Wine & War: The French, the Nazis & the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable reading; wanted a bit more
Review: As an American in France, one of my areas of interest is the similarities and differences between our peoples and cultures. And both wine and war certainly set us apart. Everyone realizes wine is a significant part of the French culture, though few understand why. And we Americans are fortunate to have (almost) always been victorious in war. It's very difficult to appreciate each other's points of view on war when the French have been invaded on their home turf so many times. Not us.

So I found this book provided just a bit more insight into both areas. Helped to lift the fog a bit about the French. While you'll learn a little about wine from this book, it doesn't really scratch the surface in that regard, though I doubt it intended to. (If you want to do that, go read the DK guidebook 'French Wines: The Essential Guide to the Wines and Wine Growing Regions of France.) But I thought the Kladstrup's did a good job providing some insights into the role wine played - and still does - in the French culture. This is not so much a book about Paris and city life as the rest of France. It's about an agricultural industry's fight to survive during the suicidal years of Europe in the last century.

Several of the other reviewers have done a good job describing the books contents. I'll just end by saying I would have preferred a more in-depth treatment of the French - German relationships. But given the sensitive nature of talking to the few remaining survivors and families about what still is a certainly painful memory for the French, I think Don and Petie Kladstrup did a good job in producing a pleasant read on a somewhat unique topic. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the glass of French wine I poured myself while sitting down to write this review. Recommended (both the book and my wine!)

Rating:
Summary: The French love of wine.
Review: I thought this was an original concept of a war story. The authors tell of the French love of the national drink of wine and the German Occupation. The Germans took a portion of the output of the vineyards, and the French were starved for wine. Various stories of the burgundies/champaynes and other assorted wines were told in this conglomoration of a book about wine and WWII. French POWs in a Stalig camp throw a wine party after accumulating wine. Resistance figures siphon off wine from casks bound for Germany. Bad wine is sent to the German occupation authorites. Collaborators sell the drink to the German authorities. Jews are hidden in the vineyards. These are all stories included in this short book.
The concept of this book was interesting. This collection of stories does not lead to a very coherent book, although many of the stories are very interesting. This is more of a fluff book, unless you are interested in wine.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting albeit insubstantial story
Review: If you want a good World War II history, then this is not the book for you. In fact, if you don't love wine, you won't find this book to be all that interesting at all. In the larger context of history, one could charitably call this a history of one of the many dimensions of the German occupation of France & the French resistance.

It is a fascinating portrayl of the wine-making industry & its subculture, and is an intriguing example of how far some people were willing to go to protect, in the final analysis, a bunch bottles of fermented grape juice. The french & the germans involved in this story are patriots, collaborators & sympathetic occupiers. There stories can be found by the thousands outside of the world of wine. The only distinction is that the french attach such importance to their wines, which give them a sense of their national identity.

As befits a largely insubstantial topic, the book is a quick and easy read. The authors are not trying to impart some Great Message, but are simply trying to tell a pretty interesting tale. It is enjoyable enough to merit 4 stars, but would need more substance for a 5th star.

Rating:
Summary: INTERESTING, MORE INSPIRATION THAN HISTORY
Review: The story of the French resistance to protect the wine is a very interesting one, well told by the authors of this book. It is clear that the amount of research involved is extraordinary, and the authors do a good job of transmitting to the reader the deep feelings and history involved.

One major comment is that the whole sotry is mainly focused on WWII, making the title "WINE AND WAR" somewhat misleading. As a piece of history, this is not very additive to the history of WWII. The French Resistance has its history well documented, and this is only a portion of its activities. There is some lack of connection between the individual stories and the actual political and military developments of the war, making the stories interesting but disconnected.

Overall, this is a great book if you are a wine enthusiast or if you want somehting to read over a 10 hour flight, but if you are a pure historian, look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Of patriotism and wine
Review: This book was an unexpected delight! The truth of the exploits of the French to save their wine, their livelihood, and their country's identity during the Nazi Occupation of WWII is told from very individual perspectives. We learn of winemakers struggling to keep their vineyards alive despite a shortages of able-bodied men and copper sulfate, trampling by troops, blackouts, droughts, and raiding Nazi soldiers. even if your knowledge of wine is minimal, names like Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and Moet are likely to ring a bell. To understand the struggles that these families endured and often overcame becomes very real and understandable in the writings of the authors. The human toll of war as well as the economic costs are played against the unflagging spirit of the people and their love of the land, the wine, and their country. Not only is this a great story of wine and war but of patriotism as well. It has been convenient to belittle the French in recent times relative to their attitude about war, but this book reminds us that they endured something we were fortunate never to have to deal with -- enemy occupation and the resultant destruction and demoralization.

Rating:
Summary: Of wine, war and men
Review: This is a pleasant book which reads quite quickly past the first 80 pages. The beginning is indeed a little slow. Besides, am I already too old that I consider awkward to be told what is a ghetto and what was Kristallnacht?

The authors probably remained faithful to the stories they were told, but it is a little weird to read that Ms So and So was hiding Jews in a shed in the garden while the Germans were occupying her château, but still she was lucky because she could save her wines. Strange perspective.

Apart from that, I delighted in various anecdotes, for example the way the Résistance learned about German troops' progression by the orders they sent to the French châteaux.

All things considered, the book is... well... very human.

Rating:
Summary: France's most coveted treasure
Review: This is an engrossing, and distinctive observation on one of the many impacts of World War II on both France and Germany. It is not simply a book about French wine, but a broader study of the impact of the German occupation upon French daily life. What is fascinating is how much the Germans coveted French cuisine, and especially wine, and how gluttony inspired the Nazi government's quest to strip the French larder as part of spoils of war. "Wine and War" does indicate what a highly regarded treasure French wine represents in Western culture.

This is a terrific read if you like wine or enjoy history (and is twice the pleasure for those, like me, who appreciate both). It is not a serious, scholarly history of the war, but instead a compilation of various anecdotes -- oral history being put into print. From a historical perspective, what I found the most interesting was the author's indication of how the legacy of the harsh reparations extracted from Germany by France in World War I came back to haunt the French in terms of the German thirst for revenge in the Second World War. There is an element of suspense throughout the book, in terms of the Germans possibly killing the goose that laid the golden eggs (though the reader already knows the outcome). However, the work manages to represent that beyond the greed and thuggery of some Germans, a number maintained a sense of humanity and long range vision regarding a people who would always remain their neighbors.

You won't learn alot about wine reading this book; you will learn more about history. But what you will learn about French wine is what a covetted treasure this has regarded in any of the German-French conflicts, and what a critical part of French culture it represents.