Artists Of History (churchill And de Gaulle - The Last Titans)

By (author) Vinen Richard
Short description/annotation:
A compelling new joint biography of Churchill and de Gaulle that shines new light on two of the greatest figures of the twentieth century.
Description:

A compelling new joint biography of Churchill and de Gaulle that shines new light on two of the greatest figures of the twentieth century.

Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle were thrown together by the challenges of war. They incarnated the resistance of Britain and France to the existential threat from Nazi Germany, and their ultimate victory over Hitler has ensured their achievements will never be forgotten. But, as The Artists of History shows, that is only a small part of a complex story. Both men influenced their countries, and the world around them, long after the war was won.

De Gaulle – tall, gauche, charmless and incorruptible – exhibited qualities often associated with the English. Churchill – short, charming, a bon vivant and fond of money – resembled the quintessential politician of the French Third Republic. Their working relationship was rarely smooth, but they appreciated each other’s stature: de Gaulle said Churchill was ‘the great artist of a great history’, while Churchill recognised de Gaulle as ‘l’homme du destin’.

Richard Vinen explores what made these men exceptional and how profoundly they were influenced by their national cultures. Beyond personal intrigue, the book makes a wider point that Britain and France are both haunted by perceptions of past greatness. Vinen retraces the paths of two leaders who once helmed superpowers but lived to see their nations weakened by two world wars and the loss of empires.

Written with extraordinary narrative verve, Artists of History offers a fresh exploration into the lives of de Gaulle and Churchill. By bringing their two stories into one, each man is seen afresh and we gain new insights into their achievements and their legacy today.

Biographical note:
RICHARD VINEN is an author, historian and professor of history at Kings College London. Previously he was a Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge and lecturer at Queen Mary College. He has written for the TLS, London Review of Books, Independent, Boston Globe, Financial Times, New York Times and Nation magazine. He has appeared on radio and television, on the subject of contemporary British politics.
Promotional headline:
A compelling new joint biography of Churchill and de Gaulle that shines new light on two of the greatest figures of the twentieth century.
Feature:
Fresh comparative angle: This book will cross-examine how de Gaulle and Churchill’s leadership styles differed from each other and the impact that had on their respective nations.
Feature:
Esteemed author: Richard Vinen is an author, historian and professor of history at Kings College London. He has written for the TLS, Independent, Financial Times, New York Times, among others and has appeared on radio and television. He has written several history books on the twentieth century, amassing over 40,000 copies sold TCM.
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Established readership: This book will appeal to readers of Alan Bullock’s Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives (14,520 copies TCM), Laurence Rees’s Hitler and Stalin: The Tyrants and the Second World War (10,841 copies TCM) and Andrew Roberts’s Churchill: Walking with Destiny (61,290 copies TCM).