A Stranger In Paris

The French Third Republic, the author maintains in this compact and tightly argued essay, can only be understood, and that of European history during this period in general, if particular attention is paid to the special relationship that existed between France and Germany. The experience of the French people was so intimately related to that of its closest neighbor that a bilateral perspective becomes unavoidable. Without the unifying theme of Germany's crucial role in acting upon and within the French Republic, this story would become a much more random tale of events. After 1870, the central argument is, an autonomous national history of France is no longer possible.