Helpful Score: 1
excellent read.
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
This was an interesting review of what the Americans in Paris experienced during World War II. For some of them, the story began in World War I. And there were many with dual citizenships who had to decide which of those was more important to them. Work with Vichy and be a traitor to the U.S., or vice versa. Due to their distance from the U.S and limited communication, those who pretended to work with Vichy and the Nazis were viewed as traitors to the U.S. Not all of their stories, patriots and traitors alike, had happy endings.
He also spends many pages covering the activities of the French Vichy and Resistance leaders during the war, as they relate to the Americans. This includes their political activities.
I felt the author did an excellent job researching their stories. But he did make three glaring mistakes I found, which were incidental to the story. He states planes couldn't bomb U-Boats under water (page 314) and that the U-boats sank U.S. troop carriers (ships). To my knowledge no troop-carrying ships crossing the Atlantic were sunk. And patrolling bombers also carries depth charges which sunk a number of U-boats during the war. And he must have read crewmen from shot-down planes buried their parachutes to help prevent the Germans from discovering where they landed. This was true in the countryside, but he has them (page 322) doing so when their planes were shot down over Paris. There the Germans were so close they could capture any downed crewmen foolish enough to waste time burying their chutes.
He also spends many pages covering the activities of the French Vichy and Resistance leaders during the war, as they relate to the Americans. This includes their political activities.
I felt the author did an excellent job researching their stories. But he did make three glaring mistakes I found, which were incidental to the story. He states planes couldn't bomb U-Boats under water (page 314) and that the U-boats sank U.S. troop carriers (ships). To my knowledge no troop-carrying ships crossing the Atlantic were sunk. And patrolling bombers also carries depth charges which sunk a number of U-boats during the war. And he must have read crewmen from shot-down planes buried their parachutes to help prevent the Germans from discovering where they landed. This was true in the countryside, but he has them (page 322) doing so when their planes were shot down over Paris. There the Germans were so close they could capture any downed crewmen foolish enough to waste time burying their chutes.
John O. (buzzby) -
Very good book, I got a bit overwhelmed by the larger-than-life folks and their gossipy connections, so I didn't finish. Covers left bank/right bank, black and white, resistance and Vichyesque types. And there's a couple of maps at the beginning that will tell you where a lot of the places mentioned are.
