De Gaulle

Perhaps never in world history has the importance of being in the right place at the right time been more aptly expressed than when describing the career of Charles De Gaulle. Prior to reading this extensively researched and meticulously presented biography of De Gaulle, my knowledge of his career was limited to his leadership of the Free French during World War II. I was aware that he played a role in post-war French politics, but the details were sketchy.

Prior to World War II, De Gaulle was a mid-level French military officer with low level political postings. His combat experience was limited, though not in any way deficient for one of his era. With the fall of France and the formation of the Vichy government however, De Gaulle found show more himself in London as virtually the only French government official willing to oppose the Vichy regime. Even then, his personality was so combative and abrasive, that the Allies constantly searched for someone to replace him.

If there is one thing you will take away from this biography, it should be that De Gaulle was a miserable human being. He was perhaps the most egotistical man of an era that certainly had more than its share. He alienated virtually everyone that came into contact with him. It would seem that the more time you spent around him, the more you came to detest him. He was particularly unpleasant and disloyal to those who helped him the most. He was duplicitous and manipulative beyond what was required, even given some of the extreme circumstances that confronted him. Were it not for finding himself virtually alone in London, in opposition to Vichy, it is unlikely that he would have risen any further than he had prior to the war; he was that unpleasant.

Given that, he played his cards well enough during the war to emerge as the singular savior to the French people, presenting himself as the modern Joan of Arc. He parlayed this unassailable popularity into a very short reign before resigning in a pique, after which, he spent the next twelve years sniping behind the scenes in an attempt to return to power, at some points bordering on treason such as when he implicitly approved a coup d’état, which became unnecessary when the 1958 Algerian Crisis led to his ascension back to power.

Upon returning to power, he parlayed the Algerian crisis, and the mystique surrounding his name into ten years of near dictatorial rule. His almost sociopathic hatred of the United States and Great Britain was a constant source of political turmoil within NATO and the nascent European Community. While it can be said that almost everything he did was in furtherance of French interests, many of his positions and actions were counterproductive and ultimately damaging.

This is an outstanding biography of one of the most important political figures of the 20th century, and well worth the time required to wade through its 800 densely packed pages. show less