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"The Seine: The River That Made Paris... will tell the reader all there is to know about it...[and] furnishes a potpourri of details to reinforce the elegiac mood.... The Seine, in Sciolino’s presentation, to me feels... like a picnic in a Caillebotte painting....The Seine serves perfectly, timeless." -The New York Review

“I learned so much from this book. Elaine Sciolino is a graceful, companionable writer, someone who speaks about France in the most enjoyably American way.... Sciolino has laid one more beautiful and amusing wreath on the altar of the City of Light.” - Edmund White, New York Times (click here for review)

"Engaging and informative exploration of the city... .Look beyond the detritus floating in the wake of the tourist boats and see the bouquinistes, the cigar-smoking booksellers whose first editions of obscure eighteenth-century classics line the quays, the Gothic spire of the Sainte Chapelle soaring above the Île de la Cité, and the couples dancing salsa on the banks on a summer’s evening. This is the magic of the city, born out of its river, that Sciolino so vividly captures [with] touching storytelling." - Esme O’Keeffe, Times Literary Supplement (click here for review)

“Paris-based journalist Elaine Sciolino is a badass. As part of her encyclopedic research for her new book, ‘The Seine: The River That Made Paris,’ the former Paris bureau chief for the New York Times... stripped down to her undies and jumped into the Seine....The writer, who was also a foreign correspondent for Newsweek, has written an extended love letter to the Seine...This book is meant...to be sampled bit by bit, like the delicate macarons that line the shelves of so many patisseries." - Debra Bruno, Washington Post (click here for review)

“A couple of times a year, a book just simply stops you in its tracks. That was the case with ‘THE SEINE’... Elaine Sciolino... absolutely nailed the image of how we see this river through Paris. She is of course beyond acclaimed with her decades of work at The New York Times.” - Tom Keene, Editor-at-Large, Bloomberg News (click here for review)

“[Sciolino] shares her love affair with Paris and the Seine with enchanting anecdotes and insights...Francophiles will adore this book, and others may become Francophiles as they read.”-  Kirkus Reviews (starred review; click here to read)

“Written in an enjoyable journalistic style, the book is both a travelog and a cultural history of not only the river itself but the people who have lived, worked, and taken inspiration from it... For readers who have walked along the banks of the Seine or dream of someday doing so, this love letter to a river is highly recommended” - Library Journal (starred review click here to read)

“Sciolino’s flowing travelogue churns up fascinating history. The river is named for both a Gallo-Roman goddess and an early Christian priest; thousands lined its banks in 1840 to see Napoleon’s remains ferried back to Paris. Sciolino finds less-heralded, vivid characters—used-book sellers, antique-boat restorers—on the riverbanks, too.” - Jennifer Barger, National Geographic (click here for review)

Sciolino drinks from its founding springs in remote Burgundy…. She rides with river police, meets a restorer of antique boats, and swims in the watery pride of Paris. [She] is a born storyteller, which makes “The Seine: The River That Made Paris” the complete book about one of the world’s most important rivers. It’s part memoir of her own Parisian experiences, part fascinating travelogue, and part informative historical adventure. --The Niagara Gazette (click here for review)

“Former New York Times Paris correspondent Elaine Sciolino’s… new book, "The Seine: The River that Made Paris" is enlightening not only for detailing the ways that, without the Seine, there'd be no Paris as we know it but for its descriptions of the Seine upriver and downriver from the capital, from Burgundy to Le Havre.” - Arnie Weisman, Travel Weekly (click here for review)

“Sciolino writes as a river flows and as Matisse and Monet painted – with beauty, ease and grace.” - Erik Brady, Buffalo News (click here for review)

“Elaine Sciolino, a longtime American in Paris,...takes us along in an engaging travelogue/memoir tracing the Seine’s 483 miles from its source to the sea...She swims in it after it becomes a river.... She cruises it with police and river pilots, and commiserates with frustrated preservationists. Readers will enjoy Sciolino’s expansive take on the Seine’s role in the history and culture of France.” - Maureen McCarthy, Star Tribune (click here for review)

“‘The Seine’ informs and teaches readers about the Seine without overpowering them. Far from a dull, austere historical dissertation, Sciolino’s book is light-hearted, energetic and romantic — in a word: fun.” - Phineas Rueckert, Frenchly (click here for review)

“A melange of historical vignettes, personal antidotes and poetic quotes spiced with photos and illustrations, this charming book is both informative and entertaining.” - Paris Voice (click here for review)

“Forever the intrepid reporter, her titanic research reads like a detective novel uncovering lost treasures, debunking myths and revealing secrets. . She audaciously knocks on the doors of strangers’ homes looking for the terrace that captured the river’s best view in painting, and braves the unknown with a dive into the river to plumb its depths.” - Inspirelle (click here for article)

“New York Times contributing writer Elaine Sciolino… has come out with an intriguing new book in the finest tradition of story-telling recounting the tale of a river that has marked so many, whether historically, politically, culturally or romantically.” - Global Geneva (click here for article)

“A brilliantly researched journey down the Seine and a look at French history and contemporary culture.” - French Cultural Center, Boston (click here for review)

“This entertaining account flows along like a love letter to the Seine... Readers will enjoy this engaging and authoritative account, whether planning a trip, reminiscing about past travels, or sitting in an armchair, dreaming of wandering along romantic riverbanks.”
- Booklist 

“The New York Times bestselling author explores every aspect of the iconic river — from its history to its pollution levels to its impact on art and French culture — in “The Seine: The River that Made Paris....” I... was swept up with the current of Sciolino’s latest. You don’t have to have visited France — you just have to want to learn about French culture, history, art, film.” - The Standard-Times

“A soulful, transformative voyage along the body of water that defines the City of Light. Elaine Sciolino is the perfect guide to the world’s most romantic river.” - Lauren Collins, The New Yorker Paris staff writer and New York Times best-selling author of When in French: Love in a Second Language

“This beautifully written and deeply personal book captures something profound, not just about the Seine and France, but about people’s lives and how important rivers are to them…Elaine Sciolino writes with the authority of a historian, the sleuthing skills of a journalist, and the voice of a storyteller eager to recount the tales of those who have been touched by the Seine.” - David A. Bell, Lapidus Professor of History at Princeton University

“Every day, through the windows of my restaurant, I have the sheer pleasure of gazing down at the Seine, awed by its beauty and vitality. In her lyrical and touching book, Elaine Sciolino brings this magical river to life for everyone to experience and enjoy. This is the finest book I’ve ever read about the Seine, the river that is the most beautiful avenue of Paris!” - Guy Savoy, chef and restaurateur

“Anyone who, like me, loves and collects books about Paris will be grateful for this wonderful addition. It’s erudite and energetic, like the river itself. Read Elaine Sciolino’s own story as it emerges from her pages and her travels. I recommend The Seine as both a guidebook and a great bedside read.” - Diane Johnson, New York Times best-selling author of Le Divorce and Flyover Lives

“It seems sometimes that everything that can be said about Paris has been said already. But no one has brought attention and paid tribute to its very heart like Elaine Sciolino managed to do in her latest book…. Paris, like New York, is a very diverse, nuanced place, hard to sum up in one book unless you have the talent of Elaine Sciolino. In “The Seine: The River That Made Paris,” she shares stories of her adventures along the most romantic river in the world and in doing so, she invites us to see the river in ways we didn’t suspect.” - Gaëtan Bruel, Cultural Counselor of France to the United State

“If you loved her previous The Only Street in Paris as much as I did, you will love this one even more…It's also full of wonderful facts that make for a compelling read -- every single chapter is jam-packed with interesting people and stories -- and is far more rewarding I think than a journey around a room in an apartment or a house.” —Barrie Kerper, The Collected Traveller blog  (click here for review)

The force of Sciolino’s personality lies at the heart of all her explorations…. Her enthusiasm and drive are infectious…. The book’s Afterword, written soon after the fire that almost destroyed Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, is particularly touching as Sciolino explains how the water pumped from the Seine was crucial in saving the edifice. This [book] should be recommended reading both for those who love Paris and for those intending to visit France anytime soon. --Paris Update (click here for review)