La Belle Epoque: Fifteen Euphoric Years of European History

334 pp. A book of dissertations by a number of Italian scholars, La Belle Epoque should be read once one has gotten a good feel of the period from another book like "Paris in the Nineties" by Rudolph or "Edwardian England" by Pearson or one else might find themselves confused after finishing the first two chapters due to the remainder of the book focusing on the psychological aspects and arts of the period. The upside of this book is that while it focuses mainly on France, and then Edwardian England, it includes tidbits on fin de siecle Austria, Germany, Italy and even Romania, as well as a calendar of newsworthy events from the years 1900-1914 culled from newspapers of the era.