We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light

By John Baxter

Book Overview

For more than a century, pilgrims from all over the world seeking romance and passion have made their way to the City of Light. The seductive lure of Paris has long been irresistible to lovers, artists, epicureans, and connoisseurs of the good life. Globe-trotting film critic and writer John Baxter heard her siren song and was bewitched. Now he offers readers a witty, audacious, scandalous behind-the-scenes excursion into the colorful all-night show that is Paris -- interweaving his own experience of falling in love, with a delightfully salacious tour of the sultry Parisian corners most guidebooks ignore: from the literary cafés of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and de Beauvoir to the brothels where Dietrich and Duke Ellington held court, where Salvador Dali sated his fantasies, and Edward VII kept a sumptuous champagne bath for his favorite girls.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060832886
• ISBN13: 9780060832889
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

The sound and sense of a great city

When it comes to the subject of Paris there are some travel writers (myself included) who play in the shallow end of the writing pool while a talented few take us into better depth. John Baxter is one of those rare few. This isn't a travel book as much as it is a wonderful, highly enjoyable book that offers some sound and sense to a city that tugs at our imaginations and hangovers. After reading it I added it to my reference shelf...okay, okay....sure for the knowledge of the city but maybe to steal some of his style as well. Buy the book and buy one for anyone you know who is thinking about going to Paris. They'll thank you and if not, then you can always smack them with the book.

Bring it with you to Paris

I happened to spot this book at B & N the day before leaving for France. Reading about Paris while walking around Paris enhances the experience no end, especially when the book is as equisitely well-written, insightful,charming, and amusing as this one.

A fun, affectionate survey which should not be missed

Paris has lured many a visitor, pilgrim, and seeker to its world with promises of the good life and culture: here to chart it all is WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS: SEX AND LOVE IN THE CITY OF LIGHT. It offers a behind-the-scenes review of Paris, blending the author's own memoir of falling in love in the romantic city with a review of its many lures: literary cafes, music clubs, art gatherings and more. Add a healthy dose of humor and you have a fun, affectionate survey which should not be missed. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Charming Story, Well Done, and Enormously Entertaining

My husband and I saw this author at our local bookstore, and after hearing him tell stories I had to get this book. I wasn't disappointed. He was a charming, magnificent storyteller, and hey - he lives in Paris so he gets the cool vote right there. So many books are written about Paris that I was hesitate to read another for fear of it being repititive and overdone. This book was neither. We'll Always Have Paris is part auto-biography in telling the tale of how the author came from Australia and then LA to end up living in Paris. This part blends easily with telling tales of the history of Paris, the great places to hang out in Paris, and the way of life in Paris. Author John Baxter manages to do this all while being enormously entertaining. I read this at night before going to bed and at times had to stifile my laugh for fear of waking my husband. Yes, it's THAT funny sometimes. Readers, get a glass of good French wine and sit back while this storyteller lures you in with what most Americans always wonder - what it's really like to live in Paris. From the author of The Difference Now, A New Dish, and At the Coffee Shop.

An Absolute Delight!

Aside from my loving the subject matter - and I've never even been to France - the splendid prose and constant humor in Baxter's book make it exceptional in style and enjoyment! Also, his quote from John Holmes' "Displaced Person" explains why most Americans would inevitably love France and especially Paris. It's a "keeper"!