Paris '44

An evocative account of the city’s liberation … Bishop is such a skilful writer, with a sense of nuance and an eye for memorable anecdotes, that even readers familiar with the story will enjoy his book enormously … history, like life, is complicated, and Bishop’s admirable book treats it with the respect and care it deserves – Dominic Sandbrook, host of The Rest Is History * Sunday Times *Bishop pulls no punches in emphasizing that the story of Paris’s liberation from the Germans by its brave citizens was a myth, invented for political purposes by Gen.Charles de Gaulle … This is a thrilling account of a notable episode of the last phase of World War II, told with authority as well as a wealth of unpublished anecdotes. – Max HastingsParis ’44 tells the story of the occupation and the liberation, but it does not read like military history … The book resembles some epic thriller, with vividly evoked characters all somewhere on the spectrum between collaboration and resistance, shame and glory … Paris ’44 is a wonderful book: droll, moving, with a cinematic eye and not a boring line in it – Andrew Martin * Observer *Patrick Bishop follows a tradition of British and American historians interrogating aspects of wartime history that the French themselves prefer to avoid. His beady-eyed Paris ‘44 takes a panoramic view of crumbling Nazi administration, approaching armies, foreign correspondents, Resistance fighters, opportunist Gaullists and various collaborators, sharply depicting the faultlines of rivalry among the liberators – Roy Foster * TLS Books of the Year *How close Paris came to being laid waste – and many of its citizens being massacred in an almighty bloodbath – is vividly and thrillingly recounted by British war historian and Paris resident Patrick Bishop. We re-live the tension of those terror-filled days – Tony Rennell * Daily Mail *Fascinating … gripping … Bishop tells the story of the liberation by reporting, as if he were there, how a rich cast of characters lived through its key moments – Nicholas Farrell * Sunday Telegraph *Gives a vivid impression of what it might have been like to be there on that wonderful day … for those who prefer their history to be romantic, this book is the one. It’s all here … in full Technicolor, told at a blistering pace * Spectator *Excellent … a fresh, unexpected take on the liberation of Paris – Julian Jackson, author of France on Trial: The Case of Marshal PétainBishop writes with admirable brevity and insight * Sunday Times *An extraordinary moment of history brought to vivid, pulsing life. Rich with suspense and layered with intrigue – Sinclair McKay, author of BerlinBy far the best written study in English of this controversial topic of France under German rule … filled with charming anecdotes and lively sketches of the key figures in the liberation of Paris … What Bishop has produced is a nothing less than a love letter to the city of Paris – John Rossi * New Criterion *A fascinating narrative about a little known period of Parisian history with a cast of characters worthy of a Balzac or Victor Hugo novel. Yet, this isn’t fiction – it’s a meticulously researched account full of surprising anecdotes and fascinating people that unveils much about modern-day Paris – Edward Chisholm, author of A Waiter in Paris

Patrick Bishop is the author of two hugely acclaimed bestsellers about the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, Fighter Boys and Bomber Boys, and books including Wings, a history of the RAF, and Air Force Blue, which celebrated 100 years of the RAF and was a Sunday Times bestseller. He spent twenty-five years as a foreign correspondent covering conflicts around the world.