THE FALL OF PARIS

6/1/1940

by Herbert R. Lottman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 7, 1992

Compendious but not compelling story of the weeks between the Nazis' invasion of France and their entry into Paris, by Lottman (Colette, 1990, etc.). Lottman's knowledge of French affairs is impressive, as is his cast of characters, which includes Churchill, PÇtain, Sartre, Beauvoir, Clare Boothe Luce, de Gaulle, A.J. Liebling, Iliya Ehrenburg, and Ambassador William Bullit, FDR's man on the ground. The problem is that these celebrated figures appear in what seems an endless series of cameos embedded in an impressionistic array of short (often very short) unconnected segments. Luminaries appear and reappear, but their initial appearances do not establish them firmly, and the text is not easy to follow. French politicos and generals squabble, position themselves, insult each other, and reveal themselves as the Panzers move closer, but Lottman relates their maneuverings with a detachment that doesn't convey fully the flavor of, say, the traitor PÇtain or the agile and observant Mrs. Luce. There are some great adventures here, though: How physicist FrÇdÇric Joliot-Curie and his associates ran off with the world's supply of heavy water (for use in nuclear research) is one tale that's not lost in the shuffle. The great cliffhanger is whether and when the French government will flee, a question complicated by the lies being told about that flight. But the sheer mass of names and details combines with flat writing to smother the national disaster created by monumental French stupidity (the Maginot line) and corruption (in military spending). Personality-oriented popular history that's well researched but lacking bite. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs—not seen.)

Pub Date: Oct. 7, 1992

ISBN: 0-06-016520-0

Page Count: 368

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION