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Rating: 
Summary: A flawed history of a fascinating time.
Review: Paris during the reign of Louis Napoleon was a fascinating period, and its figures were larger than life: Napoleon, Eugenie, Berlioz, Wagner, Hugo, Zola, Manet, Monet and the "great horizontals". Americans, English, Germans, Italians and Russians went to Paris for culture, art and, let's face it, a little bit of sex. Unfortunately, this period needs a first-rate historian and Otto Friedrich is not that. You read "Olympia" in spite of the writer, as the history of a fascinating time and the men and women who made it great.
Rating:
Summary: A flawed history of a fascinating time.
Review: Paris during the reign of Louis Napoleon was a fascinating period, and its figures were larger than life: Napoleon, Eugenie, Berlioz, Wagner, Hugo, Zola, Manet, Monet and the "great horizontals". Americans, English, Germans, Italians and Russians went to Paris for culture, art and, let's face it, a little bit of sex. Unfortunately, this period needs a first-rate historian and Otto Friedrich is not that. You read "Olympia" in spite of the writer, as the history of a fascinating time and the men and women who made it great.
Rating:
Summary: the People Magazine version
Review: This book is mostly a collection of spicy anecdotes, with a little historical narrative thrown in. If you're looking for any kind of in-depth analysis of the era, or of Manet's art, look elsewhere; if you want a light read, it's OK.
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