Review by Choice Review
Papayanis's meticulous account of early-19th-century urban transportation in Paris cuts across several traditional disciplines--sociology, urban planning, history, and even management studies. It is difficult to imagine that anyone except specialists in transportation studies or Parisian history would need this much detail on the subject. However, the book clearly demonstrates the very close interrelationships among various influences affecting developments in public policy, a point useful for lower-level history courses, among others. The study is well put together--nicely illustrated, well documented, clearly written. The bibliography is a gold mine of information on topics that until recently have been unexplored by traditional historians. Papayanis's central organizing principle is the concept of circulation, a sensible way of grasping the complexities of transportation networks. The book is not encumbered with excessive jargon. Although useful only to a limited readership, those readers will find their time well spent. M. Cherno University of Virginia
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
