Exceptional biography
5 stars
This is a massive book, but it rarely feels like it doesn't justify its size. De Gaulle's life is examined in detail, but it's not just a listing of the facts. Jackson is seeking to explain why this one man became such an emblematic symbol of France, looking at how chance collided with his sense of destiny in 1940 to leave him alone in London yet claiming to be the last one who could speak for France. He captures the fluidity of the time impressively, not treating anything as inevitable but showing the contingencies De Gaulle faced along the way. There's a slight feeling of it pestering out towards the end, but that's a reflection of its subject failing to find a new purpose after the Algerian crisis was settled. Well worth reading for anyone with an interest in French history.