Nobody Sits Like the French

A radically new way of seeing Paris: through its world expos 

We have seen Paris through Hemingway’s words, Chagall’s colors, Julia Child’s menus, and Michelin’s stars. But no one has seen it through the lens of the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair).

Paris is the living, breathing memory of seven universal expositions from 1855 to 1937. These fairs created the city the way Dior fashions a gown – the Eiffel Tower, of course, but also the Musée d’Orsay, Grand Palais, and Petit Palais. Flâneurs lounge on bistro chairs, thousands plunge into the beauty of Monet’s canvasses, and everyone sips cup after cup of coffee at a thousand bistros all because of a Parisian expo.

Nobody Sits Like the French tells those stories and many more. A champagne cocktail of travel guide and history, the book paints a Paris invisible to all but a handful of people on Earth who know that every time they sip a glass of Burgundy, nibble Roquefort cheese, admire a Gauguin, and even enjoy the benefits of a working sewer system in the City of Light, they owe that experience to a world expo there.

"Pappas’s witty, conversational style pulls readers along unexpected avenues, making the book an entertaining gem that should be slipped into the suitcase of any traveler headed for Paris." – Publishers Weekly

About the author

Charles Pappas wrote the books Flying Cars, Zombie Dogs, and Robot Overlords and Expo 2020 Dubai: The Definitive Edition, among others, both of which are about the transformative power of world exhibitions. Charles has also been covering the expo industry worldwide for Exhibitor magazine for more than 20 years. His articles have won several national/regional ASBPE, MAGGIE and TABBI awards.