Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Bridges of Paris and Giveaway

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~



Synopsis: Bridges of Paris is a large-format coffee-table book, with over 350 original color photographs, which casts new illumination on the City of Light. The 37 bridges over the Seine River emerge as beautiful, historic destinations rather than unnoticed thoroughfares. The book features stunning portraits of each bridge as well as intimate riverside moments. Once you’ve experienced this river tour, you will never see Paris the same way again.


Living as a Parisian for a year, author Michael Saint James left his American lifestyle and spent his days and nights capturing images from over, on, beside and under the bridges of Paris. With over 30 years experience as a photographer, educator and world traveler, Michael immersed himself in French culture to search out his authentic artist self. The result is a visual treasure to share with everyone.

One (or more) Sentence Summary: I was very interested in reviewing Bridges of Paris to learn more about Paris.  The book has so much more to offer.  There is a lot of culture, history, and interesting stories behind each section.  After reading A Photographer's Perspective at the beginning of the book, I realized there is so much more to a bridge than connecting one piece of land to another.  It took me back to my hometown, when "the Bridge (on Bridge Street)" was deteriorating and needed to be torn down.  The town picked a new site for the bridge (not anywhere near the original one) and the towns people were in an uproar.  After a long debate, the new bridge was constructed right next to the old bridge.  I never realized what a bridge could mean to a community until that time.  

My girls and I would read a section of Bridges of Paris and would discuss our favorite parts, pictures, and what we learned.  We had a blast.  My favorite was learning about the Love Locks.  Pont de L'Archeveche and Pont des Arts are the two bridges where lovers write their name on a lock and attach it to the bridge.  I absolutely love that, however, I don't like that the weight of the locks are putting a strain on the structure of the bridges.  


One of my girls really liked the Passerelle Leopold-Sedar-Senghor bridge.  She loved the bridge under the bridge and that there was a statute of Thomas Jefferson on the bridge.  She thinks it would be fun to walk the bottom bridge with all the steps….I have to say, I agree.  


My other daughter's favorite bridge
was Pont de Grenelle.  She thought it would be amazing to see the statute "Liberty Enlightening the World" and the Eiffel Tower.  The photos are so amazing.  I too would love to experience crossing the Pont de Grenelle.  So much history in one place.

Bridges of Paris is more than just a "coffee table" book, there is so much you can learn about a historical city in this beautiful book.  


Fast read/slow read:  Bridges of Paris was a very easy book to read and is organized by bridges/areas around Paris. This makes it very easy to read and view all the differences in each bridge and the history behind each one.  

Cover:  Absolutely beautiful.


What Others Are Saying:  Makes sure you check out what others are saying about Bridges of Paris on the iRead Book Tour.

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Michael Saint James’ artistic pursuits include award-winning book design, film editing, and sound recording, as well as his first love, photography. Saint James is a world traveler, having visited more than 50 countries - doing everything from photographing penguins in Antarctica to trekking the Himalayas.

As an educator with California teaching credentials, he has taught media production and technology arts as well as photography, art history and visual storytelling. He is an expert speaker on Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. Indeed, he walked in Vincent Van Gogh’s footsteps through the Netherlands, Belgium, and France in order to immerse himself in that troubled master’s vision.

The father of two grown children, Saint James once owned a café in Berkeley, California. He has bicycled from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C. and is rumored to play a mean blues harmonica.



Connect with Michael:  Website Twitter  ~  Pinterest

Amazon |  Author's Website


Win one of 15 print copies of Bridges of Paris. (Open Internationally) Ends May 16
a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 comments:

  1. I can just imagine how beautiful the photographs will be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This exceptional book of photographs would be a treasure which I would cherish. Many thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  3. Who doesn't love Paris??? This book looks magical!

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