From a Nation Torn: Decolonizing Art and Representation in France, 1945–1962 by Hannah Feldman (review)

Reviews 277 conjointure. Count Henry was praised throughout his life, and after his death for his generosity and largesse. He displayed these qualities repeatedly in his dealings with the knights who served him, but especially in regard to religious organizations like monasteries and canonical chapters. It is curious to note how institutions devoted to prayer and piety were so eager to protect their material interests. Henry could afford to earn his title of liberal because of the financial success he enjoyed through the commercial fairs that took place annually in Troyes, Provins, and other towns of his realm. He increased the number and frequency of these events. Given Champagne’s geographical position at the crossroads of the north-south and east-west trading routes, these fairs were the occasion of a highly significant coming together of international social and political as well as economic forces. By his promotion of these gatherings, Henry was a major contributor to the development of modern capitalism. University of Denver James P. Gilroy Feldman, Hannah. From a Nation Torn: Decolonizing Art and Representation in France, 1945–1962. Durham: Duke UP, 2014. ISBN 978-0-8223-5371-3. Pp. 343. $28. Feldman provides a close analysis of the impact of war on French society from 1945 to 1962. In so doing, she eliminates the term of “postwar” for describing French society after 1945, specifically because France was at war until 1962, first in Indochina and then in Algeria. Her judicious choice of illustrations (a total of eighty-four, twentyone of which are in color) reflects significant archival research. For example, in chapter 5 (“The Eye of History”: Photojournalism,Protest,and the Manifestation of 17 October 1961),she provides a thorough explanation of the photographs taken on that day,when many Algerians were killed during the brutal repression of their peaceful demonstration , and that were published in the 28 October 1961 issue of Paris-Match. She claims that the photographs were a failed attempt “to manipulate the photographic evidence to correspond with the police narrative and so to turn documents of presence into those substantiating absence” (186). Case in point is Figure 5.13, the startling Paris-Match cover that bears the headline of “Nuit de troubles à Paris” and shows a close-up of a RATP bus full or Algerians who had just been arrested for demonstrating. Feldman explains:“Uncharacteristically for photojournalistic attempts at‘shock-photos,’ the presentation begins on the cover, which does not present a suspense-building photograph in medias res, but rather one that marks the vantage point of resolution” (186). She further elucidates that the photograph is cropped so as to converge on the agitated faces of the Algerians glaring out from the bus windows at something taking place just beyond the photograph’s frame:“One of the detainees in particular catches our attention. He is pressed against the left-hand window. His expression torn between shock and fury, he clenches his left hand near his body in defiance or defense” (186). However, what makes Felman’s analysis most thought-provoking is her use of comparison with art work and photographs from other periods in France’s history, such as Impressionist Gustave Caillebott’s Rue de Paris: temps de pluie,Brassaï’s 1947 photograph Les grands boulevards depicting pedestrians in front of a poster for the film Le diable au corps, and Roger Benson’s iconic 1941 photograph of the exhibition poster for Le Juif et la France. From a Nation Torn is well suited for those wanting to enhance their knowledge or their teaching of the history of France from 1945 to 1962 via art. Fulbright Specialist (NY) Eileen M. Angelini Ford, Caroline. Natural Interests: The Contest over Environment in Modern France. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2016. ISBN 978-0-674-04590-3. Pp. 296. $50. Ford traces the development of an environmental consciousness from immediately post- Revolutionary France through the inter-war period. Ford has filled a critical gap in scholarship surrounding French environmentalism. Whereas most prior studies take a more philosophical approach to French attitudes toward the environment, emphasizing the role of nature in philosophy, literature, and art, Ford focuses instead on how popular perceptions of the environment translated into public...