I am reading an interesting book on France. It is named 'Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong' by two Canadians. It is in paperback.

I have been to France many times. This book helps explain many things I have wondered about and provides insights into French society and culture. It probably would be of more interest to the serious rather than the casual traveler and is not a "guide book".

It might fit in to the same category as "Seven Ages of France" by Alistair Horn with insights and information on France.

The subtitle of 'Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong' is "Why We Love France But Not The French".

Thanks for reminding me of it. I think that I had seen some article on this in the Times. Now I'll have to remember to look this up.

Ironically, I'm in the middle of this book as well! The comment that after WWII France had 20 governments in 12 years amazed me. Guess I was too young to be interested. I also read the book about the guy riding across France with the dalmation on his motorcycle, but it was fairly forgettable. Then I read "Eleanor and the Four Kings" about Eleanor of Aquitane to get a grip on a bit of history. That was prompted by reading "Pillars of the Earth" (I think that was the title). When I was reading this board a few years ago, everyone recommended it for airline reading. Would appreciate some other mentions.

Hopingtotravel:

Here are a few others:

'Citoyens' by Simon Schama, history of French Revolution.

'Moveable Feast' Ernest Hemingway

'Resistance and Betrayal' by Marnham, true story of Jean Moulin who was DeGaulle's representative to the French underground in WW II. Moulin's remains were moved to the Pantheon, where the greats of France are interred, in 1964.

DeGaulle's autobiography of WW II is along but interesting read.

For films: I would see
-'The Sorrow and the Pity' about WW II inside France.

- For a lighter side to French life "Small Change" by Francois Truffaut about the children of France...a brilliant paean to children everywhere.

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Topping

If you read French, Jean-Benoît Nadeau, one of the two authors of "Sixty Million Frenchmen..." (the other is his wife, Julie Barlow) has also written a very witty account of their stay in France. It's called "Les Français aussi ont un Accent" I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants to begin to understand the French and their ways.