“How the French Think: An Affectionate Portrait of an Intellectual People” by Sudhir Hazareesingh is an accessible overview of French intellectual life that ignores the baleful influence of Islamist terrorism. I take it to be indisputable that French Muslims constitute a diverse community. Yet equally true is the perverse interpretation of Islam by Daesh (the preferred appellation in France for the criminals who call themselves Islamic State; let’s go with the French), whose nihilism is widespread.