This is Paris

"To truly capture a city, you must immerse yourself in its culture, get to know its people, and let them get to know you... that's when the stories begin to flow... that's what makes a book... without that connection, it lacks soul. Ever considered what it means when, in some distant place, locals tell you 'you're one of us'? Suddenly, you see the city through their eyes - it transforms from a collection of buildings and landmarks into simple, ordinary life. That is the heartbeat cities.” MŠ

This is the first in a series of beloved pictorial guides to the world's great cities. But Paris isn't just its famous sites; it's the soul of its people: the concierges, their cats, market sellers, artists, all those Duponts enjoying their café lives, and the children's laughter in backyards... Miroslav Šašek, one of the most well-known Czech emigrants, a world traveler, painter, and illustrator, remains largely unknown in his homeland. An architect by training, he left Czechoslovakia for Paris in 1947, never to return. Later, he spent several years as a Radio Free Europe editor in Munich. In the late 1950s, he introduced "This is Paris" to Allen, a London publisher, portraying "a Paris of a different kind... the real Paris, as I saw it upon my arrival, and as I still see it today..." His editor claimed they didn’t need to change a single line of the manuscript, and it went straight to printing. Published in London in 1959 and shortly thereafter in New York by McMillan, "This is Paris" was followed by more cities and countries. Šašek's books, translated into numerous languages and published in vast numbers across Europe, South America, Japan, and Scandinavia, brought him widespread acclaim. Since 2003, his books have been reissued, and Šašek’s works are currently experiencing a global revival.