There are certainly a number of interesting story lines in this book but it is written in a breezy lightweight style and follows no discernable pattern or outline. Really this is a collection of short stories around a vague central theme of the efforts of "most" Frenchmen to protect their famous wine collections from the Germans. While certainly the stories from Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux are decidedly different, there are many connected themes, such as the conflict between passive resistance and active collaboration, that remain unexplored. Further, the actual brutality at the doorsteps of many of these people is glossed over in favor of repeated stories about doctored wines with grand cru labels. This could have been a much better, richer book.