Remaking of France

“France in the World offers fascinating insights into the ways a nation is shaped by borders and gateways, by the perspectives of its citizens and peoples throughout the world. This wonderful new English translation has much to teach us not only about French history, but about our own as well.” —Tyler Stovall, author of Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light

“France in the World pushes against the traditional narrative of an ‘eternal France’ as a linear path of national development, from the Gauls to the Revolution and beyond. Instead, this inclusive history shows how much what we call ‘France’ has been molded by interactions with the world. By recovering this longue durée diversity, it offers both hope and suggestions for how to think about France’s continued dynamism.” —Emmanuelle Saada, author of Empire’s Children: Race, Filiation, and Citizenship in the French Colonies

“This sweeping, ambitious volume explores France’s place in the world from the dawn of humanity to the twenty-first century. Rather than a superficial overview of French history, the book offers dozens of in-depth snapshots of key moments that shaped both France and its relationship to the wider world. Beautifully translated from the original French, France in the World will be of profound interest to readers of French history and world history, revealing the events and forces that have made the two inextricably linked.” —Brett Rushforth, author of Bonds of Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic Slaveries in New France