The Guide to the Architecture of Paris

Rating:
Summary: 7/12/99 Review Unfair; a quite useful book
Review: The only other review at the time of this posting is rather unfair, probably because the author misunderstood the purpose of the book. It is a guide for walking the streets of Paris to look at buildings. It is not a coffee-table book. Hence the relative paucity of illustrations. Hence the use of actual French names for buildings and places. (How else would you find them? The signs are not in English. And the reviewer obviously found translation no problem.) And the maps are certainly adequate for finding your way. They show excellent small-scale detail. Perhaps the only "fault" of the book is that it is so compendious and the information so complete that it takes some study to plan your day. But at 446 pgs, it still fits neatly in a handbag or camera pack. The index is very good, and there are 20 blank pages at the back for your personal notes.

Rating:
Summary: needs much editing
Review: There are 58 walks here, richly researched and presented with White's wonderful opinions. There are plenty of drawbacks, however. 1. You must speak pretty fluent French to read this book. White drops untranslated phrases in relentlessly. Even plain old buildings have to be called "Bureaux", "Logements", "Immeuble": Was White's editor as pedantic as White seems? One wonders why "Ambassade des Emirats Arabes Unis" could not have been translated into "Embassy of the United Arab Emirates". Really. 2. The maps are terrible: black and white Michelin maps with 1, 2 or 3 walks shown in grey on 1 map. The map numbering and site numbering system is very difficult to follow. Some readers might like to backtrack from a location on a map to White's text but this is very difficult. 3. Architecture books without photographs are self defeating. The joy, or distaste, the author wishes to share is best illuminated with visual imagery. White is delightfully opinionated but his book is scantily illustrated.