When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation, 1940-1944 | 
pickApproachable and absorbing social and cultural history. I pulled this off the shelf while reading The Postcard and it turned out to be a great companion read. I went with a combination of audio (good narration) and print (black and white photos throughout).
pickI just finished this nonfiction book about Paris during wwii. During the introduction, the author makes a point of saying he is not a historian, rather a storyteller. That comes through in the accounts. It reads like it was written by someone who loves Paris, who wants to think the best of it and it‘s people. It‘s always interesting to think about how just because something is nonfiction doesn‘t mean it‘s totally true.
Listening today at the gym. So far this mostly shows how much everyone wanted to think the Nazi occupation would be short-lived, although few made many efforts to fight it. (I‘m sure those Resistance stories are coming; I‘m only 2hrs in.)
Also this is making me want to read Suite Française by Irène Nemirovsky. #vacancesfrancaises #audiobook
This is an amazing history so far but I have to rethink how I am ingesting this information. May be necessary to get a physical book too.
pickThis book was really informative and had a good narrative flow. Books about the Nazis are extra chilling these days. #boutofbooks
Self-important artists love to falsely quote Winston Churchill in saying that when he was asked to cut arts funding to support the war effort, he replied by asking, "Then what are we fighting for?" However, the following passage reveals how Hitler was more pained by the bombing of opera houses than of entire residential quarters.
A sense of historical, collective guilt can be seen as the sign of a healthy society, one that does not turn from self-criticism.
Outstanding book! I read it because I figured it would be a good preparation for the Trump administration.
An interesting comparison. The Algerian war for freedom and the American civil rights fight.
