When France Fell Audiobook By Michael S. Neiberg cover art

When France Fell

The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

When France Fell

By: Michael S. Neiberg
Narrated by: David de Vries
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

According to US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the "most shocking single event" of World War II was not the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but rather the fall of France in spring 1940. Michael Neiberg offers a dramatic history of the American response - a policy marked by panic and moral ineptitude, which placed the United States in league with fascism and nearly ruined the alliance with Britain.

The successful Nazi invasion of France destabilized American planners' strategic assumptions. At home, the result was huge increases in defense spending, the advent of peacetime military conscription, and domestic spying to weed out potential fifth columnists. Abroad, the United States decided to work with Vichy France despite its pro-Nazi tendencies. The US-Vichy partnership, intended to buy time and temper the flames of war in Europe, severely strained Anglo-American relations. After the war, the choice to back Vichy tainted US-French relations for decades.

Our collective memory of World War II as a period of American strength overlooks the desperation and faulty decision making that drove US policy from 1940 to 1943. Tracing the key diplomatic and strategic moves of these formative years, When France Fell gives us a more nuanced and complete understanding of the war and of the global position the United States would occupy afterward.

©2021 Michael S. Neiberg (P)2021 Tantor
Diplomacy France World War II War Military Interwar Period Imperialism United States Franklin D. Roosevelt Espionage Self-Determination
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about When France Fell

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Learning a story I hadn’t heard before

While I have been much interested in the European story of World War II, I had never heard much about Vichy France and knew nothing about the American government’s relationship with it and with Charles De Gaulle. Very informative book and very well read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Part of WW II Worth Remembering

A great look at a topic I had never considered. Like most of us, I had always thought of Vichy France as an unfortunate side note that was best left forgotten. Neiberg has re-opened a chapter of conveniently forgotten history that needs re-examining.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Deep Dive on a Cloudy Topic

The book fills in a lot of interesting known & unknown unknowns on the the topic of the Vichy govt & it's impact during and since the war, and the narration is good imo.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent

I think it was thoroughly researched, factual, informative, and entertaining. I look forward to his next book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great history that is often overlooked

Great content and preparing many details that is lost over time. I enjoyed this book and the perspective that it shared.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A new perspective on World War II

I had no idea before reading this that the Franco-American relationship after the fall of France in 1940 was so delicate and how desperate America wanted to keep Vichy neutral after the war. I was definitely overwhelmed by this book it truly did leave me surprised with all that was covered.

I highly recommend this book!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

clearly explanation of a very muddled situation

Michael Neiberg is a very gifted historical author, his writing is always informative and enjoyable, a very rare commodity these days, read everything of his you can find!!! 100% five stars

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Clear vision of the past

In a time of only thinking in the present, it would be wise to learn the lessons of American Vichy policy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very insightful

Very insightful read and wonderfully written. Enjoyed new perspectives and another perspective on how the poorly the Roosevelt administration handled the foreign relations in Europe throughout the war. Great leader on the domestic front, but a complete disaster on the foreign affairs front. The State Department was a complete joke.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Proceeds from a faulty premise

Namely, that the US and UK were fundamentally unsympathetic to the German Reich, much less to Vichy. One only need to look at an honest account at the acceptance of refugees from that time to dispense with that notion. And there is a kind of credulous Captain America philosophy coloring the author's viewpoint. At best, in his opinion, America was naive in its reliance on the French military to save western democracy, at worst it sold out or sacrificed human rights for political convenience. Perhaps he failed to notice the less than stellar track record of human rights in the land of the free. Uncritical and clichéd, this book is worth a pass.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful