This book is the publication of a series of broadcasts by the eminent French sociologist Dominique Schnapper, which she originally gave on the national radio station France Culture. Schnapper’s elegant writing style and sharp analysis are worthy of her father, the philosopher Raymond Aron. Her arguments are always carefully nuanced and personal, and the subjects chosen so as to cast light on various aspects of contemporary society: sport, the media, politics, women, holidays, etc. Besides chronicling the passage of time (there is an element of nostalgia in Schnapper’s thinking), she also reviews the present from an intellectually insightful and humane sociological angle. This unique work will enable readers to understand some of the deep-seated tendencies in French society that are likely to affirm themselves in the years to come.

Dominique Schnapper is a director of studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and a member of the French Constitutional Council.