Today's Paris is largely the legacy of Baron Haussmann, who created the 'City of Lights' during the last half of the nineteenth century. Although neither architect nor engineer, Haussmann reshaped France's capital during his seventeen years as Prefect of the Seine under Napoleon III. Haussmann demolished much of the crowded medieval Paris and replaced it with grand boulevards, majestic spaces, and triumphant monuments. Set against the political intrigue and social upheavals of the era of the Commune and the revolutions of 1848, "Transforming Paris" reveals how Haussmann came to have the power to remake the city.

At once an elegantly written biography of Haussmann and an accessible history of Paris's transition into a modern city, this book will appeal to historians and delight anyone intrigued by Paris.

David P. Jordan is a professor and chair of the department of history at the University of Illinois, Chicago. His books include "The King's Trial: Louis XVI vs. the French Revolution" and "The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre."