THE FALL OF FRANCE Disaster in the West 1939- 1940

London: Guild Publishing. Very Good/Very Good. 1990. Hard Cover. Dimensions: 23.2 x 16.7 x 2.8 cm Dust jacket complete, unclipped, tiny closed tear. Original cloth boards with bright gilt titling on spine. No ownership marks. Numerous photographs, maps. 183 pages. This book is a remarkable example of what can be achieved when two very different kinds of creative talent are set to work on the same important task. In this case, to record the astonishing sequence of events leading up to Germany's attack on France in May 1940, and the no less astonishing conquest that followed. Looking back after 50 years, it is now clear that Hitler's triumph must stand as one of the most important and far-reaching military victories in the whole of Europe's long history. Lt Col George Forty, a professional soldier now retired, is a military historian of considerable stature, an indefatigable researcher and a man who has the soldier's distrust of rhetoric and analysis. John Duncan, on the other hand, is a seasoned editor and journalist who, like his collaborator, lived through the events they so vividly describe. His instincts are to keep the narrative moving and to illuminate, at each step, the characters and the action in an original and revealing way. .