Charles de Gaulle

A Thorn in the Side of Six American Presidents

Inbunden, Engelska, 2020

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Beskrivning

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.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2020-12-07
Mått:161 x 241 x 28 mm
Vikt:676 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:376
Förlag:Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN:9781442236745

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Mer om författaren

William R. Keylor is professor emeritus at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has received the Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Methodist Scholar-Teacher Award; has been a Fulbright scholar; and has been awarded fellowships by the Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and the Earhart Foundation. He is an elected member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies and a former president of the Society for French Historical Studies, and was named Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.

Recensioner i media

Over the course of 11 chapters, Keylor charts the path of Charles de Gaulle, France's foremost 20th-century leader, as he interacted with the six American presidencies that accompanied his political career. Though emphasizing and elucidating de Gaulle's relationship with those leaders, Keylor also provides a substantial biography of the first president of France's Fifth Republic (established in 1958). The source base draws widely from primary sources, yet the author does a good job of incorporating the salient points of the numerous de Gaulle biographies that have appeared over the years. Some discussions are extremely rich, notably those concerning the Frenchman's relationships with Presidents Roosevelt and Eisenhower. The balanced approach corrects several common misconceptions that dominate American views of French foreign policy in the 1950s and 1960s by contextualizing France within a globally evolving international situation.... this book succeeds in charting the many disputes that made de Gaulle both unbearable in and essential to the Franco-American special relationship. Recommended.

Innehållsförteckning

Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 The Young Charles de Gaulle, 1890–1940: Before the Fall of France Chapter 2 Fallen France, 1940–1941: Occupation, Collaboration, and Exile Chapter 3 FDR and de Gaulle, 1940–1945: A Cold Shoulder from the “Stubborn Dutchman” to the “Stubborn Frenchman” Chapter 4 France’s Role in the Postwar International Order Chapter 5 Truman and de Gaulle, 1945–1946: A Brief Encounter with Pinpricks Chapter 6 De Gaulle in the Political Wilderness, 1946–1958: Failed Attempt at a Comeback before Success Chapter 7 Eisenhower and de Gaulle, 1958–1961: Two Wartime Buddies in PowerChapter 8 Kennedy and de Gaulle, 1961–1963: JFK’s Grand Design DerailedChapter 9 Johnson and de Gaulle, 1963–1968: Distant Antagonists Chapter 10 Nixon and de Gaulle, 1969: Realism Triumphant and Mutual Admiration Chapter 11 De Gaulle and the United States: A Long and Contentious Relationship A Note on Sources Notes Bibliography Index About the Author