Scum of the Earth

By Arthur Koestler

Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, History

Arthur Koestler's 1941 memoir recounts the collapse of France in 1939 and 1940 as experienced by a foreign-born writer who had broken with communism. Arrested by the French police soon after war broke out, Koestler was held for months at the Le Vernet internment camp among other refugees the authorities treated as suspects. After his release and the German invasion, he joined the French Foreign Legion under a false identity to escape the country. His account captures a nation's demoralization in vivid detail.

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• Ryan Holiday: “If you want a great memoir that has tones of The World of Yesterday, read Scum of the Earth.”