| The Unfree French: Life Under the Occupation | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Vinen
Publisher: Allen Lane
Category: Book
List Price: £24.00
Buy New: £6.86
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 371884
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 0713994967
EAN: 9780713994964
ASIN: 0713994967
Publication Date: April 27, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Rather dry yet informative August 31, 2008
This book gives a good overview of circumstances effecting different sections of French society through the years of the occupation. Through largely statistical evidence it provides a history which tends to read very dryly and does not give the reader an emotional overview or development of general life through the occupation. Of course this is a very complex issue and each individual would have had their own experience; making it impossible to stereotype a typical experience, however this particular publication does prove to be a little too 'academic' to be classed as enjoyable. In terms of giving statistical evidence to support his work, Vinen does very well, but unfortunately these statistics make the book rather less readable than the work of Ian Ousby which I would recommend over this particular publication.
 Excellent wide-ranging history of France's 'Dark Years' October 20, 2007
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
The Unfree French covers the most important aspects of life under the German occupation - collaboration and resistance, keeping body and soul together under severe restrictions, and so on. It also describes subjects less often touched on in books on the topic: emotional relationships between French men and women, French and Germans, the changing position of women in society, the sufferings (or not) of the two million-odd French prisoners of war in Germany, town-country relations.
Overall, a very good history of the times, full of new archival material that always illustrates the dilemmas of life under occupation. Like Robert Gildea's 'Marianne in Chains", Mr Vinen's book draws very much on regional archives and masters and doctoral theses from regional universities. While this provides fascinating content, it tends to reduce events in Paris to a mere sideshow in some ways. This was slightly disappointing, which explains the four stars; otherwise, the book is easily a five-star success.
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