Paris and Her Cathedrals Hardcover - 2022

"R. Howard Bloch has written a guidebook with a difference. . . . He allows us to enter the minds of the builders and the worshippers, both saints and sinners, and to appreciate their faith, miracles, and stupendous artistic abilities. A must-read for all Francophiles and history buffs."
--Ross King, author of Brunelleschi's Dome

"When my wife and I went to Chartres, Henry Adams was our guide. . . . Now I learn from R. Howard Bloch how little we and Adams knew. Paris and Her Cathedrals tells us the source of the different stones used in the building and how they got there, how they were carved and paid for, and what all the figures mean, as well as how the windows were made and what they mean. For the other cathedrals we visited, we had to bump along with lesser guides, along with our own hunches and ignorance. Now all that is blessedly buried in darkness."
--Garry Wills, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Henry Adams and the Making of America

"Paris and Her Cathedrals will vastly enrich the traveler's experience with a full-tilt trip into twelfth-century France's breakthrough architecture as well as royal intrigue, crusades, art, legends, and lifestyles of each tier of society. My next visit to France will be much richer thanks to this delightful read."
--Antonia Felix, New York Times best-selling author of Notre-Dame de Paris

"R. Howard Bloch magically interweaves descriptions of complicated architectural, sculptural, and stained-glass elements with a vivid portrayal of medieval life. . . . A riveting as well as magnificently informative book."
--Paul Freedman, author of American Cuisine

"R. Howard Bloch wears his great learning with elegance and grace. Whether he writes about theology or architecture his authority is impeccable. At every stage he has a vivid tale to tell, a striking anecdote to relate. . . . One can imagine no more precious vade mecum, no more engaging companion. This is the best guide we now have to the cathedrals of Paris and its orbit."
--David A. Freedberg, author of The Power of Images