De Gaulle

ISBN: 0674241452

Author: Jackson, Julian

Condition: Used

Winner of the Duff Cooper PrizeWinner of the Elizabeth Longford PrizeA New Yorker, Financial Times, Spectator, Times, and Telegraph Book of the YearIn this definitive biography of the mythic general who refused to accept the Nazi domination of France, Julian Jackson captures Charles de Gaulle as never before. Drawing on unpublished letters, memoirs, and papers from the recently opened de Gaulle archive, he shows how this volatile visionary of staunch faith and conservative beliefs infuriated Churchill, challenged American hegemony, recognized the limitations of colonial ambitions in Algeria and Vietnam, and put a broken France back at the center of world affairs.With a fluent style and near-total command of existing and newly available sourcesJulian Jackson has come closer than anyone before him to demystifying this conservative at war with the status quo, for whom national interests were inseparable from personal honor.-Richard Norton Smith, Wall Street JournalA sweeping-yet-concise introduction to the most brilliant, infuriating, and ineffably French of men.-Ross Douthat, New York TimesClassically composed and authoritativeJackson writes wonderful political history.-Adam Gopnik, New YorkerA remarkable book in which the man widely chosen as the Greatest Frenchman is dissected, intelligently and lucidly, then put together again in an extraordinary fair-minded, highly readable portrait. Throughout, the book tells a thrilling story.-Antonia Fraser, New StatesmanMakes awesome reading, and is a tribute to the fascination of its subject, and to Jacksons mastery of itA triumph, and hugely readable.-Max Hastings, Sunday Times