As Kaplan puts it, “The American Army executed 70 of its own soldiers in Europe between 19. The result is a book that not only illuminates an obscure corner of the history of World War II, but also forces us to reconsider some popular ideas about “the good war.”Ībove all, The Interpreter explores a simple problem.

As with her previous studies, Kaplan has shaped The Interpreter around both a determination to confront prejudice and a refusal to simplify it. In this new work she turns her gaze to another form of bigotry: the racism of the American Army in liberated Brittany at the end of the war. Professor Kaplan is already well known for her eloquent studies of French collaboration during World War II in both French Lessons and T he Collaborator she gives an intimate view of the evils of fascism and anti-Semitism in occupied France. With The Interpreter Alice Kaplan brings a new perspective to the intertwined histories of France and the United States, one that builds upon her earlier work. Not surprisingly perhaps, Franco-American relations in particular have recent a great deal of attention from historians based in North America: issues ranging from foreign policy to race relations have prompted considerations of the similarities (and differences) between the two great republics. This new global vision of French history, addressing the histories of colonialism, immigration, and transnational cultural and diplomatic interchanges, has broadened our understanding of national history, and indeed of what it means to be French. In recent years historians of modern France have turned increasingly outward, considering the nation’s relations with the rest of the world. Review by Tyler Stovall, University of California, Berkeley.

Paris Noir by Tyler Stovall