The Discovery of France

When Gustave Eiffel was creating his iconic tower in the late 19th century, France was a place of old tribal divides, prehistoric communication networks, and pre-Christian beliefs. French was a minority language in and of itself. In The Discovery of France, Graham Robb paints a vivid picture of that unknown world through his tales of all those who explored its territory: cartographers, scientists, warriors, bureaucrats, and adventurous visitors as well as nomadic laborers, pilgrims, and herders with their millions of migrating domestic animals. The book describes how the present nation came to be and what little is known about France today. Above all, it demonstrates how much needs to be explored in order for us to understand this ever-changing land. ”