Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Review: Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris


Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris
Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris by David King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I had hoped this would be like Erik Larson's Devil in the White City and so far, so good!

It is true crime and microhistory - my two favorite genres in one. In the chaos and disorder of Nazi-occupied France, a serial killer plies his trade availing himself of the opportunity of an upset social order and the telling, based on unearthed official documents including a poorly handled prosecution, is embedded in a history of the White City under the swastika. This includes the General strike (15–18 August 1944) and commander of the Paris garrison, General Dietrich von Choltitz, who disobeyed Hitler when he elected not to destroy keep landmarks of Paris.




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