Zoo Book Sales
Related Articles
There is no mention of the word “Killing” in the title except for a brief promotional line, and Bill O’Reilly is reduced to an attribution for blurb but “Taking Paris: The Epic Battle for the City of Lights “reads like one of the” Killing “books that Martin Dugard regularly co-writes with O’Reilly.
The “Killing” books refer to O’Reilly and Dugard’s bestsellers: “Killing Lincoln”, “Killing Kennedy”, “Killing Jesus”, “Killing Patton”, “Killing” etc., etc. etc.
Doubtless taking into account certain parts of the last “Killing” books, Dugard could have called this book “Killing Paris”. Fortunately, he didn’t.
“Taking Paris” is a solid, rapid historical reading, structured like a novel. It follows the fall of Paris to the Nazis during World War II with the liberation of Paris by the Allies in Europe.
But “Paris” includes hallmarks of the “Killing” books – the cliffhanger phrases at the end of the chapters, a sense of foreboding, an easy-to-read dive into a historical era and its actors.
Here, as the cover illustrates, readers meet Winston Churchill, Erwin Rommel, General George S. Patton, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Charles de Gaulle. Several other key figures feature prominently in this volume as well, but it’s good to see a more complete portrayal of de Gaulle.
In many stories dealing with French resistance during WWII, de Gaulle is described only as an irritant to Churchill, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, etc., but Dugard reveals the spirit of de Gaulle. Yes, it is still a pain for the Allies, but readers will better understand why the Allies not only supported it, but why it was essential to French participation in the liberation of Paris and the nation.
Dugard writes a captivating and human look at the tragedy, the struggle and the triumph of Paris during the war. The name of O’Reilly may be missing but nothing is missing in “Paris”. If anything, it’s better than the “Killing” books.
