The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris

Description

Thrust into the unlikely role of professional "literary walking tour" guide, an expat writer provides the most irresistibly witty and revealing tour of Paris in years. In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and long- time Paris resident John Baxter remembers his yearlong experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off with unsuspecting tourists in tow on the trail of Paris's legendary artists and writers of the past. Along the way, he tells the history of Paris through a brilliant cast of characters: the favorite cafes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce; Pablo Picasso's underground Montmartre haunts; the bustling boulevards of the late-nineteenth-century flaneurs; the secluded "Little Luxembourg" gardens beloved by Gertrude Stein; the alleys where revolutionaries plotted; and finally Baxter's own favorite walk near his home in Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

John Baxter is a film critic, novelist, biographer and broadcaster, whose books on the cinema include The Hollywood Exiles, The Cinema of John Ford, and highly praised biographies of Ken Russell, Fellini, Bunuel, Steven Spielberg, Kubrick and Woody Allen. Born in Australia, John Baxter now lives in Paris.

"One of the smartest nonfiction titles for summer reading ... Baxter tracks both the city's history and the many celebrated figures who have savored the art of walking in one of the world's most beautiful capitals." -- Christian Science Monitor "A lovely book ... Full of unexpected pleasures ...Parisians claim that walking walking around Paris is an art form in itself, and Baxter proves them right. -- Chicago Tribune "A man with a great appreciation of what makes Paris tick." -- Newsday "We are the beneficiaries of John Baxter's considerable, vivid love for the expatriate life in Paris. ... The Most Beautiful Walk in the World is as close as a reader can get to the feel of a languid spring walk along Baron Haussmann's boulevards." -- Los Angeles Times "Anyone who loves Paris and loves to walk will feel this book was written just for them. ... Charming." -- USA Today "A splendid memoir ... Reading The Most Beautiful Walk in the World is the next best thing to a Paris vacation." -- Boston Globe "Fabulous . . . the perfect companion for anyone inspired to hop over to France after seeing Midnight in Paris" -- NPR.org