A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

Stephen Clarke followed me around Paris for a year and then decided to write a book about it. No, I'm serious. They go to restaurants that I went to, bookshops that I shopped at - I swear that every observation he makes about the French people (from the way they run, to their attitude in September, to the very Parisian "shrug") all of it is something that I thought at one point in time or another.

If you want to see an absolutely PERFECT characterization of the French from an English (but it fits for Americans too) perspective. Read this book. And if you've spent ANY time in France, I feel like this will totally hit home. Merde.