A Waiter in Paris on my OG bookshelf. Published August 9, 2022 with widespread distribution. This is the black and white version, Paul Goldfinger photograph. Ocean Grove, NJ. I have a credit on the inside of the dust cover. The actual print has been posted here on Blogfinger.net
Here is a link https://wp.me/pqmj2-p6g :
You can also see an original print hanging in “Cheese on Main” in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. It is the only signed print currently on display, and you can get terrific Stilton cheese from Susan over there. That would be an English selection to go with Edward Chisholm’s fine book

This is the red, white and blue. (French colors) version of the book. 3 publishers are involved with distribution by Simon and Schuster.
I was excited to see the finished product. My photograph of Left Bank waiters was chosen for the dust cover, and it was thrilling to see that some designers had the print match the black and white of the photograph.
My book copy was sent to me in June by the Octopus Publishing Group in London (Thanks to Giulia Hetherington whose musical name sounds so English…or “Anglais” as the book’s author says.)
I sent her one of my original B & W photos taken in the East Village. It turns out that she spent time there with friends in a rented “flat” just a few blocks from where my New York image was taken. She was thrilled with the gift.
So it is now officially published on August 9 , and many reviews and ads are already popping up on the Internet.
The book has been getting good reviews since the launch date including by the Wall Street Journal., the Daily Beast, Air Mail, London Review, The Guardian, Paris Review, Good Reads and Publishers Weekly.
Here is a short review from the publisher:
“An evocative portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light. A waiter’s job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door . . . is hell.
“Edward Chisholm’s spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you beneath the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world–and right into its glorious underbelly. He inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep and dive bars; scraping by on coffee, bread and cigarettes, often under sadistic managers, with a wage so low you’re fighting your colleagues for tips. Your colleagues–including thieves, narcissists, ex-soldiers, immigrants, wannabe actors, and drug dealers–are the closest thing to family that you’ve got. It’s physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn’t matter because you’re in Paris, the center of the universe, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be in the world.”
“A Waiter in Paris” is available in Kindle, but without my photo. Most of the reviews include a picture of the book’s cover, so anyone who reads a review or walks into a book shop all over the free world will see my photo, and that is a huge thrill.
WYNTON MARSALIS: “You’re My Everything.”
Thank you Jean.
Jean Wiarda, RN, an amazing nurse, worked with me for many years at Dover General (NJ) Medical Center. She and I started the first free-standing pacemaker clinic in that area (Morris County.) and she also pioneered a new concept of pulmonary rehab.
My photos were hanging around in the hospital and in the Cardiology Department. She once wanted to know how I could photograph a flower without using color. No one ever asked me that question before, and I still wonder about that as I choose subjects for my black and white efforts.
But thanks again Jean and all the others who have been commenting on the French waiters image.
Paul
Paul,
I’ve seen that photo many times, but never on the cover of a book! Many more of yours deserve to be there. I’ve come to appreciate black and white photography because of you!
Congratulations – it is a great photo.
Jean
Comment submitted by email from Jean Wiarda
Paul,
I’ve seen that photo many times, but never on the cover of a book! Many more of yours deserve to be there.
I’ve come to appreciate black and white photography because of you! Congratulations – it is a great photo.
Jean
See Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, a prototype for this sort of book. G
Thanks Rich for that much appreciated compliment. I will be in touch.
I’m still waiting for one of your images for Blogfinger. I would welcome some photos that show quality of life in B. Beach.
Paul
This image is among the best of the best street photography images I have ever seen! So pleased to see it again. Is there a place for obtaining a copy of this pint?
Congratulations, in this case I would say you can judge the book by its cover. I’m sure it will be just as good as your picture.
Congratulations!