France and the French: A Modern History

Wonerfully readable general history of France, tracing the threads of clericalism, fascists, republicanism, monarchists, Drefusards and anti-Drefusards and their clashes across the years.

As someone whose history of Europe was filtered through a very Anglo lense, it's compelling and revealing to understand the degree to which the rise of Vichy was based itself on anti-Republican, anti-secular, anti-Dreyfusard movements over the last 40 years; the degree to which the pro-and anti-independence movements that formed around the Algeria question were a re-hash of that fight, or that even today the Le Pen family's historical involvement in precisely those areas informs their current politics.

4580. France and the French A Modern History, by Rod Kedward (read 8 Jun 2009) This is a very erudite study of France since 1900, with more emphasis on the time after the First World War, than on the time before 1918. The study has much to commend it, but I would have liked a somewhat simpler narrative account about all the so interesting things in 20th century French history In other words, a somewhat more 'popular' book would have been more enjoyable.