Allan Mitchell (1933-2016) received his PhD from Harvard in 1961 and then taught at Smith College (1961-1972) and the University of California (1973-1993). He was the author of The Great Train Race: Railways and the Franco-German Rivalry, 1815-1914 (Berghahn Books, 2006); Rêves Parisiens. L’échec de projets de transport public en France aux XIXe siècle (Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, 2005); and Nazi Paris: The History of an Occupation, 1940-1944 (Berghahn Books, 2008).

• PrefaceChapter 1. An Unstable PastChapter 2. An Improvised StateChapter 3. A Voluntarist EthicChapter 4. A Flagging DemographyChapter 5. A Stagnant EconomyChapter 6. A Sexist TraditionChapter 7. An Educated EliteChapter 8. A Xenophobic StyleChapter 9. A Socialist RevivalChapter 10. A Strange Defeat?EpilogueFurther ReadingIndex

...very well written [and] highly informative. It has originality [and] presents stimulating and thoughtful images of the Third French Republic.A" * Joel Blatt, University of Connecticut - an excellent interpretive essay - this short book, long on ideas and filled with useful information, is highly recommended to specialists in German and French history alike, as well as anyone interested in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century European history.A" * H-German

Allan Mitchell (1933-2016) received his PhD from Harvard in 1961 and then taught at Smith College (1961-1972) and the University of California (1973-1993). He was the author of The Great Train Race: Railways and the Franco-German Rivalry, 1815-1914 (Berghahn Books, 2006); Rêves Parisiens. L’échec de projets de transport public en France aux XIXe siècle (Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, 2005); and Nazi Paris: The History of an Occupation, 1940-1944 (Berghahn Books, 2008).

• PrefaceChapter 1. An Unstable PastChapter 2. An Improvised StateChapter 3. A Voluntarist EthicChapter 4. A Flagging DemographyChapter 5. A Stagnant EconomyChapter 6. A Sexist TraditionChapter 7. An Educated EliteChapter 8. A Xenophobic StyleChapter 9. A Socialist RevivalChapter 10. A Strange Defeat?EpilogueFurther ReadingIndex

...very well written [and] highly informative. It has originality [and] presents stimulating and thoughtful images of the Third French Republic.A" * Joel Blatt, University of Connecticut - an excellent interpretive essay - this short book, long on ideas and filled with useful information, is highly recommended to specialists in German and French history alike, as well as anyone interested in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century European history.A" * H-German

Allan Mitchell (1933-2016) received his PhD from Harvard in 1961 and then taught at Smith College (1961-1972) and the University of California (1973-1993). He was the author of The Great Train Race: Railways and the Franco-German Rivalry, 1815-1914 (Berghahn Books, 2006); Rêves Parisiens. L’échec de projets de transport public en France aux XIXe siècle (Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, 2005); and Nazi Paris: The History of an Occupation, 1940-1944 (Berghahn Books, 2008).

• PrefaceChapter 1. An Unstable PastChapter 2. An Improvised StateChapter 3. A Voluntarist EthicChapter 4. A Flagging DemographyChapter 5. A Stagnant EconomyChapter 6. A Sexist TraditionChapter 7. An Educated EliteChapter 8. A Xenophobic StyleChapter 9. A Socialist RevivalChapter 10. A Strange Defeat?EpilogueFurther ReadingIndex

...very well written [and] highly informative. It has originality [and] presents stimulating and thoughtful images of the Third French Republic.A" * Joel Blatt, University of Connecticut - an excellent interpretive essay - this short book, long on ideas and filled with useful information, is highly recommended to specialists in German and French history alike, as well as anyone interested in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century European history.A" * H-German