Blaise Cendrars is in every way an extraordinary figure. His life was full of fascinating adventures, yet he invented a series of myths about himself to make it seem even more fascinating. He revolutionized twentieth-century French poetry--"La poèsie date d'aujord'hui" (Poetry dates from today), from Le Panama; ou, Les Aventures de mes sept oncles (1918; translated as Panama: or, The Adventures of My Seven Uncles, 1931) is one of his most oft-quoted remarks--but actually worked as a poet for just over a decade, going on to spend the rest of his career writing in prose and experimenting with other art forms. He consistently flouted public taste but was intent on being a celebrity. He was a strident supporter of the working class who fought for the capitalists in World War I. He was a dreamer who, all the while insisting that the truth was imaginary, constantly worked...