Presents a thorough history of France, including entries that cover kings, politicians, authors, architects, composers, artists, and philosophers.

Invaded in 1830, populated by one million settlers who co-existed uneasily with nine million Arabs and Berbers, Algeria was different from other French colonies because it was administered as an integral part of France, in theory no different from Normandy or Brittany. The depth and scale of the colonization process explains why the Algerian War of 1954 to 1962 was one of the longest and most violent of the decolonization struggles. An undeclared war in the sense that there was no formal beginning of hostilities, the war produced huge tensions that brought down four government.

In this Very Short Introduction, Vanessa Schwartz argues that modern France, as both a world stage and a global crossroads, is an essential actor in the development of contemporary culture. Indeed, French is the only language other than English spoken on five continents, and more people still visit France than anywhere else in the world. French fashion continues to dominate haute couture and, at the same time, French people are at the forefront of international "style," which was as true in the first half of the twentieth century as it is today. This tension between "Frenchness &

Challenging the identity politics that have set immigrants against the mainstream, this volume explores how black expressive culture has been reformulated as global culture in the multicultural and multinational spaces of France.

The book explores the complex encounter of France and its Jews from just before the revolution to the present. The author shows how French Jews have embraced the opportunities of integration and acculturation, redefined their identities, and adapted their Judaism to the pragmatic and ideological demands of the time.

The book explores the complex encounter of France and its Jews from just before the revolution to the present. The author shows how French Jews have embraced the opportunities of integration and acculturation, redefined their identities, and adapted their Judaism to the pragmatic and ideological demands of the time.

This title tells the history of the French Renaissance through the lives of its most prominent queens and mistresses, beginning with Agnès Sorel, the first officially recognised royal mistress in 1444, including Anne of Brittany, Catherine de Medici, Anne Pisseleu, Diane de Poitiers, Marguerite de Valois among others, and concluding with Gabrielle d'Estrées, Henry IV's powerful mistress during the 1590s.