Synopses & Reviews
An unforgettable portrait of Paris and Vichy France during the Nazi occupation.
Americans in Paris recounts tales of adventure, intrigue, passion, deceit, and survival under the brutal Nazi occupation through the eyes of the Americans who lived through it all. Renowned journalist Charles Glass tells the story of a remarkable cast of five thousand expatriates — artists, writers, scientists, playboys, musicians, cultural mandarins, and ordinary businessmen — and their struggles in Nazi Paris. Glass's discovery of letters, diaries, war documents, and police files reveals as never before how Americans were trapped in a web of intrigue, collaboration, and courage.
Review
"A story of extraordinary precision... absorbing." --
Financial Times "Rich in intrigue and heroism... a fascinating treat." --Antony Beevor, Daily Telegraph (UK)
"Glass, a world-class journalist, proves a gifted historian in this electrifying account of resistance, collaboration, terror, and valor." -- Parade magazine
"[Glass] skillfully uses memoirs, diaries, letters, documents and official records to draw a picture of expatriates caught in a mesh of deceit, bravery, self-sacrifice and fear, and places them in the context of diplomacy and the wider war." --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
andquot;A story of extraordinary precision... absorbing.andquot; --
Financialandnbsp;Times andquot;Rich in intrigue and heroism... a fascinating treat.andquot;andnbsp;--Antony Beevor, Daily Telegraph (UK)
andquot;Glass, a world-class journalist, proves a gifted historian in this electrifying account of resistance, collaboration, terror, and valor.andquot;andnbsp;-- Parade magazine
andquot;[Glass] skillfully uses memoirs, diaries, letters, documents and official records to draw a picture of expatriates caught in a mesh of deceit, bravery, self-sacrifice and fear, and places them in the context of diplomacy and the wider war.andquot;andnbsp;--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
"Sensitive and thought-provoking and#8230; As this compelling and well-researched book shows, the battlefield was not a place for heroes, but a place where young men were dehumanised and killed and#8230; Given such conditions who among us would not also have considered walking away?" --
Sunday Telegraph (UK)
and#8216;[These] stories of individual human beings who eventually cracked under the strain of hardly imaginable fear and misery and#8211; are wonderful, unforgettable acts of witness, something salvaged from a time already sinking into the black mud of the past." --The Guardian (UK)
"Gripping and#8230; painstaking and#8230; sympathetic and#8230; Glass reveals just how inglorious war really is." --TImes (UK)
"Remarkable." --Sunday Times (UK)
and#8216;With his own skill and sensitivity, Glass recreates the inhuman scenes that pummel the other soldiers he examinesand#8230; refreshing and stimulating and#8211; history told from the loserand#8217;s perspective." --Daily Telegraph (UK)
and#8216;What is that pitiful sound? The wail of a thousand military historians wishing they had thought of an idea as original as Charles Glass in [The Deserters]." Sunday Express (UK)
About the Author
CHARLES GLASS was the chief Middle East correspondent for ABC News from 1983 to 1993 and has covered wars in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. He is the author of
Americans in Paris, Tribes with Flags, The Tribes Triumphant, Money for Old Rope, and
The Northern Front. His writing has appeared in
Harperand#8217;s Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The London Review of Books, The Independent, and
The Spectator. Born in Los Angeles, Glass divides his time among Paris, Tuscany, and London.
www.charlesglass.net