This book features a host of characters- businessmen, artists, scientists, etc.- who were current and former American citizens, living and working under Nazi Occupation. Some of them really got into shady business doings with Nazis, because money talks to people more than morals in a lot of instances. I am sure that two things can be simultaneously true- you can love your country and you can love your lifestyle and wallet. Especially if you are not a targeted group or person, you are more willing to overlook what other people are going through if it does not directly affect you. (We can see that right now in the United States.) It was really interesting to see how people continued to live their lives when they were faced with war, horrific treatment of people in their own cities, and rationing. I thought this book was very enlightening.

Charles Glass is the former chief correspondent for the Middle East with ABC News, which, I believe, lends to his ability to tell these stories in a way that captivates the reader. His research was well done, but what I appreciated the most is the implementation of personal correspondence and journals of the people he was writing about. The specialization for my history degree was in World War II, and I have read (and written) a massive amount of things about this particular time period and subject. I can tell you that much of that concentrated on actual battles and Holocaust. There was essentially no mention of Americans living in Paris, other than the Kennedy's when Joseph Kennedy was ambassador. I found this book to be extremely valuable for giving a deep look into lives of people who were living and working there that were not born and raised in Europe. This book should be required reading, but, at the very least, should be suggested for supplemental reading for those (in the States, at least) seeking history degrees when they cover this period.