The Course of French History Book

I read The Course of French History in preparation for a trip to Paris after seeing that it was recommended in Rick Steve's guidebook. The author, an economic historian, provides a macro-level view that is clearly intended for a French audience (this version is an English translation), and this did not really meet the needs of someone like myself, with a limited knowledge of French history. Assuming that most readers would be familiar with major figures and events, the book instead focused on major economic and cultural trends. (In fact, the most detailed sections were on the American Revolution.) This is certainly no criticism of the book, but it certainly wasn't the right text for me.