Paris Reborn: Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City

An engrossing account of Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann, and one of the greatest transformations of a major city in modern history

Traditionally known as a dirty, congested, and dangerous city, Paris was transformed in an extraordinary period from 1848 to 1870, when the government launched a huge campaign to build streets, squares, parks, churches, and public buildings. The Louvre Palace was expanded, Notre-Dame Cathedral was restored and the masterpiece of the Second Empire, the…