Book Review | When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation

When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation
When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation

A meticulously researched book with lots of details and stories and National Book Award Nominee for Nonfiction in 2014.  When Paris Went Dark was recommended to me by a friend who is very interested in Parisian history.  Of course I was somewhat familiar with this time in history, however, I didn’t know that Paris was occupied in such a way.  This is only 4 years, but as you read the book you feel that both sides of the war, the French and the Germans were uncertain and anxious about the occupation.  Ronald weaves the story well, incorporating anecdotes and facts seamlessly.

You get a wonderful feeling of the time, while also understanding that you will never know how the people on either side of the war really felt during this time period.  Having said that Ronald gets us very close.  History buffs and lovers of Paris (who isn’t) will equally enjoy this book.  This book gets 4/5 stars.  I’m including a video from C-SPAN book TV if you would like to hear more about this book.  I can’t embed it so just use the link.