
A Bite-Sized History of France
Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment
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Narrated by:
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Derek Perkins
About this listen
From the cassoulet that won a war to the crêpe that doomed Napoleon, from the rebellions sparked by bread and salt to the new cuisines forged by empire, the history of France is intimately entwined with its gastronomic pursuits. A witty exploration of the facts and legends surrounding some of the most popular French foods and wines by a French cheesemonger and an American academic, A Bite-Sized History of France tells the compelling and often surprising story of France from the Roman era to modern times. Traversing the cuisines of France's most famous cities as well as its underexplored regions, this innovative social history explores the impact of war and imperialism, the age-old tension between tradition and innovation, and the enduring use of food to prop up social and political identities.
The origins of the most legendary French foods and wines - from Roquefort and cognac to croissants and Calvados, from absinthe and oysters to Camembert and champagne - also reveal the social and political trends that propelled France's rise upon the world stage. They help explain France's dark history of war and conquest, as well as its most enlightened cultural achievements and the political and scientific innovations that transformed human history. These gastronomic tales will edify even the most seasoned lovers of food, history, and all things French.
©2018 Stéphane Hénaut and Jeni Mitchell (P)2019 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changes---caused, enabled, or influenced by food---has helped to shape and transform societies around the world.
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Flawed, but worthwhile
- By Ary Shalizi on 12-28-17
By: Tom Standage
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The Only Street in Paris
- Life on the Rue Des Martyrs
- By: Elaine Sciolino
- Narrated by: Elaine Sciolino
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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Elaine Sciolino, the former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times, invites us on a tour of her favorite Parisian street, offering an homage to street life and the pleasures of Parisian living. While many cities suffer from the leveling effects of globalization, the rue des Martyrs maintains its distinct allure. On this street, the patron saint of France was beheaded and the Jesuits took their first vows.
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Not just for Paris lovers.
- By Anna on 01-18-16
By: Elaine Sciolino
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The Louvre
- The Many Lives of the World's Most Famous Museum
- By: James Gardner
- Narrated by: Graham Halstead
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The fascinating and little-known story of the Louvre, from its inception as a humble fortress to its transformation into the palatial residence of the kings of France and then into the world's greatest art museum.
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Enlightening
- By Jean on 10-29-20
By: James Gardner
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Twilight of the Belle Epoque
- The Paris of Picasso, Stravinsky, Proust, Renault, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, and Their Friends Through the Great War
- By: Mary McAuliffe
- Narrated by: Nancy Peterson
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Mary McAuliffe's Dawn of the Belle Epoque took the listener from the multiple disasters of 1870-1871 through the extraordinary re-emergence of Paris as the cultural center of the Western world. Now, in Twilight of the Belle Epoque, McAuliffe portrays Paris in full flower at the turn of the 20th century, where creative dynamos such as Picasso, Matisse, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Proust, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, and Isadora Duncan set their respective circles on fire with a barrage of revolutionary visions and discoveries.
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Fun, immersive listen; but the narrator...
- By SBG on 02-22-23
By: Mary McAuliffe
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Wine and War
- The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
- By: Donald Kladstrup, Petie Kladstrup
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1940, France fell to the Nazis and almost immediately the German army began a campaign of pillaging one of the assets the French hold most dear: their wine. Like others in the French Resistance, winemakers mobilized to oppose their occupiers, but the tale of their extraordinary efforts has remained largely unknown - until now. This is the thrilling and harrowing story of the French wine producers who undertook ingenious, daring measures to save their cherished crops and bottles as the Germans closed in on them.
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Good story, terrible performance
- By Sean on 05-28-12
By: Donald Kladstrup, and others
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A Brief History of France
- Empires, Kings, and Revolutions
- By: Dominic Haynes
- Narrated by: Vivica Reimann
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Unearth the incredible story of France – from Celtic pre-history to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the modern day. Authentically written with gripping prose and the latest historical facts, this fascinating book invites you on a journey through the ages to discover the intense, turbulent, and often bloody history of a European juggernaut. Shedding light on the fascinating world of French culture and politics – from their mysterious Celtic origins to their rise as a Medieval superpower.
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Terrible narration
- By Steven White on 05-17-25
By: Dominic Haynes
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Two Houses, Two Kingdoms
- A History of France and England, 1100-1300
- By: Catherine Hanley
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time of personal monarchy, when the close friendship or petty feuding between kings and queens could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made peace, and intermarried. In this lively history, Catherine Hanley traces the great clashes, and occasional friendships, of the two dynasties. Along the way, she emphasizes the fascinating and influential women of the houses—including Eleanor of Aquitaine—and shows how personalities and familial bonds shaped the fate of two countries.
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Great book with a bit of slant
- By Ky on 12-20-22
By: Catherine Hanley
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Danubia
- A Personal History of Habsburg Europe
- By: Simon Winder
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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From the end of the Middle Ages to the First World War, Europe was dominated by one family: the Habsburgs. Their unprecedented rule is the focus of Simon Winder's vivid third book, Danubia. This is a narrative that, while erudite and well researched, prefers to be discursive and anecdotal. In his survey of the centuries of often incompetent Habsburg rule which have continued to shape the fate of Central Europe, Winder does not shy away from the horrors, railing against the effects of nationalism, recounting the violence that was often part of life.
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Magnificent history of the Habsburg Empire
- By Skeptical on 10-25-18
By: Simon Winder
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On Spice
- Advice, Wisdom, and History with a Grain of Saltiness
- By: Caitlin PenzeyMoog
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Every home cook has thoughts on the right and wrong ways to use spices. These beliefs are passed down in family recipes and pronounced by television chefs, but where do such ideas come from? Many are little better than superstition, and most serve only to reinforce a cook's sense of superiority or cover for their insecurities. It doesn't have to be this way. These notes On Spice come from three generations of a family in the spice trade, and dozens upon dozens of their collected spice guides and stories.
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Yummy!
- By amanda j green on 11-17-24
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The Glory and the Sorrow
- A Parisian and His World in the Age of the French Revolution
- By: Timothy Tackett
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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What was it like to live through one of the most transformational periods in world history? In The Glory and the Sorrow, eminent historian Timothy Tackett answers this question through a masterful recreation of the world of Adrien Colson, a minor lawyer who lived in Paris at the end of the Old Regime and during the first eight years of the French Revolution. Based on over a thousand letters written by Colson, this book vividly narrates everyday life for an "ordinary citizen" during extraordinary times, as well as the life of a neighborhood on a small street in central Paris.
By: Timothy Tackett
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Adventures on the Wine Route (25th Anniversary Edition)
- A Wine Buyer's Tour of France
- By: Kermit Lynch
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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"Wine is, above all, about pleasure. Those who make it ponderous make it dull.... If you keep an open mind and take each wine on its own terms, there is a world of magic to discover." So wrote the renowned wine expert Kermit Lynch in the introduction to Adventures on the Wine Route, his ultimate tour of France, especially its wine cellars. The "magic" of wine is Lynch's subject as he takes the listener on a singular journey through the Loire, Bordeaux, the Languedoc, Provence, northern and southern Rhone, and Burgundy.
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Finally!
- By Mark on 01-18-21
By: Kermit Lynch
Loriefangio
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Not enough food History
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Absolutely outstanding!
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History of France, in bite-size.
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Engaging
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A must listen for French food lovers!
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What an awesome book!!! And the narrator was exceptionally good!!
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Great stories, but...
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Wonderful and insightful
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Having been to Paris three times made the history come alive again!
Hungry for fromage!
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