Excellent Gateway Book:

When I saw the cover of this book the a sense of magnitude just hit me: France was occupied by the Nazis! There stood Hitler and his entourage in front of the Eiffel Tower like tourists! I had to know more and get inside this time that seemed so incomprehensible to me. I wanted to know what it was like from the administrations to the grass roots. Barber's book was my gateway to this time period that now consumes all of my spare time. I am utterly enthralled by France during WWII.
You get everything in this short book. Barber not only chronicles the elite's struggles to decide the fate of France, but also portrays them as human. He gets into their heads and exposes all of the scandal and personal issues that each leader faced which may or may not have impacted the final outcome. Could a mistress have played a roll in the decision not to carry on the fight? Perhaps what truly brings this story to life are the interwoven subplots of ordinary people in France. From an important government meeting, we flash to a train where a young girl is fleeing the Nazi advance just before her boarding school is blown up and all of the girls killed, and then to a pilot's cockpit as he watches the sad mass of refugees fleeing Paris for the south. Most of the firsthand accounts are from personal friends of the author. I cannot recommend this book enough. It does not get the attention it deserves as one of the most concise and enjoyable books to cover this remarkable event in history. ( )