katkat1950

Hi, everyone. I just finished reading a book about Paris that I thought was amazing, and I'd like to let people here know about it. It's David McCullough's latest, "The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris." It's a history of well-known Americans who moved to Paris to pursue their passion for art: Americans like Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, George Healy, and many many more. There was also a significant group of medical students who moved to Paris in the 1830s because at that time Paris was on the cutting edge of medical education, research, and technology. And the experience and knowledge those medical students (like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., for one) brought home actually played a significant role in making the United States a top center for medical schools and medical training that it became later in the 19th century. I never knew that before I read this book.

The book is written in an extremely engaging, narrative style that gives it almost the feel of a compelling novel at times. It's really, really wonderful, and I recommend it for anyone who loves Paris and everything Paris has meant and still means for so many people.

myshofer

good recommendation. i am going to read it now because paris is my dream city.

LSky

I'm just finishing it. It's taken me a while to get through it because I keep wanting to google more.

This is the most engaging book, imo, that this author has written. Excellent read; interesting and well written.

jrjcolllins

Thanks, Katkat,for your recommendation. I'm really enjoying this book. So much so, in fact, I'm going to give it as a Christmas gift to a some friends who enjoy Paris.

LSky

It was a dangerous book and should be banned!!

It left me yearning for Paris.

latedaytraveler

KatKat1950, wasn’t THE GREATRER JOURNEY fabulous? I believe that there was another thread or two on this topic last year.

just loved it and mentioned it several times in the TR I wrote about my Paris/Normandy junket last June. The book provides such an historical framework for Paris 1830-1900. For example, it clarifies that Franco-Prussian/Commune business in 1870, along with the building of the Eiffel Tower and Gare d’Orsay, now the famous museum.

I heartily recommend THE GREATER JOURNEY for all who know and love Paris. Just finished McCullough’s old chestnut THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD and moving on to THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. Great writer…

julia1

Loved this book! Join you in heartily recommending it!