A very nice book about Paris, France and its history around the architects, especially around the revolutionary time. Just like its title, if I can only bring one book when visiting Paris, this is the one.
This book starts as if a tour notes about Paris and few Provençal tourist spots in French country side; but very quickly it dives into very deep and insightful telltale of some shining or unforgettable or bloody historical moments associated with these places. This is a a Rick Steves tourist guide for a serious history buff person who loves to travel in France.
read this book in preparing for my France trip. It's such a good read on French history and Pairs site of interests. Love the writing as always. How they compare the US history on revolution and French revolutions is very insightful.