Uncensored France

MR. POUTER was chief of the Paris Bureau of the Associated Press from 1937 until late in 1941. As compared with M. Lazareff in Deadline he is admirably objective without being entirely aloof. This volume describes his experiences and observations as an eminent American journalist in Paris during the German occupation. If is excellent reporting. The publishers say: “Here is the first book to come out of occupied France” - which is inaccurate. But it is certainly the first book by a competent and trained American journalist. If it lacks the literary skill of Shirer’s Berlin Diary, it has the same compelling authenticity: he reports what he saw and thought, and repeats hearsay only as such. For this reason alone the book would be a valuable document. But, if the author confines himself largely to personal experience, he also allows the reader to draw certain conclusions by implication. The Germans, however little they liked or trusted an American A. P. representative, were instructed to treat such creatures with courtesy and extra consideration. Yet Mr. Porter found it hard to get enough of anything in occupied France. He, the officially favored, was hungry more often than not. One can imagine the plight of the poor, the friendless, or those who fur any reason had incurred the dislike of the German conquerors. There is a good deal of between-the-lines reading in this book, and it is sad reading. If you want to know what manner of brute the triumphant Boche can be, however suave his manner and however logical his actions, you have only to read the testimony of this able and fair-minded American witness. R. E. D.