Eiffels Tower, Jill Jonnes
Eiffels Tower, Jill Jonnes
1 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Eiffel's Tower
The Thrilling Story Behind Paris's Beloved Monument and the Extraordinary World's Fair That Introduced It

Author: Jill Jonnes

Narrator: Paul Hecht

Unabridged: 13 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 07/03/2009


Synopsis

Reminiscent of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City, this fascinating account from acclaimed author Jill Jonnes recaptures the 1889 Paris World's Fair. Casting vehement criticism aside, Gustave Eiffel built his tower to be the fair's centerpiece. Perched at the top all summer, he hosted a string of dignitaries.

About Jill Jonnes

Jill Jonnes is the author of Conquering Gotham, Eiffel's Tower, and Urban Forests. She was named a National Endowment for the Humanities scholar and has received several grants from the Ford Foundation. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer on July 19, 2011

I was a little disappointed with the percentage of the book that is actually about the Eiffel Tower. There was a lot about Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show and other side topics. The book alludes to the difficulty of the politics of the tower, the actual engineering of the tower, and the building......more

Goodreads review by Erin on March 31, 2010

There were a lot of interesting anecdotes and characters in this book, in fact the book seemed to be written as an excuse just to compile all these stories rather than make a specific point. I wish there had been more of an argument and more editing to keep it on point.......more

Goodreads review by Jason on July 28, 2009

Regular readers know that I'm a big fan of all the "NPR-worthy" nonfiction books that are being published these days, manuscripts that take a quirky event from history to instead examine the entire culture of that time and place, in a way that's easy to read and always fascinating; but there's an in......more

Goodreads review by Clif on April 19, 2011

This book is a history of the 1889 Paris World's Fair. The title together with the long subtitle can pretty well serve as the review of the book since it names many of the persons covered by the book. In its coverage of the French art scene are such names as Van Gogh, Gauguin, Whistler and Bonheur.......more

Goodreads review by Brian on October 12, 2020

I enjoyed reading the first 100 pages or so about Eiffel's creation of the Tower as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. Parisians were absolutely horrified and hated the Tower, scoffing at its "modernism" and seriously doubting its safety. The Otis elevators were an absolute pain to......more