One of the classics in the French tradition of humanist documentary, Le Banlieu (or, the suburbs) is arguably Doisneau's finest book. As Parr and Badger point out in i>The Photobook: A History, Vol. 1, it "displays all of his characteristic warmth and humanity, yet it is a serious work that is generally free from the cuteness and the annoyingly obvious visual jokes that can sometimes push him into the dubious category of 'humorous' photographer, detracting from his real achievements....Doisneau caught [the suburbs] just as they were about to change and expand beyond recognition, making this book a valuable document that looks unsentimentally yet affectionately at a popular idea of the French working class."