What Makes France So French

"Sixty Million Frenchmen does its job marvelously well. After reading it, you may still think the French are arrogant, aloof, and high-handed, but you will know why." --Wall Street Journal

"I find Au Contraire! delightfully validating - a great piece of work." - Nancy Bragard, Franco-American interculturalist, trainer and coach The French are famously enigmatic: fiercely independent yet deeply romantic,conservative yet avant-garde, rational yet emotional. What is it, exactly, that makes the French so . . . French? Written for anyone interacting with the French-tourists, businesspeople, international students, Francophiles-Au Contraire! offers a perceptive understanding of French cultural beliefs, assumptions and attitudes, along with practical advice on building strong personal and professional relationships with the French. Addressing issues like friendship, politics, work, education and romance, bilingual and bi cultural authors Asselin and Mastron draw upon their own experiences as consultants and trainers, as well as those of students and professionals, giving readers a complete-and compelling-look at French culture. This revised edition of Au Contraire! includes updated information about France's changing social and political climate, advice for succeeding as an expat, information about the French educational system, overviews of France's diverse regions-and more.

The French Revolution, politics and the modern nation -- French and the civilizing mission -- Paris and magnetic appeal -- France stirs up the melting pot -- France hurtles into the future.

Looks at the influence of French culture on a variety of motion pictures in the 1950s and 1960s, including "Gigi" and "Funny Face."

About the etiquette, social life and customs in France from a humoristic perspective.

An American anthropologist analyzes how different cultures communicate with each other without spoken words.

This dynamic collection presents a new way of writing national and global histories while developing our understanding of France in the world through short, provocative essays that range from prehistoric frescoes to Coco Chanel to the terrorist attacks of 2015. Bringing together an impressive group of established and up-and-coming historians, this bestselling history conceives of France not as a fixed, rooted entity, but instead as a place and an idea in flux, moving beyond all borders and frontiers, shaped by exchanges and mixtures. Presented in chronological order from 34,000 BC to 2015, each chapter covers a significant year from its own particular angle--the marriage of a Viking leader to a Carolingian princess proposed by Charles the Fat in 882, the Persian embassy's reception at the court of Louis XIV in 1715, the Chilean coup d'état against President Salvador Allende in 1973 that mobilized a generation of French left-wing activists. France in the World combines the intellectual rigor of an academic work with the liveliness and readability of popular history. With a brand-new preface aimed at an international audience, this English-language edition will be an essential resource for Francophiles and scholars alike.