sophronisba's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.5
I thought this was absolutely fascinating and I was riveted by a lot of the stories included. I knew about Sylvia Beach, of course, but Charles Bedaux and Sumner Jackson were new to me and I became very invested in their experiences (Jackson, especially). Highly recommended if you are interested in this time period, or if you've ever wondered what happened to Americans in Paris after the much-vaunted Twenties.
virginiacjacobs's review against another edition
2.0
In my ongoing attempt to stop reading books that I just don't find interesting, I made it more than 100 pages through this book before I decided that it wasn't for me. It's a thoroughly researched and well-written book that simply didn't draw me in.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
tense
slow-paced
4.0
This book features a host of characters- businessmen, artists, scientists, etc.- who were current and former American citizens, living and working under Nazi Occupation. Some of them really got into shady business doings with Nazis, because money talks to people more than morals in a lot of instances. I am sure that two things can be simultaneously true- you can love your country and you can love your lifestyle and wallet. Especially if you are not a targeted group or person, you are more willing to overlook what other people are going through if it does not directly affect you. (We can see that right now in the United States.) It was really interesting to see how people continued to live their lives when they were faced with war, horrific treatment of people in their own cities, and rationing. I thought this book was very enlightening.
Charles Glass is the former chief correspondent for the Middle East with ABC News, which, I believe, lends to his ability to tell these stories in a way that captivates the reader. His research was well done, but what I appreciated the most is the implementation of personal correspondence and journals of the people he was writing about. The specialization for my history degree was in World War II, and I have read (and written) a massive amount of things about this particular time period and subject. I can tell you that much of that concentrated on actual battles and Holocaust. There was essentially no mention of Americans living in Paris, other than the Kennedy's when Joseph Kennedy was ambassador. I found this book to be extremely valuable for giving a deep look into lives of people who were living and working there that were not born and raised in Europe. This book should be required reading, but, at the very least, should be suggested for supplemental reading for those (in the States, at least) seeking history degrees when they cover this period.
Charles Glass is the former chief correspondent for the Middle East with ABC News, which, I believe, lends to his ability to tell these stories in a way that captivates the reader. His research was well done, but what I appreciated the most is the implementation of personal correspondence and journals of the people he was writing about. The specialization for my history degree was in World War II, and I have read (and written) a massive amount of things about this particular time period and subject. I can tell you that much of that concentrated on actual battles and Holocaust. There was essentially no mention of Americans living in Paris, other than the Kennedy's when Joseph Kennedy was ambassador. I found this book to be extremely valuable for giving a deep look into lives of people who were living and working there that were not born and raised in Europe. This book should be required reading, but, at the very least, should be suggested for supplemental reading for those (in the States, at least) seeking history degrees when they cover this period.
cynabel's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting read. It was interesting to see the different perspectives of Americans in Paris regarding what they thought was collaboration. I sided more with the resistance movement when reading.
librarianonparade's review against another edition
4.0
This book follows the lives of a number of American citizens - some natural-born, some the French-born children of Americans parents, other naturalised citizens - who chose to remain behind in Paris following the invasion by the Nazis in 1940. Their lives are all very different, one a doctor in the American Hospital, another a bookseller, a third a naturalised business and entrepreneur; and they all chose very different paths in reaction to the German occupation, ranging from the extremes of resistance and collaboration, to those in the middle just trying to survive.
Americans in Paris had a particular peculiar experience throughout the course of the war, beginning as neutral citizens protected by their American status and ending up as enemy combatants. At the outset of the war American lives and property were safeguarded by the Nazis, a position that enabled many to covertly use their positions to assist the Resistance. But when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour and Germany declared war on the United States, the majority of American citizens were rounded up and held in camps, admittedly relatively luxurious compared to the POW, death and labour camps.
This is a very well-researched book, and it really brings to life a number of fascinating characters, particularly Sumner Jackson and Charles Bedaux, the former the heroic doctor at the American Hospital who, along with his wife and son, risked his life helping Allied airmen escape, the latter a businessmen who collaborated with Vichy France and Nazi Germany. My only criticism was that it sometimes seemed to be more concerned with those Americans at the higher end of the social echelon; I can't believe there were no poor or struggling Americans left in Paris to talk about.
Americans in Paris had a particular peculiar experience throughout the course of the war, beginning as neutral citizens protected by their American status and ending up as enemy combatants. At the outset of the war American lives and property were safeguarded by the Nazis, a position that enabled many to covertly use their positions to assist the Resistance. But when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour and Germany declared war on the United States, the majority of American citizens were rounded up and held in camps, admittedly relatively luxurious compared to the POW, death and labour camps.
This is a very well-researched book, and it really brings to life a number of fascinating characters, particularly Sumner Jackson and Charles Bedaux, the former the heroic doctor at the American Hospital who, along with his wife and son, risked his life helping Allied airmen escape, the latter a businessmen who collaborated with Vichy France and Nazi Germany. My only criticism was that it sometimes seemed to be more concerned with those Americans at the higher end of the social echelon; I can't believe there were no poor or struggling Americans left in Paris to talk about.
rbkegley's review
3.0
Glass explores the experiences of American citizens who lived in Paris before World War II, some for many years, and who chose to remain there after the fall of France. He uses the familiar, and effective, technique of following a half-dozen or so relatively prominent figures' lives: a bookstore owner, the director of the American Hospital, a millionaire businessman, and some others. Through their tales he shows the bizarre normalcy of life in Paris under Nazi occupation, though that existence was one of slow starvation and random brutality, and the ways that many of his selected figures resisted Nazi rule, some at the cost of their lives.
alundeberg's review
3.0
Good account of what life was like in Paris during WWII for the Americans who stayed behind. Interesting as this book is, it is bogged down by the minutiae of facts. Glass seemed to feel compelled to include everything. This made the reading seem episodic and disjointed. However, it is still a good read and informative.