THE FALL OF PARIS The Siege and the Commune 1870-71

There are four episodes: Paris is sieged by Prussians with Krup guns; the city capitulates; the infuriated working class forms a commune and begins to kill off the bourgeoisie; the infuriated bourgeoisie retakes Paris and slaughters the radicals. This is a history lecture given by Bill Kelsey, a Books on Tape regular, a man with the voice of an Oxford don. The emphasis is on fact, not on story. Piquant facts abound throughout. During the siege, the Parisians ate the elephants out of the zoo. Rats were "a rich man's dish," because of the difficulty of preparation, and the necessity of a fine, strong sauce. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 01]