This diary is one of the most precious--and readable--pieces of testimony about life in Vichy France under Nazi occupation. Werth was a Jewish writer who left Paris in June 1940 and hid out in a small village. We see how the Occupation affected life in the countryside and finally, the Paris insurrection of August 1944. David Ball's thoughtful and nuanced translation presents this work to an Anglophone readership for the first time and his introduction is punchy and precise ... On both the very colourful local level and on a grander national level, Werth's diary - and this timely translation by David Ball - are vital reading for anyone interested in this dark period of French history.