A book with great potential and many, many good messages but whose overall structure I found difficult to cope with. There is little narrative thread throughout this book because it is a stitched together collage, centered on the idea of Americans in 19th century Paris. In meta-critique it contrasts American pioneers gone west with other pioneers gone east to Paris, seeking instead of land and homestead, culture and education. But you must take this as a piece-meal, smorgasbord of history, relishing each miniature history rather than seeking coherence in the book as a whole.