Sketches France's political and intellectual development and comments on social divisions and customs from the late 1840's through the Second World War.
"A monument, a splendid work of scholarship...that no sensible reader, whether
gourmet or
gourmand, would want to ignore."--
Journal of Modern History"A garden of delights to be savored and enjoyed, for profit and for pleasure."--
Journal of Social History"A remarkable synthesis...of the social, intellectual, and political history of France in the last hundred years....A singular achievement."--
The Historian