Paris to the Moon

“Adam Gopnik’s avid intelligence and nimble pen found subjects to love in Paris and in the growth of his small American family there. A conscientious, scrupulously savvy American husband and father meets contemporary France, and fireworks result, lighting up not just the Eiffel Tower.”—John Updike

“Adam Gopnik’s Paris to the Moon abounds in the sensuous delights of the city–the magical carousel in the Luxembourg Gardens, the tomato dessert at Arpège, even the exquisite awfulness of the new state library. But the even greater joys of this exquisite memoir are timeless and even placeless—the excitement of the journey, the confusion of an outsider, and, most of all, the love of a family.”—Jeffrey Toobin

“The chronicle of an American writer’s lifelong infatuation with Paris is also an extended meditation—in turn hilarious and deeply moving—on the threat of globalization, the art of parenting, and the civilizing intimacy of family life. Whether he’s writing about the singularity of the Papon trial, the glory of bistro cuisine, the wacky idiosyncrasies of French kindergartens, or the vexing bureaucracy of Parisian health clubs, Gopnik’s insights are infused with a formidable cultural intelligence, and his prose is as pellucid as that of any essayist. A brilliant, exhilarating book.”—Francine du Plessix Gray

“Adam Gopnik is a dazzling talent—hilarious, winning, and deft—but the surprise of Paris to the Moon is its quiet, moral intelligence. This book begins as journalism and ends up as literature.”—Malcolm Gladwell