Between the years 1950 and 1972, when Paris was in the twilight of its classical period, pilot and photographer Roger Henrard (1900-1975) preserved the city he knew and loved from the seat of a single-engine American army surplus Piper cub. Henrard used a high-speed plate camera to systematically document the city from its outskirts to its center. His photographs show not only Paris's stations, museums, department stores, and housing projects but also its urban tissue and interconnectionsthe tight-knit medieval districts as well as the rectilinear geometry of the Haussmanian boulevards.

Above Paris is Henrard's remarkable study of the urban landscape of Paris and its best-known monuments. Over 350 beautifully printed duotones, grouped by themes such as the course of the Seine, the main roads, the stations, and the neighborhoods of Paris give a clear overview of the city's layout. Maps at the beginning of each chapter further help orient the reader and together with detailed captions and essays by Jean-Louis Cohen make Above Paris a must for anybody interested in Paris or urban design.