The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs Hardcover – November 2, 2015 by Elaine Sciolino (W.W. Norton and Company)

I absolutely loved this book-- so much that I read it twice. The skilled writer authentically takes the reader in and out of shops and stores that fill the needs of Parisians' daily life. Markets, cafes, clothing consignments are expected. But what about the unusual? A knife sharpener, gilt and barometer restoration, burlesque entertainment, book giveaway block parties. It's as if i walked in and out of these shops, but more, I know something about the lives of the owners and ties to history. If you want to visit one street in Paris, buy this book. It will add to your life experience through the crafted stories of people's authentic daily lives as well as the cultural history of Parisian society. Give this book to someone visiting Paris for the first time.

Elaine Sciolino, the former Paris bureau chief of the New York Times, invites us on a tour of her favorite Parisian street. "I can never be sad on the rue des Martyrs," Sciolino explains, as she celebrates the neighborhood's rich history and vibrant lives. While many cities suffer from the leveling effects of globalization, the rue des Martyrs maintains its distinct allure. Sciolino reveals the charms and idiosyncrasies of this street and its longtime residents―the Tunisian greengrocer, the husband-and-wife cheesemongers, the showman who's been running a transvestite cabaret for more than half a century, the owner of a 100-year-old bookstore, the woman who repairs eighteenth-century mercury barometers―making Paris come alive in all its unique majesty. The Only Street in Paris will make readers hungry for Paris, for cheese and wine, and for the kind of street life that is all too quickly disappearing. 25 photographs.

About the Author

Elaine Sciolino is a writer for the New York Times and a former New York Times Paris bureau chief, based in France since 2002. She is the author of La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life, Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran, and The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis. In 2010, she was decorated as a chevalier of the Legion of Honor for her "special contribution" to the friendship between France and the United States. She has worked for Newsweek in New York, Chicago, Paris, and Rome. She held a number of posts at the New York Times, including United Nations' bureau chief, Central Intelligence Agency correspondent, and chief diplomatic correspondent.