Product Description

The French call them 'the Dark Years'... This definitive new history of Occupied France explores the myths and realities of four of the most divisive years in French history. Taking in ordinary people's experiences of defeat, collaboration, resistance, and liberation, it uncovers the conflicting memories of occupation which ensure that even today France continues to debate the legacy of the Vichy years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22608 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 688 pages

Patrick Marnham, Spectator, 7 July 2001
"wide-ranging ... The story is regularly enriched by nuggets of unexpected information."

Review
wide-ranging ... The story is regularly enriched by nuggets of unexpected information. (Patrick Marnham, Spectator, 7 July 2001 )

a valuable addition to the continuing debate over France's collapse in 1940 and the Vichy government's subsequent cooperation with the Nazis (Contemporary Review )

this analysis reads very fresh, as though what happened might have turned out differently (The Guardian )

The Guardian
"this analysis reads very fresh, as though what happened might have turned out differently"

Customer Reviews

An excellent, detailed survey of an important subject
This is a substantial survey of the years of the Nazi occupation of France. Although there are some excellent English and American books on this subject or on aspects of it, I have not yet come across anything in English which is as comprehensive.

The autor starts with a section called " Anticipations " which sets the scene by examining some aspects of France between the two world wars. This section ends with an account of the rapid defeat of France in the Spring and Summer of 1940.

The other sections of the book deal with collaboration, the Vichy government, everyday life, the Resistance,and, perhaps the most interesting section, the Liberation and after.

The book is massively well-informed. The author makes references to a huge number of sources: these range from standard history texts through unpublished Ph.D theses to French newspapers published at the time, both those produced by the underground presses and those which openly supported the Vichy régime and the Nazi occupiers.

The book provides some valuable correctives to some of the myths and legend which persist about the Resistance and the Vichy state. He rejects completely the idea that Jean Moulin was a communist sleeper, for example. Julian Jackson finishes his study with an epilogue called " Remembering the Occupation " which shows that the events of 1940 - 1944 are still a subject of serious and sometimes acrimonious discussion.

In just over six hundred pages this book covers a big subject in fascinating detail. It should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in tis period. It deserves to become a classic in its field.

Well worth the money!
I have to say that Julian Jackson's book is excellent; quite the best
book on the subject I have ever read. It is immaculately researched,
well written, wide-ranging and more than worth the price the book shops
charge for it. For anyone with an interest in the subject it is a top
one-stop point of reference.

hard work...
I studied history but now I'm just looking for straight forward enjoyable narrative history. This is a well researched, well written book. However, I'm finding it very hard to work my way through, and often I've read a whole page without paying any attention to it as it is so dense and detailed. I would recommend this book if you are studying this at university, but if you want some bedside reading, think twice about it. The section on resistance is very good though.