Review by Booklist Review
The liberation of Paris from Nazi rule was an iconic event. Stories from the 11-day uprising, leading up to the arrival of Free French troops who formally liberated the city, have shaped the global image of Paris ever since. In Paris 1944, Bishop recounts the stories of various participants--many famous, some infamous, more than a few nearly forgotten. Bishop, a journalist turned popular writer of military history, has decades of experience following British troops in combat, so he understands the chaotic reality of war. His ability to bring a wide cast of characters ranging from French communists to Ernest Hemingway alive through well-chosen details and carefully crafted description turns what could be a ponderous slog into a brisk, panoramic narrative. He acknowledges the often messy and ambiguous realities behind the heroic saga of the Resistance and doesn't shy away from some unpleasant truths behind the tidy myth. At the same time, he allows the sweeping drama of the story to come alive, as the complex humanity of all participants informs every scene. Recommended for WWII-history collections.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Historian Bishop (Operation Jubilee) contends in this splendid chronicle that the 1940 Nazi occupation and 1944 Allied liberation (which he calls "the party of the century") of Paris carried heavy symbolic weight. He uses the City of Light's "mythic" status as the backbone for a fine-grained narrative of life before and during the war, showing how a sense of exceptionalism permeated the thinking of Nazi occupiers, fascist sympathizers, and resistance fighters alike. Leaders on both sides of the conflict treated the city with kid gloves: the Nazi regime permitted the city's vibrant arts and cuisine to flourish, while the Allies were careful to organize a resistance that wouldn't tip into outright rebellion and anarchy. Bishop tracks how this exceptionalism was a pitfall as much as an inspiration--for instance, Nazi leniency toward artists drew many into complicity with the regime. This theme is adhered to with a light touch, as Bishop's portraits of major and minor figures develop into arresting subplots freighted with their own symbolism (the last performance that literary critic and outspoken fascist sympathizer Robert Brasillach attended before he went into hiding in 1944 was Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit). This is a revelation. (Aug.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Intriguing perspectives that balance myths and realities about the occupation and liberation of Paris during World War II. Historian and former foreign correspondent Bishop, author of Operation Jubilee, presents a sweeping depiction of the occupation by, and liberation from, Nazi forces in Paris in 1944. The author conducted an extraordinary amount of research for this book, and his experience living and working in Paris as a newspaper correspondent adds a valuable sensibility to the narrative, particularly in his analysis of the political and social contexts of prewar Paris and the stark privation and fear endured by Parisians at the hands of the Nazis. The author examines Paris as a fixed idea or concept of high artistic and cultural stability in the minds of people around the world, how the impact of its capture by Hitler seemed to extinguish a light in the world, and the profoundly gleeful celebration upon that light rekindling. He tells this story through the eyes of several artistic and literary figures such as Picasso, Salinger, and Hemingway, famous and unknown fighters in the French Resistance, and the leaders of Vichy France and Charles de Gaulle, who "understood brilliantly the power that the city on the Seine exercised over the world's imagination." At times, the number of people Bishop profiles are so numerous that a roster or scorecard seems necessary, and some readers may wish for a more succinctly vivid description of occupied Paris, like that found in Mark Helprin's novel Paris in the Present Tense. Still, Bishop effectively weaves the various and oftentimes intersecting stories into a fascinating and enlightening narrative that serves as an entertaining social history of World War II--era Paris. The book includes maps, illustrations, and extensive source notes for each chapter. A unique account of the liberation of the City of Light. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
