Download or read book A Certain Idea of France written by Julian Jackson and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2018-06-18 with total page 866 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN, SPECTATOR, FINANCIAL TIMES, TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Masterly ... awesome reading ... an outstanding biography' Max Hastings, Sunday Times The definitive biography of the greatest French statesman of modern times In six weeks in the early summer of 1940, France was over-run by German troops and quickly surrendered. The French government of Marshal Pétain sued for peace and signed an armistice. One little-known junior French general, refusing to accept defeat, made his way to England. On 18 June he spoke to his compatriots over the BBC, urging them to rally to him in London. 'Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished.' At that moment, Charles de Gaulle entered into history. For the rest of the war, de Gaulle frequently bit the hand that fed him. He insisted on being treated as the true embodiment of France, and quarrelled violently with Churchill and Roosevelt. He was prickly, stubborn, aloof and self-contained. But through sheer force of personality and bloody-mindedness he managed to have France recognised as one of the victorious Allies, occupying its own zone in defeated Germany. For ten years after 1958 he was President of France's Fifth Republic, which he created and which endures to this day. His pursuit of 'a certain idea of France' challenged American hegemony, took France out of NATO and twice vetoed British entry into the European Community. His controversial decolonization of Algeria brought France to the brink of civil war and provoked several assassination attempts. Julian Jackson's magnificent biography reveals this the life of this titanic figure as never before. It draws on a vast range of published and unpublished memoirs and documents - including the recently opened de Gaulle archives - to show how de Gaulle achieved so much during the War when his resources were so astonishingly few, and how, as President, he put a medium-rank power at the centre of world affairs. No previous biography has depicted his paradoxes so vividly. Much of French politics since his death has been about his legacy, and he remains by far the greatest French leader since Napoleon.
Download or read book The General written by Jonathan Fenby and published by Skyhorse Publishing Inc.. This book was released on 2013-07 with total page 721 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No leader of modern times was more uniquely patriotic than Charles de Gaulle. In his twenties, he fought for France in the trenches and at the epic battle of Verdun. In the 1930s, he waged a lonely battle to enable France to better resist Hitler Germany. Thereafter, he twice rescued the nation from defeat and decline by extraordinary displays of leadership, political acumen, daring, and bluff, heading off civil war and leaving a heritage adopted by his successors of right and left. Le General, as he became known from 1940 on, appeared as if he was carved from a single monumental block, but was in fact extremely complex, a man with deep personal feelings and recurrent mood swings, devoted to his family and often seeking reassurance from those around him. This is a magisterial, sweeping biography of one of the great leaders of the twentieth century and of the country with which he so identified himself. Written with terrific verve, narrative skill, and rigorous detail, the first major work on de Gaulle in fifteen years brings alive as never before the private man as well as the public leader. -- Publisher description.
Download or read book The Parisian Summit 1377 78 written by František Šmahel and published by Karolinum Press, Charles University. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Czech king and Roman Emperor Charles IV met with the French king Charles V in Paris in 1378. The author describes with intelectual brilliance and narrative talent the journey from Prague to Paris as a step by step journey reportage using contemporary French chronicles and vast medievistic literature as well as many beautiful illustrations. The result is an appealing account on medieval life, everyday and intelectual, mentality, grand European politics of the time or even medieval cuisine. The first part of the book presents the well-known facts of Charles IV life (brought up in Paris, his father’s John Luxemberg’s political and representational activities, his international goals, etc.). The middle part of the book brings a transcription of richly illustrated French chronicles. The third part analyses the importance of the meeting of the two most powerful European rulers of the time. Final and most original part consists of individual studies concerning practical organisation of medieval festivities, its logistic, transport, or culinary details, the court manners, relationships and symbolics. Šmahel draws from latest knowledge and methods from archeology and microhistory to cultural anthropology or iconography. This as a highly readable account of medieval time inspiring in its originality for expert historians as well as appealing to the general public.
Download or read book Victorious Charles written by Caroline (Cally) Rogers Neill Sehnaoui and published by Strategic Book Publishing. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Victorious Charles: A Ladies' Man is a fascinating historical account of the lives of the nobility and the poor in 15th Century France, under the reign of King Charles VII. Charles VII was a warrior King who reigned at the time of France's decades-long war against Henry V's England. Charles is also often remembered for his numerous high-profile affairs, including one with the beautiful Agnes Sorel, known at the time as the Dame de Beaute. The book explores Charles' youth, his crazy mother, and the positive influence of his aunt, Yolande d'Aragon. Charles ruled during the time of Joan of Arc, "The Virgin Warrior" who fought valiantly for France in the war. She delivered Orleans from the English, before being burned at the stake after a religious court sentenced her to death, proclaiming her a sorceress. The late Caroline (Cally) Rogers Neill Sehnaoui was born in 1944 in Manchester, NH to a 16th generation American family of English and Scottish descent. Her father was educated at West Point and Princeton, and her mother's ancestor was William Barton Rogers, who founded MIT in 1861.
Download or read book The Three Lives of Charles De Gaulle written by David Schoenbrun and published by Plunkett Lake Press. This book was released on 2024-11-03 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[O]ne of the best introductions in English to this awkward and impressive figure which constantly reminds us that men of destiny make difficult company... an honest and enjoyable book.” — Political Science Quarterly “David Schoenbrun wrote his book from the vantage-point of frequent personal contacts with de Gaulle and many years residence in France. He blends biography and history, equally concerned with his protagonist’s mind and character as with the sequence of events, in this well-balanced account of de Gaulle the Soldier, the Savior of France, and the Statesman. Schoenbrun finds much to admire in the soldier, but he grows more critical as the Messianic de Gaulle rises or climbs to the dizzy heights of the Presidency which thanks to de Gaulle’s Constitution now has more power than the king who proclaimed "l’état c’est moi"... this enthralling book is well worth reading.” — World Affairs “David Schoenbrun is a top CBS newsman and analyst with an impressive accessibility to the great and knowledge of politics, in particular French politics... he applies his experience and qualifications to the task of presenting formidable Charles de Gaulle of France. It is a full dress biography.” — Kirkus “Au total, le portrait sympathique que Schoenbrun brosse de de Gaulle vient à propos en un temps où beaucoup d’Américains critiquent âprement la politique et la personne du Président français. Par sa narration des évènements de la seconde guerre mondiale, il justifie l’attitude qu’observera souvent de Gaulle à l’égard de l’Angleterre et des Etats-Unis, ce qui ne l’empêche pas de montrer de Gaulle manœuvrant pour s’attribuer le pouvoir suprême, conformément à la doctrine développée dans son livre Le fil de l’épée, où se révèlent ses ambitions dictatoriales et, en même temps, un sens politique assez aigu, qui lui permet de comprendre qu’une dictature n’est concevable que soutenue par un large courant populaire.” — Revue d’histoire de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale
Download or read book De Gaulle written by Julian Jackson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-13 with total page 663 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Duff Cooper Prize Winner of the Elizabeth Longford Prize A New Yorker, Financial Times, Spectator, Times, and Telegraph Book of the Year In 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 sources...Julian 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 Journal “A sweeping-yet-concise introduction to the most brilliant, infuriating, and ineffably French of men.” —Ross Douthat, New York Times “Classically composed and authoritative...Jackson writes wonderful political history.” —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker “A 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 Statesman “Makes awesome reading, and is a tribute to the fascination of its subject, and to Jackson’s mastery of it...A triumph, and hugely readable.” —Max Hastings, Sunday Times
Download or read book The Portraits of Charles V of France 1338 1380 written by Claire Richter Sherman and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 1969 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume of the College Art Association Monograph series examines the portraits of King Charles V of France.
Download or read book Sister Queens written by Mary McGrigor and published by History Press. This book was released on 2019-09-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first history of sisters Isabella and Catherine de Valois, who both married English kings amid the brutal Hundred Years War
Download or read book Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France 1300 1500 written by R. C. Famiglietti and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Chronicle of Jean De Venette written by Jean Fillon Called de Venette and published by Hassell Street Press. This book was released on 2021-09-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book The Last White Rose written by Desmond Seward and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most dramatic periods of British history, the Wars of the Roses didn't end at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Despite the death of Richard III and Henry VII's victory, it continued underground into the following century with plots, pretenders and subterfuge by the ousted white rose faction. In a brand new interpretation of this turning point in history, well known historian Desmond Seward reviews the story of the Tudors' seizure of the throne and shows that for many years they were far from secure. He challenges the way we look at the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII, explaining why there were so many Yorkist pretenders and conspiracies, and why the new dynasty had such difficulty establishing itself. King Richard's nephews, the Earl of Warwick and the little known de la Pole brothers, all had support of enemies overseas, while England was split when the lowly Perkin Warbeck skilfully impersonated one of the princes in the tower in order to claim the right to the throne. Warwick's surviving sister Margaret also became the focus of hopes that the White Rose would be reborn. The book also offers a new perspective on why Henry VIII, constantly threatened by treachery, real or imagined, and desperate to secure his power with a male heir, became a tyrant.
Download or read book The Liberation of Paris written by Jean Edward Smith and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2020-07-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prize-winning and bestselling historian Jean Edward Smith tells the “rousing” (Jay Winik, author of 1944) story of the liberation of Paris during World War II—a triumph achieved only through the remarkable efforts of Americans, French, and Germans, racing to save the city from destruction. Following their breakout from Normandy in late June 1944, the Allies swept across northern France in pursuit of the German army. The Allies intended to bypass Paris and cross the Rhine into Germany, ending the war before winter set in. But as they advanced, local forces in Paris began their own liberation, defying the occupying German troops. Charles de Gaulle, the leading figure of the Free French government, urged General Dwight Eisenhower to divert forces to liberate Paris. Eisenhower’s advisers recommended otherwise, but Ike wanted to help position de Gaulle to lead France after the war. And both men were concerned about partisan conflict in Paris that could leave the communists in control of the city and the national government. Neither man knew that the German commandant, Dietrich von Choltitz, convinced that the war was lost, schemed to surrender the city to the Allies intact, defying Hitler’s orders to leave it a burning ruin. In The Liberation of Paris, Jean Edward Smith puts “one of the most moving moments in the history of the Second World War” (Michael Korda) in context, showing how the decision to free the city came at a heavy price: it slowed the Allied momentum and allowed the Germans to regroup. After the war German generals argued that Eisenhower’s decision to enter Paris prolonged the war for another six months. Was Paris worth this price? Smith answers this question in a “brisk new recounting” that is “terse, authoritative, [and] unsentimental” (The Washington Post).
Download or read book The Paris Game written by Ray Argyle and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2014-08-02 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a crucial moment in the Second World War, an obscure French general reaches a fateful personal decision: to fight on alone after his government’s flight from Paris and its capitulation to Nazi Germany. Amid the ravages of a world war, three men — a general, a president, and a prime minister — are locked in a rivalry that threatens their partnership and puts the world’s most celebrated city at risk of destruction before it can be liberated. This is the setting of The Paris Game, a dramatic recounting of how an obscure French general under sentence of death by his government launches on the most enormous gamble of his life: to fight on alone after his country’s capitulation to Nazi Germany. In a game of intrigue and double-dealing, Charles de Gaulle must struggle to retain the loyalty of Winston Churchill against the unforgiving opposition of Franklin Roosevelt and the traitorous manoeuvring of a collaborationist Vichy France. How he succeeds in restoring the honour of France and securing its place as a world power is the stuff of raw history, both stirring and engrossing.
Download or read book Queen of Fashion written by Caroline Weber and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2007-10-02 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this dazzling new vision of the ever-fascinating queen, a dynamic young historian reveals how Marie Antoinette's bold attempts to reshape royal fashion changed the future of France Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinette's "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queen's tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailles's rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her. Weber's queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion—the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs—was also the means of her undoing. Weber's book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of history's most controversial figures.
Download or read book Charles de Gaulle written by Don Cook and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2023-04-11 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of America’s longest-serving foreign correspondents, a biography of France’s controversial politician and statesman. The first major biography of Charles de Gaulle written from an American perspective, this book offers a compelling assessment of the French army officer, politician, and statesman. Author Don Cook, former bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, delineates de Gaulle’s obsession with power and how the military man rose to leadership in the years following the fall of France during the Second World War. Recounting de Gaulle’s triumphant quest to find dignity and independence for France, Cook masterfully brings to life one of Europe’s most influential leaders of the twentieth century.
Download or read book French Negotiating Behavior written by Charles Cogan and published by US Institute of Peace Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Even before it led opposition to the recent war on Iraq, France was considered the most difficult of the United States' major European allies. Each side tends to irritate the other, not least at the negotiating table, where Americans complain of French pretensions and arrogance, and the French fulminate against U.S. hegemonisme and egoisme. But, whether they like it or not, the two nations are going to have to deal with one another for a long time to come. Charles Cogan's timely and insightful study can't guarantee to make those encounters more fruitful, but it will help France's negotiating counterparts understand how and why French officials behave as they do. With impressive objectivity and authority, Cogan first explores the cultural and historical factors that have shaped the French approach and then dissects its key elements. Mixing rationalism and nationalism, rhetoric and brio, self-importance and embattled vulnerability, French negotiators often seem more interested in asserting their country's "universal" mission than in reaching agreement. Three recent case studies illustrate this distinctively French mélange. Yet agreement is by no means always elusive. Cogan offers practical suggestions for making negotiations more cooperative and productive--although he also emphasizes the long-term damage inflicted by the crisis over Iraq. Drawing on candid interviews with many of today's leading players on the French, American, British, and German sides, this engaging volume will inform and stimulate both seasoned practitioners and academics as well as students of France and the negotiating process. This book is the recipient of the Prix Ernest Lémonon from L'Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, 2006
Download or read book Charles de Gaulle written by William R. Keylor and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-12-07 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this definitive history, William R. Keylor traces the tumultuous relationship between Charles de Gaulle and a host of other key twentieth-century figures: his former mentor Marshal Philippe Pétain, who headed the collaborationist government in the southern French city of Vichy as the German army occupied the northern two-thirds of the country; Sir Winston Churchill, the British prime minister whose government supported and financed de Gaulle and the Free French, but who clashed with the French leader on a number of hot-button issues; and, most critically, the six American presidents from FDR to Nixon. Keylor uses the metaphor “thorn in the side” to emphasize the fact that challenges from the intrepid French leader were often an annoyance to the Americans, who all had many more important issues to deal with—World War II for Roosevelt and Truman, the Cold War for Eisenhower, and the Vietnam War for Kennedy and Johnson. Richard Nixon alone had an excellent relationship, but the two men overlapped for only four months before de Gaulle’s retirement. Thoroughly researched and deeply knowledgeable, this gripping book will appeal to all readers interested in contemporary French and US history.
