The Last Titans: Churchill and de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle - tall, gauche, charmless and incorruptible - exhibited qualities often associated with the English. Winston Churchill - short, charming, a bon vivant, fond of money and not too scrupulous about how he got it - resembled the quintessential Third Republic politician. But perhaps most intriguing were their opinions of each other:

?The great artist of a great history,' de Gaulle on Churchill
?Greeting him, I said in a low tone in French: ?l'homme du destin,'' Churchill on de Gaulle

On the surface, a ?man of destiny' suggests that individuals shape fortunes, while an ?artist of history' implies a crafting of historical myths; a political act in itself. Richard Vinen takes this analysis one step further, exploring 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 loss of empires. He also argues that the British, unlike the French, have often mistaken these beliefs for reality - a point that is particularly pertinent to Britain in the aftermath of Brexit.

Written with extraordinary narrative verve, Artists of History offers a fresh exploration into the legacies of de Gaulle and Churchill, considering their orchestration in their countries' destinies and desolation.