Heart-wrenching and totally mesmerizing. I was completely engrossed, especially because it is all so real, all the mundane details, and all the big historical events. I didn't find a single moment where the story dragged. Completely engrossed by this book--highly recommend.

I remember reading this book years ago in the original French when I was a student, and I find it amazing that such an important primary source on the French Resistance and German occupation of France has taken sixty years to be translated. Agnes Humbert's sheer tenacity in banding together with her comrades to publish and distribute the illegal anti-German newspaper Résistance is a riveting profile in courage, yet Humbert never really draws any attention to her heroism, presenting her actions merely as what was required of a moral, patriotic person in a conflict where there were only two sides: for the Nazis or against them.

I agree with the previous reviewer that the second half of the book detailing Humbert's arrest and imprisonment is more interesting, better written, and overall more compelling than the early sections, which are indeed dry and expository. Which brings me to my only real objection to this very useful addition to the English-language literature on the civilian experience of the war: the publishers should have gone to greater lengths to commission a truly spirited and detailed introductory essay orienting the lay reader (or, more importantly, college students) to the timeline and chain of events in the Nazi takeover of France, the division into Vichy and German-administered provinces, etc. I think there is a great deal of room for confusion here for people unfamiliar or only vaguely familiar with the historical background.

Nonetheless, it's wonderful to know that this book is now available in English (and in a very nice, fluid translation)--a great addition to the reading list for any college course on WWII.