The Riviera, Exposed - (Histories and Cultures of Tourism) by Stephen L Harp (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A sweeping social and environmental history, The Riviera, Exposed illuminates the profound changes to the physical space that we know as the quintessential European tourist destination. Stephen L. Harp uncovers the behind-the-scenes impact of tourism following World War II, both on the environment and on the people living and working on the Riviera, particularly North African laborers, who not only did much of the literal rebuilding of the Riviera but also suffered in that process.

Outside of Paris, the Riviera has been the most visited region in France, depending almost exclusively on tourism as its economic lifeline. Until recently, we knew a great deal about the tourists but much less about the social and environmental impacts of their activities or about the life stories of the North African workers upon whom the Riviera's prosperity rests. The technologies embedded in roads, airports, hotels, water lines, sewers, beaches, and marinas all required human intervention--and travelers were encouraged to disregard this intervention. Harp's sharp analysis explores the impacts of massive construction and public works projects, revealing the invisible infrastructure of tourism, its environmental effects, and the immigrants who built the Riviera.

The Riviera, Exposed unearths a gritty history, one of human labor and ecological degradation that forms the true foundation of the glamorous Riviera of tourist mythology.

Review Quotes

This fascinating book uncovers a history which had otherwise been landscaped and paved over. Indeed, by unpacking the environmental toll of this type of tourism, Harp asks the reader to reflect on their own travel, while also recovering the story of itinerant workers who were always beyond the frame of the holiday postcard.

Specialists will learn much from Harp's innovative research and eclectic use of sources[.]

In six sharply written and lively chapters, Stephen Harp renders visible what the tourism industry demands remain invisible: laborers and environmental degradation.

This engrossing environmental and social history of the French Riviera invites us to critically interrogate the profound interplay between environmental destruction and social inequality more generally, and will surely give readers much to ponder when they plan their next vacation.

About the Author

Stephen L. Harp is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Akron. He is the author of A World History of Rubber, Au Naturel, and Marketing Michelin.