CHARLES WILLIAMS (Lord Williams of Elvel) is Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the British House of Lords. Before embarking on his political career, he spent four years in Paris from 1966 to 1970, the last period of de Gaulle's government.

• Partial table of contents: CHILD. A Parisian Boy from Lille. The Steps of St Ignatius. SOLDIER. The Army of the Republic. A War to End Wars. Polish Interlude. Petain's Chicken. A Toe in Political Waters. The Cut of the Sickle. Is He a New Napoleon? EXILE. Laying the Corner Stone. Afric's Sunny Fountains. Who is Fighting Whom? The Eagle and the Bear Join the Party. Resistance on All Fronts. Mediterranean Storms. The Darlan Deal. From Anfa to Algiers. Waiting for Overlord. HERO. A Parisian Summer. Government Must Govern. POLITICIAN. With Peace Comes Politics. The Gamble that Failed. PHILOSOPHER. A Certain Idea of France. On Public and Private Life. HEAD OF STATE. The New Agenda. Baiting Uncle Sam. The Ides of May. Epilogue: Return to Colombey. Notes. Select Bibliography. Acknowledgements. Index.