Publishers Weekly
An outstanding concise history of one of the most dramatic moments of WWII: the liberation of the City of Light in August 1944. . . . Smith is an outstanding historian and tells a dramatic story well. This is a solid contribution to the history of WWII.
Library Journal
"Smith dramatically presents a historical biography of a defining moment in time. . . . A fitting celebration and remembrance marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of France and Paris."
Susan Eisenhower
The Liberation of Paris is a remarkable story that shows how three men from warring sides of an epic struggle saved Paris. Smith’s book is a must-read that brims with heroism, intrigue, chaos and danger.
BookPage - Roger Bishop
"Authoritative and beautifully written. . . . This expertly crafted narrative is a gem."
The Washington Post - Charles Trueheart
The liberation represented not just the end of the city’s darkest hour, with rapturous pent-up joy in the streets, but the very birth of modern France. . . . And it thrust Dwight D. Eisenhower, not for the last time, into the role of diplomat and political crisis manager. . . . Smith’s brisk new recounting [is] terse, authoritative, unsentimental.
Air Mail - Evan Thomas
"The Liberation of Paris in August 1944 has to be one of history’s happiest moments. . . . It is still a great story in Jean Edward Smith’s trim but engaging account of driving darkness from the City of Light."
Kirkus Reviews
Eminent historian Smith has such a breadth of knowledge of this era in history that he is able to offer a distillation of swift-moving events surrounding the 1944 liberation of Paris in a marvelously readable fashion. . . . A succinctly instructive historical narrative by a top-notch historian and author.
Booklist
"A fascinating chapter in the larger of story of the Allied victory in Europe."
Jay Winik
Jean Edward Smith is a marvelous historian, and in his latest work he does not disappoint. The Liberation of Paris is a scintillating and fascinating book. How was one of the great cities of the world saved? It's a rousing tale. Bravo!
James McPherson
One of the most dramatic events of World War II was the liberation of Paris by French and American troops in August 1944. Behind the drama was a complex tangle of military and political considerations that Jean Edward Smith disentangles with extraordinary clarity in this vivid narrative that highlights the actions of de Gaulle, Eisenhower, and especially General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of German occupation forces, who defied Hitler's orders to destroy Paris before surrendering.
Michael Korda
I read Jean Edward Smith’s The Liberation of Paris with tears in my eyes and huge admiration. It is still one of the most moving moments in the history of the Second World War—I remember my mother opening a bottle of champagne and singing ‘La Marseillaise’ when we heard the news—and Jean portrays not only the drama and suspense of the event, but the character of the people who were involved, in a very objective way, giving full weight to the profound importance of General de Gaulle, and to the crucial role of General Eisenhower, for which he has never received sufficient credit. This is great history.
Carlo D’Este
To mark its 75th anniversary, Jean Edward Smith has written an epic story of the Allied liberation of Paris in August 1944. Filled with some of the most dramatic scenes of World War II, Smith’s compelling account of how the great City of Light was saved from destruction is history at its finest.
Carlo D’Este
To mark its 75th anniversary, Jean Edward Smith has written an epic story of the Allied liberation of Paris in August 1944. Filled with some of the most dramatic scenes of World War II, Smith’s compelling account of how the great City of Light was saved from destruction is history at its finest.
Booklist
"A fascinating chapter in the larger of story of the Allied victory in Europe."
Kirkus Reviews
2019-04-28
A tightly focused study of the political reasons that the Allies hesitated to liberate Paris when they could.
Eminent historian Smith (Bush, 2016, etc.) has such a breadth of knowledge of this era in history that he is able to offer a distillation of swift-moving events surrounding the 1944 liberation of Paris in a marvelously readable fashion. Right from the beginning, the author smoothly sets the stage: While at first the occupation of Paris had seemed "a celebration of German victory" and a carnival for Germans on leave, as the military tide turned and brought food shortages and the Allied advance, the "collaborationists were beginning to look for cover." At the same time, the Communists and Resistance fighters in the city grew bolder. Charles de Gaulle, an unknown officer at the beginning of the war, self-exiled to London and spent years in the "wilderness" decrying Nazi occupation and bolstering French resistance only to be sidelined by President Franklin Roosevelt, who "believed the future of France lay with [Marshal] Pétain and Vichy." Smith underscores how Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, now supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe, acted as a masterful go-between for these two defiant forces. As the Allies advanced into France in June 1944, de Gaulle was anxious to be at the head of French forces entering Paris. He was perplexed that Eisenhower, who regarded the liberation of Paris as a distraction that would cause his troops to get bogged down in street-by-street fighting, had planned to bypass the city. Ultimately, de Gaulle convinced him that if liberation were delayed, the Communists would seize power in the vacuum. The author also insightfully explores the work of Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz, who was instructed by Hitler to reduce the city to ashes upon retreat yet craftily played both sides to save the day.
A succinctly instructive historical narrative by a top-notch historian and author.
