Jonathan Fenby

Charles de Gaulle and the France he saved

The general

Andrew John Kinney

This book seems to be the closest thing to a good biography of DeGaulle that exists in English, but that's really not saying much. I believe the definitive biography of De Gaulle in English has not been written, because the translation of Jean Lacouture's French language version has many flaws, chief among them that Lacouture was writing for a French audience, so he assumed on the part of his readers a lot of knowledge of French politics and recent events. A reasonable assumption for educated Francaises et Francais, but not for Americans. Fenby's book, on the other hand is far too facile and lacks depth. DeGaulle was a fascinating and polarizing figure, but for all his faults it is not an exaggeration to say he saved France. My father lived in France when DeGaulle was president, and he understood (and spoke a little) French, so he would listen to DeGaulle's addresses to the nation, and my dad had a finely tuned appreciation for obscure humor, so he enjoyed DeGaulle's speeches. Sadly, DeGaulle has been demonized in America, simply for insisting on France being a truly sovereign nation, but he accomplished so much: he set France on the path to energy independence, he dealt with decolonialization fairly and with respect for both the countries that left and the colonies that chose to stay with France (despite the Algerian quagmire), he re-wrote the constitution and gave France, finally, stable government. And much more. 

DeGaulle saw far, and so clearly. He knew that France needed to match Germany's build-up of tank divisions and fighter aircraft in the late '30's, but the government did not listen. He saw that France could maintain her honor and stay fully in the war in 1940 by evacuating the French Army and Air Force to Algeria using France's formidable Navy, but the government did not listen. And he saw and spoke of in the Appel of Juin 1940, that it was a matter of time before the Nazis would be defeated by the industrial might of the United States. He gave hope to occupied France when many, including Roosevelt, had written her off. He was great in ways we do not see in world leaders today. 

He is a man much misunderstood in the U.S., and he deserves a fairer evaluation. I wish this biography offered that in a full-throated and eloquent way.

The general Charles de Gaulle and the France he saved

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