The Greater Journey by David McCullough

This book was simply a fun book to read. McCullough's renowned writing ability made the stories of those he wrote about come alive. Readers who have had the chance to explore Paris will find themselves envisioning its streets and alleys, peeling away 20th century changes to the cityscape, imagining the sites, smells and feels of Paris from the past. The story also brings alive a part of American history that is now often forgotten... the striving of young Americans to earn themselves and their country a spot as global leaders in their fields. American medical students looking to bring the United States to the cutting edge of medicine. American artists looking to claim their place alongside Europe's masters. McCullough shows how much they enjoyed Paris, and yet how distinctively American they remained.

I can't say that I found any overarching point to a McCullough's tale of the first ambitious young Americans to go to study in Paris, but I was OK with that. The book was fun and inspiring, and helped to give an appreciation of the work, the risks, and the adventures that went into earning America a role as a leading society in the world, and it was a reminder that throughout its history, America has had an (at time acrimonious) fraternal relationship with France.