hunted Jews and dissidents with the same obsessive focus evident in other occupied nations. More often than not, the tension among these institutions led to feckless competition and confusion. But one central concern dominated German behavior: for the world that was breathlessly watching, Paris must remain Paris. Consequently, most “decadent” activities were allowed to continue: jazz clubs and cabarets, nude revues, even bordellos were kept open. The great Gypsy guitarist , Django Reinhardt, played nightly. The city that had produced avant-garde worlds of fashion, theater, art, film, literature, and music was part of the world’s patrimony, and the Germans, especially Joseph Goebbels’s Propaganda Ministry, sought to project an image as curator of Paris, not its nemesis. They wanted to loot the riches of this icon while convincing the world of their own respect for cultural excellence. Through the interweaving of political, cultural, and social history, Riding not only presents the story of a unique moment in French history, but also raises questions about the role of the arts in the great ideological battles of the twentieth century. He describes how the Occupation Authority used the culture of Paris to its advantage, but also tells us a great deal about the reasons why artists continued to work and produce under the eye of a watchful enemy. Almost every daily decision by a sculptor, painter, publisher, cabaret performer, film director, actor, poet, novelist, or journalist demanded some sort of accommodation, if not collaboration , with the new bureaucracies. One given was quickly established: Jews were personae non gratae, except in those very rare cases where their expertise was crucial. Every other action and decision became part of an ethical bartering process, fueled by ambition, conviction, narcissism, desire to perform, greed, and patriotism. We get from this fact-laden work confident answers to many of the questions still rolling around in the collective memory of the Occupation. Were Maurice Chevalier and Édith Piaf collaborators? How involved was Jean-Paul Sartre in the resistance? Why did Picasso stay in Paris during the period? What did the cosmopolitan German think of his role as an occupier? Who was the most performed composer? (Wagner, followed by Mozart.) Were Colette and Jean Cocteau too cozy with the Germans? The book ends with a cogent chapter that answers, “What [...] was the cultural legacy of the Occupation?” (338). Riding’s coda is that the French penchant for the intellectualization of the arts, both popular and not, might allow the nation to “ring alarm bells” about the dangers of totalitarianism, but will not put out the fire itself. The syndrome repeats itself to this day. This volume combines history, judgment, and a good story in such a way as to keep alive memories too important to fade. Amherst College (MA) Ronald C. Rosbottom STANGER, TED. Sacrées vacances! une obsession française. Paris: Flammarion, 2010. ISBN 978-2-0812-4102-2. Pp. 181. 15 a. After living in France for twelve years, American journalist Ted Stanger has achieved an impressive mastery of French, as well as an understanding of the country’s culture and attitudes. A former bureau director for Newsweek, he uses his skills as a reporter to paint a seemingly accurate and often critical portrait of Reviews 199 vacationing in the Hexagone. As he makes comparisons to American vacation practices, he sometimes seems envious of the French. His more successful earlier books, Sacrés Français! un Américain nous regarde, Sacrés Américains! nous, les Yankees, on est comme ça, and Sacrés fonctionnaires! un Américain face à notre bureaucratie are equally perceptive in their portrayal of everyday life. While the first two books explain the two peoples to each other, this fourth book, along with his third, examines in great detail specific French institutions. Anyone who is familiar with France may easily experience an “aha” moment, when recalling observations made during visits which become clear after reading Stanger’s breezy and casual style. He enjoys cultural allusions and puns, as seen in chapters titles “À Caen, les vacances?” and “Passe tes vacances d’abord!” Twenty-five short chapters illustrating the French obsession with les congés payés make the book an enjoyable read. Stanger...