What We Are Reading Today: City of Light: The Making of Modern Paris

Updated 08 December 2018
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What We Are Reading Today: City of Light: The Making of Modern Paris

Author: Rupert Christiansen

Author Rupert Christiansen provides a sparkling account of the 19th-century reinvention of Paris as the most beautiful, exciting city in the world, in his book — “City of Light: The Making of Modern Paris.”
“City of Light” charts a 15-year project of urban renewal which — despite the interruptions of war, revolution, corruption, and bankruptcy — set a template for 19th- and early 20th-century urban planning and created the enduring landscape of modern Paris now so famous around the globe.
“Lively and engaging, ‘City of Light’ is a book for anyone who wants to know how Paris became Paris,” according to a review in goodreads.com.
Christiansen is an English writer, journalist and critic.
Born in London, he was educated at Millfield and King’s College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in English.
As a Fulbright scholar, he also attended Columbia University from 1977 to 1978.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Voices of Nature’ by Nicolas Mathevon

Updated 20 January 2026
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Voices of Nature’ by Nicolas Mathevon

What is the meaning of a bird’s song, a baboon’s bark, an owl’s hoot, or a dolphin’s clicks? In “The Voices of Nature,” Nicolas Mathevon explores the mysteries of animal sound.

Putting readers in the middle of animal soundscapes that range from the steamy heat of the Amazon jungle to the icy terrain of the Arctic, Mathevon reveals the amazing variety of animal vocalizations.

He describes how animals use sound to express emotion, to choose a mate, to trick others, to mark their territory, to call for help, and much more.