The Embrace of Unreason

From acclaimed biographer and cultural historian, author of For the Soul of France ("Masterful history" --Henry Kissinger), Zola ("Magnificent" --The New Yorker), and Flaubert ("Impeccable" --James Wood, cover, The New York Times Book Review)--a brilliant reconsideration of the events and the political, social, and religious movements that led to France's embrace of Fascism and anti-Semitism. Frederick Brown explores the tumultuous forces unleashed in the country by the Dreyfus Affair and its aftermath and examines how the clashing ideologies--the swarm of 'isms--and their blood-soaked political scandals and artistic movements following the horrors of World War I resulted in the country's era of militant authoritarianism, rioting, violent racism, and nationalistic fervor. We see how these forces overtook the country's sense of reason, sealing the fate of an entire nation, and led to the fall of France and the rise of the Vichy government....