- Paperback: 684 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press; New edition edition (Mar 1 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0199254575
- ISBN-13: 978-0199254576
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 3.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #223,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
eople from other Allied countries joke that, according to the French, every one of them participated in the resistance to German occupation during WWII. Jackson, a professor of history at the University of Wales-Swansea, spares no one in exploring not only the events of wartime France, but also developments in historical perspectives on the collaborationist Vichy regime and the Resistance. Moreover, he looks forward to future revelations. Between these endpoints lies a convoluted landscape bearing little resemblance to the usual simplistic pictures. Jackson's excellent study is timely those who remember the occupation will not be around us much longer. It has been a generation since the last general history of occupied France, and during that time, scholars have done much research on which Jackson draws. Beginning his history with the formation of the politics and society of the Third Republic, he exposes France's past in all its contradictions and complexities: the Resistance forces' diverse membership, including women, Jews, farm workers and foreigners; the latent forces in French government and culture that allowed for an easy transition to the Vichy government; Marshal P‚tain's increasing popularity while support for Vichy flagged. In liberated Paris, de Gaulle alleged that the French Republic "never ceased to exist" during occupation. "According to this reinterpretation," writes Jackson, "most of the horrors inflicted on France had been the work of the Germans alone." This insightful, thoroughly researched book will be of interest to scholars and general readers, who will come away with a profound understanding of a crucial time in French history. Jackson does readers a service, for at least another generation. 3 maps.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.From Library Journal
In this detailed analysis of an era that still haunts French society, Jackson (history, Univ. of Wales, Swansea; The Popular Front in France) asserts that the Vichy government was not an aberration grafted onto the French body politic by the conquering Germans. The repressive government that was established in that small southern French resort town was the expression of ideological currents that encompassed the anti-Semitic fascist convictions of several French political factions. The author is also quick to point out that the fractious Resistance movement was also a product of indigenous political convictions that reached back to the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Jackson thoroughly dissects the multilayered complexities of a nation at war with itself and shows how, in the final analysis, it was the persevering spirit of the average French citizen that prevailed during those "dark years." Jackson's reputation for meticulous scholarship is quite evident in this latest work, which supplants J.P. Azema's From Munich to Liberation 1938-1944 (Cambridge Univ. o.p.) as the definitive study on the Occupation years and should be in every French history collection. Jim Doyle, Sara Hightower Regional Lib., Rome, GA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
In January 1945, the lifelong anti-Republican polemicist Charles Maurras was found guilty of collaboration with Germany. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In January 1945, the lifelong anti-Republican polemicist Charles Maurras was found guilty of collaboration with Germany. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not for the casual reader,
By
This review is from: France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944 (Paperback)
In other readings of World War II, I had always felt I did not have a solid grounding in the history of Vichy France. I have been greatly intrigued for some time as to how a country like France could have collaborated to such a degree. This gap in knowledge, I hoped, could be filled by a general treatise on the subject. Having reviewed several books on Vichy France I chose 'France- The Dark Years, 1940-1944' as the one work upon which I would rely.While I did admire the scope of the work, and have no argument that this book may be called the latest definitive source, be warned that this book is not written for those who do not have a working knowledge on the subject. The author does not spend time on set-up: the reader is presumed to know of not only the leading political figures in France during the 1930's-40's, but also those of greater obscurity. The list goes on with the presumptions of the author- we are supposed to know about newspapers of the era (of which there were many), political parties, both major and insignificant, and the names of resistance groups. Again, this would not be critical if I had the requisite knowledge of the politics and society of France during this era, of which I do know some. But this book is written for the doctoral level student of this era in history, not for those seeking a more general overview.
4.0 out of 5 stars
DARK FRANCE,
By
This review is from: France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944 (Paperback)
Although I knew something about de Gaulle, Vichy, "The Resistance," etc; usually these topics were tangential to some other main topic I was reading. Jackson's BIG book set me straight on everything I always wanted to know about Vichy, the Germans, and the Free French, Petain, de Gaulle, etc.France 1940-1944 covers highly controversial "history." Jackson often delivers clever insights and mixed judgments. Jackson gives you enough background to evaluate some of the following puzzles: ·Why did Churchill recognize De Gaulle in 1940, instead of the Vichy Government? ·Why did FDR try so hard to get rid of "Le Grand Charles" (De Gaulle)? ·Why did many French literally cheer when France lost the War with Germany in June 1940? ·Why did powerful and influential French express such bitterness, invective, and hatred against Jews? ·Why did the "Resistance" accept De Gaulle in 1944? After all, thousands of French fought and died inside France while De Gaulle remained safely in England and Africa. ·Why didn't the Communists launch a takeover at the time of the Liberation?. After you read this book you will understand some of the powerful destabilizing forces in French society. But Dark Years is a long book, it's serious reading, and it's written in
5.0 out of 5 stars
Limited in scope, but excellent in detail,
By tommy_tads "tommy_tads" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944 (Paperback)
Buy this book - truly outstanding. I look forward to the other parts in Jackson's three-part series, "France: The Dark Years: before 1940" and "France: The Dark Years: after 1944". I gather there is a special book being brought out called "France: The Very Dark and Frankly Bloody Annoying Months, October 2002 - March 2003"
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