The De Gaulle Revolution
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
In the turbulent spring of 1958, France stood on the precipice of collapse — its government paralysed, its empire fracturing, and its army in open revolt — until one towering figure stepped from the shadows of history to reshape the republic in his own image. The De Gaulle Revolution chronicles the dramatic political upheaval that brought General Charles de Gaulle back to power, dismantling the Fourth Republic and forging the Fifth in its place, as witnessed and analysed by one of the most astute foreign correspondents of the twentieth century. Alexander Werth, drawing on his unparalleled on-the-ground experience in France, presents a vivid and meticulously detailed account of the backroom manoeuvres, street-level tensions, and constitutional crisis that defined this pivotal moment in modern French history. Werth's prose combines the immediacy of journalism with the depth of scholarly analysis, illuminating the profound contradictions of de Gaulle himself — a man of conservative instincts who nonetheless dismantled the existing order, a nationalist who would ultimately grant Algeria its independence. The broader themes of democratic fragility, military power, and the cult of personality resonate far beyond French borders, rendering this account as relevant as ever. For anyone seeking to understand how a democracy can be legally, peacefully, and utterly transformed by a single force of will, this is an indispensable chronicle.
Author: Alexander Werth
Format: Hardback
Genre: European history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
In the turbulent spring of 1958, France stood on the precipice of collapse — its government paralysed, its empire fracturing, and its army in open revolt — until one towering figure stepped from the shadows of history to reshape the republic in his own image. The De Gaulle Revolution chronicles the dramatic political upheaval that brought General Charles de Gaulle back to power, dismantling the Fourth Republic and forging the Fifth in its place, as witnessed and analysed by one of the most astute foreign correspondents of the twentieth century. Alexander Werth, drawing on his unparalleled on-the-ground experience in France, presents a vivid and meticulously detailed account of the backroom manoeuvres, street-level tensions, and constitutional crisis that defined this pivotal moment in modern French history. Werth's prose combines the immediacy of journalism with the depth of scholarly analysis, illuminating the profound contradictions of de Gaulle himself — a man of conservative instincts who nonetheless dismantled the existing order, a nationalist who would ultimately grant Algeria its independence. The broader themes of democratic fragility, military power, and the cult of personality resonate far beyond French borders, rendering this account as relevant as ever. For anyone seeking to understand how a democracy can be legally, peacefully, and utterly transformed by a single force of will, this is an indispensable chronicle.