Strange Defeat: A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940

Marc Bloch was a world-renowned medieval historian who was read and valued by scholars far beyond the Sorbonne, of which he was a distinguished member. He fought in both World Wars, and in 1942, when fifty, became active in the French Resistance. Two years later he was caught by the Germans, tortured, and executed. This book, left in draft, is a moving document and a penetrating analysis of the disaster he witnessed at first hand. Though written early in the Occupation, it is free from bitterness and recrimination, and its detailed criticism of the French disaster is conducted throughout with detachment and intellectual integrity.

Published 1968.

Binding of book is intact. Tear on corner of front cover. Sticker on front cover. Sunned covers with moderate foxing, shelfwear, creasing and fraying. Some tanning and foxing on edges of book. Streak of marker and several waterstains on inside of front cover. Slight foxing on insides of covers. Very little foxing and few waterstains on certain pages.