Synopses & Reviews
In this revisionist account of France’s crushing defeat in 1940, a world authority on French history argues that the nation’s downfall has long been misunderstood. Philip Nord assesses France’s diplomatic and military preparations for war with Germany, its conduct of the war once the fighting began, and the political consequences of defeat on the battlefield. He also tracks attitudes among French leaders once defeat seemed a likelihood, identifying who among them took advantage of the nation’s misfortunes to sabotage democratic institutions and plot an authoritarian way forward. Nord finds that the longstanding view that France’s collapse was due to military unpreparedeness and a decadent national character is unsupported by fact.
Instead, he reveals that the Third Republic was no worse prepared and its military failings no less dramatic than those of the United States and other Allies in the early years of the war. What was unique in France was the betrayal by military and political elites who abandoned the Republic and supported the reprehensible Vichy takeover. Why then have historians and politicians ever since interpreted the defeat as a judgment on the nation as a whole? Why has the focus been on the failings of the Third Republic and not on elite betrayal? The author examines these questions in a fascinating conclusion.
Review
"A well thought-out and well-presented book on a thorny problem of European history: why was France defeated in 1940?"—Robert Gildea, author of
Marianne in ChainsReview
“A fascinating and long overdue re-examination . . . well-written and persuasive.”—J. W. Thacker, Bowling Green Daily News
Synopsis
Impressionists and Politics is an accessible introduction to the current debates about Impressionism. Was the artistic movement really radical and innovative? Is the term Impressionism itself an adequate characterization of the movement of painters and critics that took the mid-nineteenth century Paris art world by storm?
By providing an historical background and context, the book places the Impressionists' roots in wider social and economic transformations and explains its militancy, both aesthetic and political.
Impressionists and Politics is a concise history of the movement, from its youthful inception in the 1860s, through to its final years of recognition and then crisis.
Synopsis
A new perspective on the calamitous fall of France in 1940 and why blame has been misplaced ever since
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [124]-128) and index.
About the Author
Philip Nord is Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Department of History, Princeton University. He lives in Princeton, NJ.