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Summary: A must read on your trip to Paris
Review: Airplanes are boxes that can transport us to places of wonder. Books can also transport us to these same places but not necessarily in the same time frame. This book allows you to imagine the Paris that could have been against the one you actually arrive in. It is as invaluable as a guidebook and will not go out of date.
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Summary: History that Reads Like a Stephen King Novel
Review: As part of Adolf Hitler's nihilistic resolution to decimate all traces of his infamous conquests and satanic occupations, Paris was to turn into a victim of Warsaw proportions. Lapierre and Collins masterfully direct the reader to the grueling scenario Generalfeldmarschall Dietricht von Choltitz had to endure: a German army turned decadent from Parisian amenities; allied troops slowly filling in the fringes of the French capital; and most importantly, Hitler's irreversible obsession to obliterate le Champs Elysées, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the perennial scars of European history.Hopscotching between enemy lines, the authors draw the nauseating political picture of Paris during August of 1944 with Resistance militias and FFI agents vying for eventual supremacy, de Gaulle battling against time and the insensitive Eisenhower to avoid internal military strife and eventual Communist hegemony, and Wehrmacht officers contemplating the insurmountable fate of the City of Lights. They also explain in detail the military background of the liberation of northwest France and the strategic and political dilemma facing the Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces: chasing after the subdued German army all the way to the Rhine or liberating a Paris overshadowed by the hammer and the sickle. "Is Paris Burning?" is superbly documented, intelligently written, and scrutinizingly researched. The real accounts of heroes and antiheroes, mothers and sons, Fascists and Communists, French and German alike are spellbinding and Homeric.
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Summary: Engrossing and novel-like, with solid, researched facts
Review: I bought this book, started reading it on the way home from the store, and finished it all in the same day. The author's style of writing is eminently readable. The book introduces you to many of the people involved in saving Paris, makes you love some and loathe others and keeps your attention glued to the end. The book is based on interviews with as many of the key players in the liberation of Paris as possible, including the German commander of the city. The facts are laid out clearly, and the differing points of view are based on the actual opinions of the people involved, unlike some histories which seem to attempt telepathy. The only (minor) problem I had with this book was a lack of footnotes, although there is a good bibliography some explanation in the text of where some of their information comes from. I could have used a bit more support for some of it, but on the whole I was pleased with and enjoyed the book.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing and novel-like, with solid, researched facts
Review: I bought this book, started reading it on the way home from the store, and finished it all in the same day. The author's style of writing is eminently readable. The book introduces you to many of the people involved in saving Paris, makes you love some and loathe others and keeps your attention glued to the end. The book is based on interviews with as many of the key players in the liberation of Paris as possible, including the German commander of the city. The facts are laid out clearly, and the differing points of view are based on the actual opinions of the people involved, unlike some histories which seem to attempt telepathy. The only (minor) problem I had with this book was a lack of footnotes, although there is a good bibliography some explanation in the text of where some of their information comes from. I could have used a bit more support for some of it, but on the whole I was pleased with and enjoyed the book.
Rating:
Summary: Picture Paris Lost...
Review: If Hitler had his way, there would be no Notre Dame, none of Paris' beautiful bridges, no Eiffel Tower. The Allies didn't stop him, a brave German general did. At a tremendous personal risk, he resolved not to be the man to destroy the most beautiful city in the world. The story is told with the in-your-face realism of two journalists. Yet it's full of humor and even downright silliness. Would-be soldier Enrnest Hemingway captured a German soldier and relieved him of his pants. Why? He figured no man would escape half-naked. He was right. This isn't about troop movements, it's about real people risking their lives (and those of their families) to liberate Paris. After all, Eisenhower didn't think he had enough fuel or time to fight a mini-war for Paris. He desperately needed to push east to Germany. So how did it all happen? Read the book, in Paris if you can, but whever you can find a good lamp. Is Paris Burning? will keep you up late at night.
Rating:
Summary: Picture Paris Lost...
Review: If Hitler had his way, there would be no Notre Dame, none of Paris' beautiful bridges, no Eiffel Tower. The Allies didn't stop him, a brave German general did. At a tremendous personal risk, he resolved not to be the man to destroy the most beautiful city in the world. The story is told with the in-your-face realism of two journalists. Yet it's full of humor and even downright silliness. Would-be soldier Enrnest Hemingway captured a German soldier and relieved him of his pants. Why? He figured no man would escape half-naked. He was right. This isn't about troop movements, it's about real people risking their lives (and those of their families) to liberate Paris. After all, Eisenhower didn't think he had enough fuel or time to fight a mini-war for Paris. He desperately needed to push east to Germany. So how did it all happen? Read the book, in Paris if you can, but whever you can find a good lamp. Is Paris Burning? will keep you up late at night.
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Summary: A journey back in time
Review: Is Paris Burning? is one of the best books that Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins have wrote together. A huge job, a piece of history novel, good as only a few can be, with a great work of investigation; interviews with people like General Dietrich von Choltitz, (who recieved the order from Adolf Hitler, to burn Paris, in case that the defense couldn't be accomplish) or for example the Chief of Operations in Europe, the General Dwight Eisenhower. As usual in their books, Lapierre and Collins, put the reader inside of one of the most importants chapters in the history of the XX century, the liberation of Paris, with precisions of days, hours, and places. The order of Hitler, the beginning of the resistance, the slow arrival of the allied, the clear disobedience of General Von Choltitz.... in fact, a crucial moment in the history of one of the most beautiful citys in the world, a turning point in the development of the Second World War. A different way to learn history.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!
Review: Is Paris Burning? is one of the best books that Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins have wrote together. A huge job, a piece of history novel, good as only a few can be, with a great work of investigation; interviews with people like General Dietrich von Choltitz, (who recieved the order from Adolf Hitler, to burn Paris, in case that the defense couldn't be accomplish) or for example the Chief of Operations in Europe, the General Dwight Eisenhower. As usual in their books, Lapierre and Collins, put the reader inside of one of the most importants chapters in the history of the XX century, the liberation of Paris, with precisions of days, hours, and places. The order of Hitler, the beginning of the resistance, the slow arrival of the allied, the clear disobedience of General Von Choltitz.... in fact, a crucial moment in the history of one of the most beautiful citys in the world, a turning point in the development of the Second World War. A different way to learn history.
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Summary: As Exciting As A Novel!
Review: No novel could have been more exciting than this detailed story of the birth of Isreal and the early struggles. This book is written with all the suspense and excitement of a novel but what sets it aside is that it is all factual. One of my favorite books!
Rating:
Summary: Is Paris Burning?
Review: Puts flesh on the bones of a remarkable group, including Generals Patton, Bradley, Eisenhower and Von Coltitz, writers Hemingway and Sartre, and political figures Roosevelt, Hitler and DeGaulle. Numerous anecdotes from the occupation and liberation brings history to life. Tales of moonlit parachute drops, secret codes and Molotov cocktails remain with the reader, long after the book is completed. Like the last Metro train before curfew for Parisians under Nazi rule, this book is not be missed.
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