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Is Paris Burning?
From the bestselling author of The City of Joy comes the dramatic story of the Allied liberation of Paris. Is Paris Burning? reconstructs the network of fateful events--the drama, the fervor, and the triumph--that heralded one of the most dramatic episodes of our time. This bestseller about 1944 Paris is timed to meet the demand for Dominique Lapierre books that will be generated by the March release of his compelling new Warner hardcover, Beyond Love.
404 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
410 people are currently reading
4238 people want to read
About the author
Larry Collins
64 books180 followersBorn in West Hartford, Connecticut, he was educated at the Loomis Chaffee Institute in Windsor, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale as a BA in 1951. He worked in the advertising department of Procter and Gamble, in Cincinnati, Ohio, before being conscripted into the US Army. While serving in the public affairs office of the Allied Headquarters in Paris, from 1953-1955, he met Dominique Lapierre with whom he would write several best-sellers over 43 years.
He went back to Procter and Gamble and became the products manager of the new foods division in 1955. Disillusioned with commerce, he took to journalism and joined the Paris bureau of United Press International in 1956, and became the news editor in Rome in the following year, and later the MidEast bureau chief in Beirut.
In 1959, he joined Newsweek as Middle East editor, based in New York. He became the Paris bureau chief in 1961, where he would work until 1964, until he switched to writing books.
In 1965, Collins and Lapierre published their first joint work, Is Paris Burning? (in French Paris brûle-t-il?), a tale of Nazi occupation of the French capital during World War II and Hitler's plans to destroy Paris should it fall into the hands of the Allies. The book was an instant success and was made into a movie in 1966 by director René Clément, starring Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford and Alain Delon.
In 1967, they co-authored Or I'll Dress you in Mourning about the Spanish bullfighter Manuel Benítez El Cordobés.
In 1972, after five years' research and interviews, they published O Jerusalem! about the birth of Israel in 1948, turned into a movie by Elie Chouraqui.
In 1975, they published Freedom at Midnight, a story of the Indian Independence in 1947, and the subsequent assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. It is said they spent $300,000 researching and still emerged wealthy.
The duo published their first fictional work, The Fifth Horseman, in 1980. It describes a terrorist attack on New York masterminded by Libya's Colonel Gaddafi. The book had such a shocking effect that the French President cancelled the sale of nuclear reactors to Libya, even though it was meant for peaceful purposes. Paramount Pictures, which was planning a film based on the book, dropped the idea in fear that fanatics would emulate the scenario in real life.
In 1985, Collins authored Fall From Grace (without Lapierre) about a woman agent sent into occupied France who realizes she may be betrayed by her British masters if necessary. He also wrote Maze: A Novel (1989), Black Eagles (1995), Le Jour Du Miracle: D-Day Paris (1994) and Tomorrow Belongs To Us (1998). Shortly before his death, he collaborated with Lapierre on Is New York Burning? (2005), a novel mixing fictional characters and real-life figures that speculates about a terrorist attack on New York City.
In 2005, while working from his home in the south of France on a book on the Middle East, Collins died of a sudden cerebral haemorrhage.
He went back to Procter and Gamble and became the products manager of the new foods division in 1955. Disillusioned with commerce, he took to journalism and joined the Paris bureau of United Press International in 1956, and became the news editor in Rome in the following year, and later the MidEast bureau chief in Beirut.
In 1959, he joined Newsweek as Middle East editor, based in New York. He became the Paris bureau chief in 1961, where he would work until 1964, until he switched to writing books.
In 1965, Collins and Lapierre published their first joint work, Is Paris Burning? (in French Paris brûle-t-il?), a tale of Nazi occupation of the French capital during World War II and Hitler's plans to destroy Paris should it fall into the hands of the Allies. The book was an instant success and was made into a movie in 1966 by director René Clément, starring Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford and Alain Delon.
In 1967, they co-authored Or I'll Dress you in Mourning about the Spanish bullfighter Manuel Benítez El Cordobés.
In 1972, after five years' research and interviews, they published O Jerusalem! about the birth of Israel in 1948, turned into a movie by Elie Chouraqui.
In 1975, they published Freedom at Midnight, a story of the Indian Independence in 1947, and the subsequent assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. It is said they spent $300,000 researching and still emerged wealthy.
The duo published their first fictional work, The Fifth Horseman, in 1980. It describes a terrorist attack on New York masterminded by Libya's Colonel Gaddafi. The book had such a shocking effect that the French President cancelled the sale of nuclear reactors to Libya, even though it was meant for peaceful purposes. Paramount Pictures, which was planning a film based on the book, dropped the idea in fear that fanatics would emulate the scenario in real life.
In 1985, Collins authored Fall From Grace (without Lapierre) about a woman agent sent into occupied France who realizes she may be betrayed by her British masters if necessary. He also wrote Maze: A Novel (1989), Black Eagles (1995), Le Jour Du Miracle: D-Day Paris (1994) and Tomorrow Belongs To Us (1998). Shortly before his death, he collaborated with Lapierre on Is New York Burning? (2005), a novel mixing fictional characters and real-life figures that speculates about a terrorist attack on New York City.
In 2005, while working from his home in the south of France on a book on the Middle East, Collins died of a sudden cerebral haemorrhage.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 296 reviews
January 6, 2025
To defend Paris against the enemy, even at the cost of its destruction might be considered a militarily valid act. But wantonly to ravage the city for the sole satisfaction of wiping one of the wonders of Europe from the map was an act without military justification. These were the thoughts of General von Choltitz, the man who Hitler had put in charge of the occupied city as the war was rapidly turning into a rout against Nazi Germany. As the Allies moved closer to Paris, an increasingly insane Hitler ordered von Choltitz to raze the city to the ground.
This book follows not only von Choltitz and his superiors but equally involves the actions of Charles de Gaulle, and the turbulence within the Resistance which was divided between the Communists and the supporters of de Gaulle. There is also an insider's look at the activities of individual members of the Resistance and of the Nazi occupation army.
It is a day-to-day and hour-by-hour picture of the frantic efforts to either destroy or save the City of Light and the reader will be drawn into it even though we know how it will end. Since this book was written in 1965, the author(s) had the ability to interview many of those who were major players, including von Choltitz and their additional research is faultless. I had one minor problem which was not enough to affect my rating............even though I have been to Paris, there needed to be a map of the city and the surrounding areas in order to better understand the movement of troops and the Resistance.
I highly recommend this engrossing history.
This book follows not only von Choltitz and his superiors but equally involves the actions of Charles de Gaulle, and the turbulence within the Resistance which was divided between the Communists and the supporters of de Gaulle. There is also an insider's look at the activities of individual members of the Resistance and of the Nazi occupation army.
It is a day-to-day and hour-by-hour picture of the frantic efforts to either destroy or save the City of Light and the reader will be drawn into it even though we know how it will end. Since this book was written in 1965, the author(s) had the ability to interview many of those who were major players, including von Choltitz and their additional research is faultless. I had one minor problem which was not enough to affect my rating............even though I have been to Paris, there needed to be a map of the city and the surrounding areas in order to better understand the movement of troops and the Resistance.
I highly recommend this engrossing history.
May 25, 2013
Is Paris Burning? should probably get only 2 Stars because this was not a serious fight in the big scheme of maneuver. The Jewish Uprising in Warsaw in 1943 and the Polish fight in Warsaw a year later were more serious fights with consequences and lasted far longer. The Paris uprising sputtered for a few days before the French 2nd Armored Division and the US 4th Infantry Division made their entry into the city. But Mr Collins and Mr Lapierre get 4.5 Baccarat crystal Stars for packing this account with drama, excitement and interesting little tidbits. You get your money’s worth from these two, every chapter greets you with irony, tragedy, comedy, pathos or joy in a fast-paced tale.
The Allies did not want to go to Paris for a simple reason, once they took Paris they would have to feed and fuel the city, taking valuable resources away from the fighting forces. The Allies (except the French of course) intended to dash past Paris and get across the Rhine into Germany. Eisenhower and the boys thought the Germans would fall back from Paris and the city could be taken later. Good strategy but totally unrealistic. There was no way in heck the French, especially, Gen DeGaulle would allow Paris to be bypassed. DeGaulle has a simple reason, he wants to liberate Paris before the very strong communist Resistance forces in the city can do it. He has a political objective, not a tactical one.
This book tells a great story of how the Allies were forced to take Paris, how the French threatened to pull their forces out and go it alone, who the key players were in this event. The real saviors of Paris in the book are the German commander of Paris and a member of the French Resistance. Collins and Lapierre tell the story in their unique way. You follow members of each side of the conflict, each service, the civilians, families, famous persons and regular folks. Some happy endings, some tragic ones, each gives you a feel for what it was like to be there.
On the first day of the Paris uprising, the Resistance takes over various buildings throughout Paris. The Germans counterattack in Neuilly and retake the building. Survivors are escaping into the sewers below the building, carrying some wounded:
Charles Caillette, the sharpshooter, carried Henri Guérin, a World War I veteran whose wooden leg had been shot away by a fragment from a tank shell. Looking at it, Guérin had remarked, “Thank God, they always shoot the same one.”
Speed was the key. Hitler wanted Paris defended or destroyed. If he couldn’t have Paris, then nobody would. All the bridges and structures in Paris are mined and ready for demolition. Hitler wanted Paris to look like Stalingrad or Warsaw if he lost. The Allies were 122 miles to the west, two SS Divisions were 188 miles to the north. All racing to Paris and whoever got there first would determine the course of the battle. The German commander was willing to surrender Paris if the Allies got there but he would have to fight if the Panzers got there first.
All along the three advancing columns of the 2nd Armored, tough and costly bottlenecks like Toussus-le-Noble slowed progress. On each of the division’s lines of advance, the country ahead now flattened out into a network of villages and suburbs laced with intersecting crossroads, each offering the Germans an ideal emplacement for an antitank gun. In their rush to batter their way to Paris, the men of the 2nd Armored frequently tried to smash head on at those guns instead of nipping them out with infantry. It was a tactic that saved time. But it left behind each advancing column a sad and growing trail of blackened vehicles.
But time above all had to be saved this gray August day. In each column, relentless and unforgiving, the order was “Faster, faster.” Rounding a curve just past the river Bièvre, Private Georges Simonin, leading a platoon of tanks in his Sherman Cyclone, saw five wounded Germans sprawled on the highway before his treads. One, frantically working the pavement with his elbows tried to drag himself away. Simonin instinctively took his foot off the accelerator. As he did, he heard in his earphones the angry voice of his platoon commander crying, “Cyclone, nom de Dieu, get going!” Simonin shuddered, closed his eyes, and stamped on his accelerator.
The book is filled with great little vignettes, here are a couple from the Americans approaching Paris:
But of all the experiences along their route, nothing stood out more for these men than the sheer emotional impact of the hundreds of thousands of exultant, overwhelmingly grateful Parisians swarming over them. Frank Burk, of Jackson, Mississippi, submerged in a sea of people, thought it was “without a doubt, the happiest scene the world has ever known. Burk reckoned there were “fifteen solid miles of cheering, deliriously people waiting to shake your hand, to kiss you, to shower you with food and wine.”
A beautiful girl threw her arms around code clerk Brice Rhyne and sobbed, “We waited for you for four years.”
The precise Virginian said, “But the United States has only been in the war three years.”
“So what?” answered the girl, “We knew you’d come anyway!”
There are many stories from the French forces, sons calling their families from the outskirts of Paris and letting them know they would be there shortly. Some make it, some don’t. The authors keep you waiting to the last moment.
On the negative side, I got plenty sick of hearing how “France depended on DeGaulle”, how the “fate of France hung on DeGaulle’s shoulders”…etc. I also tired of hearing about how beautiful Paris is, how terrible if Paris’ structures were damaged or destroyed. Or how the communists thought a liberated Paris would be worth 200,000 dead (preferably not communists). There is some repetition…the battle only lasts 6 days after all.
It was a bit frustrating to see DeGaulle claim the credit for liberating Paris but the French 2nd Armored Division did their fair share of the fighting. Eisenhower recognized DeGaulle and the French had to liberate Paris as soon as it could be done. Ike acquiesced and lent his support. From my point of view, America owes its freedom to French support during the Revolutionary War -- we repaid our debt in full at Normandy and again here in Paris. We don’t owe them anything anymore. Recommended reading!!
The Allies did not want to go to Paris for a simple reason, once they took Paris they would have to feed and fuel the city, taking valuable resources away from the fighting forces. The Allies (except the French of course) intended to dash past Paris and get across the Rhine into Germany. Eisenhower and the boys thought the Germans would fall back from Paris and the city could be taken later. Good strategy but totally unrealistic. There was no way in heck the French, especially, Gen DeGaulle would allow Paris to be bypassed. DeGaulle has a simple reason, he wants to liberate Paris before the very strong communist Resistance forces in the city can do it. He has a political objective, not a tactical one.
This book tells a great story of how the Allies were forced to take Paris, how the French threatened to pull their forces out and go it alone, who the key players were in this event. The real saviors of Paris in the book are the German commander of Paris and a member of the French Resistance. Collins and Lapierre tell the story in their unique way. You follow members of each side of the conflict, each service, the civilians, families, famous persons and regular folks. Some happy endings, some tragic ones, each gives you a feel for what it was like to be there.
On the first day of the Paris uprising, the Resistance takes over various buildings throughout Paris. The Germans counterattack in Neuilly and retake the building. Survivors are escaping into the sewers below the building, carrying some wounded:
Charles Caillette, the sharpshooter, carried Henri Guérin, a World War I veteran whose wooden leg had been shot away by a fragment from a tank shell. Looking at it, Guérin had remarked, “Thank God, they always shoot the same one.”
Speed was the key. Hitler wanted Paris defended or destroyed. If he couldn’t have Paris, then nobody would. All the bridges and structures in Paris are mined and ready for demolition. Hitler wanted Paris to look like Stalingrad or Warsaw if he lost. The Allies were 122 miles to the west, two SS Divisions were 188 miles to the north. All racing to Paris and whoever got there first would determine the course of the battle. The German commander was willing to surrender Paris if the Allies got there but he would have to fight if the Panzers got there first.
All along the three advancing columns of the 2nd Armored, tough and costly bottlenecks like Toussus-le-Noble slowed progress. On each of the division’s lines of advance, the country ahead now flattened out into a network of villages and suburbs laced with intersecting crossroads, each offering the Germans an ideal emplacement for an antitank gun. In their rush to batter their way to Paris, the men of the 2nd Armored frequently tried to smash head on at those guns instead of nipping them out with infantry. It was a tactic that saved time. But it left behind each advancing column a sad and growing trail of blackened vehicles.
But time above all had to be saved this gray August day. In each column, relentless and unforgiving, the order was “Faster, faster.” Rounding a curve just past the river Bièvre, Private Georges Simonin, leading a platoon of tanks in his Sherman Cyclone, saw five wounded Germans sprawled on the highway before his treads. One, frantically working the pavement with his elbows tried to drag himself away. Simonin instinctively took his foot off the accelerator. As he did, he heard in his earphones the angry voice of his platoon commander crying, “Cyclone, nom de Dieu, get going!” Simonin shuddered, closed his eyes, and stamped on his accelerator.
The book is filled with great little vignettes, here are a couple from the Americans approaching Paris:
But of all the experiences along their route, nothing stood out more for these men than the sheer emotional impact of the hundreds of thousands of exultant, overwhelmingly grateful Parisians swarming over them. Frank Burk, of Jackson, Mississippi, submerged in a sea of people, thought it was “without a doubt, the happiest scene the world has ever known. Burk reckoned there were “fifteen solid miles of cheering, deliriously people waiting to shake your hand, to kiss you, to shower you with food and wine.”
A beautiful girl threw her arms around code clerk Brice Rhyne and sobbed, “We waited for you for four years.”
The precise Virginian said, “But the United States has only been in the war three years.”
“So what?” answered the girl, “We knew you’d come anyway!”
There are many stories from the French forces, sons calling their families from the outskirts of Paris and letting them know they would be there shortly. Some make it, some don’t. The authors keep you waiting to the last moment.
On the negative side, I got plenty sick of hearing how “France depended on DeGaulle”, how the “fate of France hung on DeGaulle’s shoulders”…etc. I also tired of hearing about how beautiful Paris is, how terrible if Paris’ structures were damaged or destroyed. Or how the communists thought a liberated Paris would be worth 200,000 dead (preferably not communists). There is some repetition…the battle only lasts 6 days after all.
It was a bit frustrating to see DeGaulle claim the credit for liberating Paris but the French 2nd Armored Division did their fair share of the fighting. Eisenhower recognized DeGaulle and the French had to liberate Paris as soon as it could be done. Ike acquiesced and lent his support. From my point of view, America owes its freedom to French support during the Revolutionary War -- we repaid our debt in full at Normandy and again here in Paris. We don’t owe them anything anymore. Recommended reading!!
April 12, 2008
Summer of 1944. Every bridge, historical landmark, and civic building in Nazi-occupied Paris was wired with explosives. Hitler’s plan was to reduce the city to rubble if Allied troops got too close. He didn’t know that the Allies were planning to bypass Paris, and of course the resistance fighters didn’t know Paris was rigged to blow up. Their hope was to bring things to a head once the Allied forces were near enough to help, unaware of the consequences. Throw into the mix the unlikely hero of the story: General Dietrich von Choltitz, the newly-appointed military governor of Paris. He loved Paris. Plus he had met Hitler and realized the Führer was mad. However, his duty was to his country, and he knew his family was under watch in Germany. Could he disobey a direct order, sacrifice his duty, and endanger his family? On the other hand, could he actually be responsible for destroying the most beautiful city in the world at the behest of a madman?? You'll have to read the book to see how he helped keep the different incendiary elements from blowing up long enough to keep Paris from blowing up.
You get a truly gripping account of living in occupied Paris, and a sense of just how close the world came to losing it. The drama is presented mostly at an individual level: stories of Resistance and FFI in-fighting, diplomats and their mistresses, people smuggling messages in bicycle baskets. Interestingly, most of the characters are motivated by survival or profit, not ideology; on some level, von Choltitz ultimately placed culture above politics. Though I’m not a big fan of the French (what Anglophile is?), the thought of that most magnificent city burning left me breathless and a bit teary through the entire book. Best to read it while you're visiting Paris, so you can reassure yourself that everything turned out okay. Vive la France!
You get a truly gripping account of living in occupied Paris, and a sense of just how close the world came to losing it. The drama is presented mostly at an individual level: stories of Resistance and FFI in-fighting, diplomats and their mistresses, people smuggling messages in bicycle baskets. Interestingly, most of the characters are motivated by survival or profit, not ideology; on some level, von Choltitz ultimately placed culture above politics. Though I’m not a big fan of the French (what Anglophile is?), the thought of that most magnificent city burning left me breathless and a bit teary through the entire book. Best to read it while you're visiting Paris, so you can reassure yourself that everything turned out okay. Vive la France!
January 7, 2016
Awesome
January 23, 2015
Collins & Lapierre were successful writers of popular history in the mid 20th century. Their method was mainly to interview ordinary participants in the events, and write vivid accounts bringing the memories to life. In IS PARIS BURNING? the memories of Paris's last year under the Nazis were less than 20 years old.
From the attempts of downtrodden Parisians to find food, to German officers who were later willing to reminisce with the authors, to the ruthless maneuvering between the forces of de Gaulle and the Communist French Resistance, our view is moving and memorable. I was reading about Liberation Day on the bus, and had to keep wiping my eyes because Collins & Lapierre had recreated the relief and joy so richly.
My favorite non-fiction reread of 2014.
From the attempts of downtrodden Parisians to find food, to German officers who were later willing to reminisce with the authors, to the ruthless maneuvering between the forces of de Gaulle and the Communist French Resistance, our view is moving and memorable. I was reading about Liberation Day on the bus, and had to keep wiping my eyes because Collins & Lapierre had recreated the relief and joy so richly.
My favorite non-fiction reread of 2014.
April 24, 2020
In my review of A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France that I read earlier this month, I commented about the large number of characters in that book which prevented me to connect with them. In contrast, Is Paris Burning? shows how it can be done successfully and to great effect.
In this book, result of three year of research that included interviews with over 800 witnesses, the authors, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, refer to a large number of characters, both German and French, members of the Resistance and Nazis, politician and civilians, but the reader is never lost. The authors move the narration’s focus on these characters and by the use of vignettes and anecdotes describe their backgrounds, their hopes and dreams, their eccentricities and foibles, in a way that makes them vibrant and real, it makes them alive. The reader is made to understand the situation in which many historical legendary figures like General DeGaulle, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Henri Rol (-Tanguy), General Leclerc, Hitler, Eisenhower found themselves, the reluctance of the Allies to enter Paris, the division between the French communists and the Gaullists in a rush to seize power and determine the future of France.
The book recount the periods of just before and during the liberation of Paris in minute details, sometimes describing the events hour by hour and referring to many inner city landmarks.The reader who visited Paris will recognise places like Les Invalides, Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Grand Palais, Le Champs-Élysées, la Prefecture de la Police on Île de la Cité, Hôtel de Crillon in place de la Concorde, Hôtel Meurice on rue de Rivoli (which lodged the German commandant of Paris) and Avenue Foch (hosting SS headquarters).
The narration of this piece of history is thrilling and coveys the dangers and drama of those days in the summer 1944 (August 19th to 26th) when the French Resistance launched the city uprising, by occupying government buildings and raising barricades, while the Germans, having previously mined bridges and key points of the city, were ready to detonate them (the Nazi commandant of Paris, Dietrich von Choltitz, had repeatedly received clear orders to leave the city a "heap of burning ruins").
I���d like to add that the claim that von Choltitz saved Paris is challenged by some historians, and there may be another version of the events that is closer to the truth. Regardless of the circumstances, Paris was largely spared the fate of Warsaw, Stalingrad, Hiroshima, Tokyo or Berlin and thanks goodness that this beautiful city is still standing.
For me this book was such a wonderful read that I would highly and warmly recommend to anyone.
(Finished on ANZAC day 2020) 4.5 stars
In this book, result of three year of research that included interviews with over 800 witnesses, the authors, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, refer to a large number of characters, both German and French, members of the Resistance and Nazis, politician and civilians, but the reader is never lost. The authors move the narration’s focus on these characters and by the use of vignettes and anecdotes describe their backgrounds, their hopes and dreams, their eccentricities and foibles, in a way that makes them vibrant and real, it makes them alive. The reader is made to understand the situation in which many historical legendary figures like General DeGaulle, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Henri Rol (-Tanguy), General Leclerc, Hitler, Eisenhower found themselves, the reluctance of the Allies to enter Paris, the division between the French communists and the Gaullists in a rush to seize power and determine the future of France.
The book recount the periods of just before and during the liberation of Paris in minute details, sometimes describing the events hour by hour and referring to many inner city landmarks.The reader who visited Paris will recognise places like Les Invalides, Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Grand Palais, Le Champs-Élysées, la Prefecture de la Police on Île de la Cité, Hôtel de Crillon in place de la Concorde, Hôtel Meurice on rue de Rivoli (which lodged the German commandant of Paris) and Avenue Foch (hosting SS headquarters).
The narration of this piece of history is thrilling and coveys the dangers and drama of those days in the summer 1944 (August 19th to 26th) when the French Resistance launched the city uprising, by occupying government buildings and raising barricades, while the Germans, having previously mined bridges and key points of the city, were ready to detonate them (the Nazi commandant of Paris, Dietrich von Choltitz, had repeatedly received clear orders to leave the city a "heap of burning ruins").
I���d like to add that the claim that von Choltitz saved Paris is challenged by some historians, and there may be another version of the events that is closer to the truth. Regardless of the circumstances, Paris was largely spared the fate of Warsaw, Stalingrad, Hiroshima, Tokyo or Berlin and thanks goodness that this beautiful city is still standing.
For me this book was such a wonderful read that I would highly and warmly recommend to anyone.
(Finished on ANZAC day 2020) 4.5 stars
September 1, 2014
Seventy years ago, in August 1944, Paris was nearer to be reduced to a pile of ruins. Ordered by a maddened Fuhrer, who " barely three years earlier had ruled Europe from the tundras of Lapland to the flanks of Pyramids, from the rocky coast of Brittany to the outskirts of Moscow", but whose armies were now retreating at the onslaught of the allied forces. Here is a true and well researched account of the last days of the occupation of Paris and its liberation told in a gripping and fast paced tone. It was four weeks of August when the competing political interests of the factions of Resistance(One led by De Gaulle and the other by communists)fought for supremacy, as the allied forces led by Eisenhower decided to bypass Paris in their march to Germany. A ruthless German General Choltitz, with a record of destroying the heartland of Rotterdam and taking of a Black sea port Sabastopol, was handpicked by Hitler, for the ultimate task of destroying Paris, rather than defending the German interests. It is for him to take a decision whether to destroy the monuments which are symbols of the joys and sufferings of Parisians or not. It is a narration of individual successes and tragedies, re-unions and heartbreaks. The authors are really successful in their true life account of the spontaneous outbursts of joys of a populace on the liberation of a beautiful city which groaned under the rigid occupation of German forces for more than four years. In the true life account there were no heroes and villains but only winners and losers. But ultimately the monuments of Paris survived and stand a mute testimony to the courageous acts, sacrifices, tragedies and triumphs of a generation.
May 13, 2020
This should have been an easy 5 as the liberation of Paris from the Nazis is a watershed event. The author, as with all authors who are journalists, uses who ,what, where and why instead of telling the soul of the story. Irwin Shaw the famous writer of Rich Man, Poor Man was in the battle and is barely mentioned despite the fact that he was witness to a pivotal tank fight. Ernest Hemingway also suffers this same fate.
March 8, 2025
This history of how the Allies were able to wrest control of Paris away from the Nazis in 1944 makes for thrilling reading. I had no idea how close Paris had actually come to its complete destruction. Hitler realized that his forces would be unable to hold the city against the Allied advance, but he wanted to make sure Paris would be no more than a smoking ruin. He ordered specialists to set explosives to destroy every bridge across the Seine and every beloved landmark, including the Eiffel Tower. These were all in place and ready to go, and if not for the refusal of the German General Choltitz to carry out Hilter’s explicit orders, and the fortuitous delay of Panzer tank reinforcements, much of Paris would have been demolished.
It’s an amazing true story, and a great read.
It’s an amazing true story, and a great read.
December 10, 2009
Is Paris Burning? is a collection of anecdotes from various people involved in the liberation of Paris-Free French regulars, French resistance, GIs, reporters, German officers and soldiers, and civilians. I enjoyed the first hand accounts, but since this book was written in the 60s one has to wonder how much spin people were giving them. It's probably best read either by someone like me, with only a passing familiarity with what happened, or patient historically minded types who are willing to overlook the sometimes excessive liberty taken with the narrative by the authors-we occasionally get the dying thoughts of people-to get to some first hand accounts. I will say though, if you don't already know the story of the liberation of Paris the book is at times frustrating because it's easy to get lost in the "stories strung together to tell you what happened" style of the book. Still, some great insider info and stories-I am curious how well the film based on the book chose to adapt such a sprawling and all-over-the-place narrative.
November 18, 2020
I saw the movie version of this book years before getting around to reading it. Like all of the Collins-Lapierre collaborations, it's an engrossing, fast-going read. The movie wasn't so great, but the memory of seeing it, first-run, with Father at the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge, Illinois is a pleasant one. Apparently Mom wasn't too interested in movies, but I, like the dog, was always willing to go out with Dad and, so, saw many dozens of films with him through the years.
The most memorable scene of the film was of an American tank stopped somewhere in downtown Paris. The crew takes a break, everyone lighting cigarettes. At this point Dad interrupts my absorption in the film to point out an anachronism: some of the cigarettes have filters!
The most memorable scene of the film was of an American tank stopped somewhere in downtown Paris. The crew takes a break, everyone lighting cigarettes. At this point Dad interrupts my absorption in the film to point out an anachronism: some of the cigarettes have filters!
November 20, 2014
-Interesante en los detalles que rodean al evento principal.-
Género. Novela Histórica (pero especial, porque se acerca más al ensayo y la historia que a la propia novela).
Lo que nos cuenta. Narración en tercera persona y en pasado de los acontecimientos que llevaron al responsable militar alemán de la zona del gran París, el general Dietrich von Choltitz, a tomar la actitud que tomó frente al avance aliado hacia la capital francesa en verano de 1944, además de muchos pequeños eventos en los que participaron personas más o menos anónimas durante esos días tan importantes para París durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
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Género. Novela Histórica (pero especial, porque se acerca más al ensayo y la historia que a la propia novela).
Lo que nos cuenta. Narración en tercera persona y en pasado de los acontecimientos que llevaron al responsable militar alemán de la zona del gran París, el general Dietrich von Choltitz, a tomar la actitud que tomó frente al avance aliado hacia la capital francesa en verano de 1944, además de muchos pequeños eventos en los que participaron personas más o menos anónimas durante esos días tan importantes para París durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
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February 18, 2010
¿Quieren saber qué pasó en París en agosto de 1944? La gran responsabilidad de detallar cada paso de la liberación de París recae en esta magnífica novela. Cada plaza, cada grupo de la resistencia, cada foto, anécdotas impresionantes, parióticas, desgarradoras, se encuentran en este libro. Al terminar de leerlo, descubrirás que ya conoces esta hermosa ciudad y agradeces que no haya sido destruida. ¡Vive la France!Oh La la París!! Después la hicieron película, en una muy buena pero lamentablemente reducida versión.
June 27, 2018
This book was published in 1965 but I did not find it to be dated. The research done by an American journalist, Larry Collins, and a French journalist and war correspondent, Dominique Lapierre, stretched over three years and several countries, interviewing in person and by letter soldiers and ordinary citizens of France who were present during the occupation and liberation of Paris.
I've read a history of the Resistance and a biography of De Gaulle but this book is the best I have found to pull together this particular piece of history. It gives a very hands-on picture of the Resistance infighting between Communists, Gaullists and those who just wanted the Germans gone, by whatever means, who were caught in the middle. Its picture of De Gaulle is abbreviated. IMO, one should read a good biography to understand fully how he came to be the head of the post-Occupation French government - the political background pre-Vichy, the development of his conflicted relationships with Churchill and FDR, and his almost messianic conviction that he should lead the new France. But this book will pique your interest.
Yes, there are lots of anecdotes. But some of them will bring you to tears. And there is humor too in the midst of loss and destruction. What it felt like to be there during those last days of occupation and the entry into Paris of Leclerc's division (totally against Allied orders!) and the eventual decision by Eisenhower to go ahead and enter Paris in response to von Choltitz' treasonous plea for help from the Allies in order not to execute Hitler's orders to raze the city to the ground... well, this will put you there.
Reading von Choltitz' evolution from being a true believer in the Nazi vision for Germany, through his disillusion upon finally meeting Hitler and realizing that Hitler was a crazy man, through the process that led him to value Paris so much that he would risk his reputation by treasonously asking the Allies to come and save him from bombing it....
Well, it gives one hope that people can change. He certainly did. As did many other Germans once they saw what they had enabled.
And given the series of astonishing coincidences that led to the eventual liberation of Paris, one can only conclude that God wanted to save it! Thanks, God. And everyone else who went the last mile to make it happen.
I've read a history of the Resistance and a biography of De Gaulle but this book is the best I have found to pull together this particular piece of history. It gives a very hands-on picture of the Resistance infighting between Communists, Gaullists and those who just wanted the Germans gone, by whatever means, who were caught in the middle. Its picture of De Gaulle is abbreviated. IMO, one should read a good biography to understand fully how he came to be the head of the post-Occupation French government - the political background pre-Vichy, the development of his conflicted relationships with Churchill and FDR, and his almost messianic conviction that he should lead the new France. But this book will pique your interest.
Yes, there are lots of anecdotes. But some of them will bring you to tears. And there is humor too in the midst of loss and destruction. What it felt like to be there during those last days of occupation and the entry into Paris of Leclerc's division (totally against Allied orders!) and the eventual decision by Eisenhower to go ahead and enter Paris in response to von Choltitz' treasonous plea for help from the Allies in order not to execute Hitler's orders to raze the city to the ground... well, this will put you there.
Reading von Choltitz' evolution from being a true believer in the Nazi vision for Germany, through his disillusion upon finally meeting Hitler and realizing that Hitler was a crazy man, through the process that led him to value Paris so much that he would risk his reputation by treasonously asking the Allies to come and save him from bombing it....
Well, it gives one hope that people can change. He certainly did. As did many other Germans once they saw what they had enabled.
And given the series of astonishing coincidences that led to the eventual liberation of Paris, one can only conclude that God wanted to save it! Thanks, God. And everyone else who went the last mile to make it happen.
July 21, 2010
Every few years I read this book again. It's not the writing that I give a 5: it's the comprehensive (non-fiction) telling of what life was like in occupied Paris that I can never get enough of. Makes my imagination go wild.
May 15, 2016
Difficult, emotional read.
Read
March 15, 2020After watching the Franco-German film Diplomatie, I wanted more detail about Dietrich von Choltitz, the German general who defied Hitler's orders to completely destroy Paris. This book was what my library had available on that topic. Unfortunately, they only had the audio version, which is not the ideal way to enjoy this book. It jumps around a lot, involves dozens and dozens of people of many nationalities, and is hard to follow if you can't flip back and forth through the pages to refresh your memory of who everyone is. I'd like to perhaps come back to it sometime if I can get my hands on a print copy.
The one thing I definitely learned from this book is that Charles de Gaulle was a rectal sphincter disguised as a man.
The one thing I definitely learned from this book is that Charles de Gaulle was a rectal sphincter disguised as a man.
January 23, 2019
An excellent accounting of what happened at the end of World War II as the Germans retreated and the Allies advanced. Would one of the great cities be left in ruins? That was the order.
But why wasn't it carried out? Even though we know the result, reading the hour by hour account of why the order failed to occur makes for a fascinating read.
As a former officer, it also raises the issue of obedience to orders and obedience to one's morality? When does one outweigh the other?
But why wasn't it carried out? Even though we know the result, reading the hour by hour account of why the order failed to occur makes for a fascinating read.
As a former officer, it also raises the issue of obedience to orders and obedience to one's morality? When does one outweigh the other?
October 3, 2017
It is an amazing account of the final days of nazi rule but you will need to read up on French history a bit too and the political implications of allied forces to save Paris.. the main characters are very well portrayed and speaks of the underlying history.. Good read!
October 30, 2019
If you are a Francophile as I am you will read "Is Paris Burning" with a sense of apprehension. Like the plot to assassinate deGaulle in "The Day of the Jackal" where you know the plot fails you still read "Is Paris Burning" wondering how close the Germans came to actually destroying the city. Close enough, as it turns out. In their race to reach Berlin the Allies had planned to bypass the city rather than get bogged down in a battle that would descend into a street-by-street, house-by-house affair. Several circumstances militated against this decision. The Allies advances were rapidly outpacing their supplies. Gasoline for their armored vehicles was in short supply. They could go around Paris but they wouldn't get too far. A battle for Paris was all but inevitable. Political issues were the main problem, however. There was an ongoing internal battle as to who would lead France after it was freed. The Communists who had shouldered much of the burden of French Resistance during the German occupation wanted to govern France and were willing to stage violent protests against the Germans as the Nazi grip on Paris weakened. Charles deGaulle however, an almost unknown general when the war began, had spent the previous four years in exile securing reluctant Allied support for himself as the French leader when Paris was freed. Hitler's orders to his general were to burn Paris if there was violence against the German army as they left. The Allies backed deGaulle as the least destructive alternative to protecting the city and allowed the French military to be the vanguard freeing the French capital. "Is Paris Burning" is a nail-biter when you think of the devastation that could have befallen Paris if the Germans prevailed. Great book, interesting characters, and a beautiful city. Saved.
December 18, 2017
An entertaining read. An historical account written by two journalists. It plays out like a novel, but it's not. The book is now fifty-two years old and might be rather dated since several decades of historical research has occurred since it's initial publication. However I don't believe it's as important since most of the book is made up of first hand accounts. The writers do take some "poetic license" when it comes to such details as internal thoughts and colorful details that they fail to document, but at the time the book was written such details were just part of the craft. Keep that in mind when reading this book. Even with such minor quibbles it's an excellent read. though I knew how it would end I was caught up in the tale. A solid, suspenseful and engrossing book. Strongly recommended.
August 8, 2017
This historical thriller explains in great detail what happened when German Nazis retreated from France - well, they were pushed out. Compared to Follett’s The Fall Of Giants, another historical warfare work, the point of view of Lapierre and Collins’ work is closer to the action. That may stem from their first-hand battlefield experience in more recent conflicts, either as journalists or serving their country. The result is five star plus.
September 29, 2023
In the mid-1960s, there was an explosion of popular histories about World War II. The war had been over for 20 years, which allowed for both perspective and the release of some classified documents, while at the same time a large number of participants were still alive. A type of hybrid journalistic reportage/ history book appeared in great number, many of them becoming best sellers. Books by Cornelius Ryan (The Longest Day; The Last Battle), John Toland (The Last 100 Days), William Shirer ( The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich) , and many others dominated the non-fiction lists. Many of them were filmed, most of them badly.
Among these books was “Is Paris Burning”, written by Collins and LaPierre, writers at the Paris desks of Newsweek and Paris Match respectively, who set out to recount the chaotic, exciting, and surprising story of the near destruction and ultimate liberation of Paris in 1944. The authors researched the book for three years, conducting hundreds of interviews with as many of the participants as they could(including the German commander of Paris, who disobeyed Hitler’s orders to raze the city, and former President Eisenhower), and then spent 6 months actually writing it. In it , they reveal the political machinations of De Gaulle to force an Allied liberation of the city that the Allies did not want, the conflict and infighting within the various factions of the Resistance, and the German ambivalence about the destruction of the city. Filled with telling details and individual acts of heroism and cowardice, the book reads as much like a novel (think Victor Hugo) as it does a history. This is reportage of a very high order that, even after 80 years since the events is portrays and 60 years since publication, remains vivid, surprising , and highly readable. [Note: Ignore the awful movie version; it turns this terrific story into a badly dubbed, oh-look-there’s -another-actor-whose-name-I-can’t-remember cartoon.]
Among these books was “Is Paris Burning”, written by Collins and LaPierre, writers at the Paris desks of Newsweek and Paris Match respectively, who set out to recount the chaotic, exciting, and surprising story of the near destruction and ultimate liberation of Paris in 1944. The authors researched the book for three years, conducting hundreds of interviews with as many of the participants as they could(including the German commander of Paris, who disobeyed Hitler’s orders to raze the city, and former President Eisenhower), and then spent 6 months actually writing it. In it , they reveal the political machinations of De Gaulle to force an Allied liberation of the city that the Allies did not want, the conflict and infighting within the various factions of the Resistance, and the German ambivalence about the destruction of the city. Filled with telling details and individual acts of heroism and cowardice, the book reads as much like a novel (think Victor Hugo) as it does a history. This is reportage of a very high order that, even after 80 years since the events is portrays and 60 years since publication, remains vivid, surprising , and highly readable. [Note: Ignore the awful movie version; it turns this terrific story into a badly dubbed, oh-look-there’s -another-actor-whose-name-I-can’t-remember cartoon.]
July 10, 2018
This is probably the fourth time I have read "Is Paris Burning?". I have had a fascination with stories of WWII ever since I was a teenager and my father took me to the library to show me the maps of the movement of German troops across Europe that were published each week in the NY Times. "Is Paris Burning?" is both a large scale and intimate recounting of the 3 weeks just before and after the liberation of Paris in August of 1944. On the large scale is the story of negotiations among the Allies, DeGaulle's supporters and the communist led resistance movement as well as communications between high ranking German officials. On the intimate side are the short stories of individuals, sometimes as few as a couple of sentences, who experienced the liberation first hand. When reading the book it is important not to attempt to remember all the names as there are literally hundreds of them.
If the book has a main character it is the German General von Cholitz who was tasked by Hitler with defending Paris or destroying it. The title of the book comes from Hitler's frantic question when it is obvious that the Allies are going to liberate Paris. Although the events took place over 70 years ago and as I said, I have read the book four times, I still felt the suspense of "not knowing" whether Paris would be saved or not. Of additional large scale interest is the conflict between the supporters of DeGaulle and the communist led faction in their attempts to seize control of the French government. within that conflict it is amusing to see how DeGaulle played the Americans in order to get to Paris first.
Highly Recommended
If the book has a main character it is the German General von Cholitz who was tasked by Hitler with defending Paris or destroying it. The title of the book comes from Hitler's frantic question when it is obvious that the Allies are going to liberate Paris. Although the events took place over 70 years ago and as I said, I have read the book four times, I still felt the suspense of "not knowing" whether Paris would be saved or not. Of additional large scale interest is the conflict between the supporters of DeGaulle and the communist led faction in their attempts to seize control of the French government. within that conflict it is amusing to see how DeGaulle played the Americans in order to get to Paris first.
Highly Recommended
July 22, 2019
Great book! I remember it being heavily promoted as a youth, wanting to know more about it and eventually reading it. Saw the movie a little while later. So it was great to reread it now. I appreciate it more too.
It reads like a novel starting slowly and building up towards a crescendo and then a quieter finish. The research seems to be comprehensive and exhausting. I can really find no Faults with it although I'm no historian. Strongly recommended.
It reads like a novel starting slowly and building up towards a crescendo and then a quieter finish. The research seems to be comprehensive and exhausting. I can really find no Faults with it although I'm no historian. Strongly recommended.
January 18, 2022
This one has been on my to-read list for 17 years — I finally read it!!
Loved the coverage of the liberation of Paris from so many different viewpoints - from the nazis, the Allies, the neutrality representatives, de Gaulle… both authors weave a tale together with so many different voices to tell one unified story.
Loved the coverage of the liberation of Paris from so many different viewpoints - from the nazis, the Allies, the neutrality representatives, de Gaulle… both authors weave a tale together with so many different voices to tell one unified story.
September 29, 2023
Exceptional for war lovers
March 26, 2024
Reads like an unusually good espionage story
February 12, 2020
It is so interesting book about of liberation of Paris
September 7, 2025
Was the perfect book to read in and around Paris. Super well written and I didn’t want to put it down!
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