One of the best Bio I ever read .

This is one of the best Bio I ever listen, comparable in depth to Martin Gilbert Churchill.

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Excellent

One of the best audible books I’ve listened to. De Gaulle was clearly a great man. This book does him justice.

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Perfect

A remarkable listen. I must commend the narrator on his conveyance of this beautiful story. I look forward to both voice actor and author's next venture

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not a man in history but a man of history

narrator, format, content and subject all good, a narrative of determinism, contingency and Degaulle

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Regurgitation of the Modern Joan of Arc - France.

Excellent reading, especially the portrayal of De Gaulle's baritone voice. I learned so much more about the General
from this rather than the Press portrayal of him. It balanced up the narrative.

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superb

This is a historical biography of the very highest order. Sometimes the reader's pronunciation of the French words is confusing but perfect is the enemy of good.

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3 people found this helpful

A detailed account of De Gaulle

This is a very thorough and detailed account of the one man that made the french want to believe in themselves again. Although De Gaulle was an acute sufferer of Fashoda syndrome, symptoms being petulance, ignorance, double standards, extreme grumpiness and very anti British. This is the continuing thread of this book as it obviously ran through De Gaulle like a stick of rock.
Throughout his career from 1940 until his death he changed the main role and purpose of all french presidents thereafter. That number one role, their main purpose of each and all french presidents is to make France look important. A job that gets harder with each year and each new president. Whether it is Leaving nato, blocking the UK’s eu entry in the 60’s or our leaving the eu, or even lately with the tantrums over AUKUS. Even macrons humiliating attempt of trying to place himself at the centre of negotiations with putin and the war in Ukraine, desperate phone conversations and a embarrassment to france.
Unfortunately making France look important cannot be done through economic, military or diplomatic strength. It is solely done through the awkwardness and stubbornness we see today.
One of the reasons I listened to this book is the hope that it would shed some light on how France got a UN big five seat, something I have tried researching for years. Originally the UN was going to have a Big three- USA, Russia and UK. This then changed to a big four with China and then, literally 2 and a half months before it’s establishment france was announced it would be the fifth member. No one knows how this came about or the negotiations involved. Sadly this book also glossed over it.
Still, a fantastic achievement of a book and very well narrated.

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9 people found this helpful

Magnificent. A masterpiece.

Wow, this was absolutely breathtaking! "A Certain Idea of France" is a detailed and fascinating account of De Gaulle's life, career, and the thirty years he spent at the helm of French politics and public life. Most importantly, however, the author puts all events of De Gaulle's private and professional life into a broader context of the situation both in and out of France. The book thus succeeds at painting an extraordinarily vivid picture of De Gaulle, undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and complex figures in world history. Yet, despite all the detail and context, the text never gets stodgy or lifeless - Jackson's writing is riveting.
Anyone interested in history will savour every word of this magnificent book. "A Certain Idea of France" is a masterpiece!

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2 people found this helpful

Extraordinary book...needs a narrator who knows French

This is a genuinely monumental book and the definitive biography of de Gaulle in any language, including French. It has indeed been recognised as such even in France, usually scathing of foreigners interpreting their national symbol. But a narrator should have been chosen who spoke French or checked pronunciation: half the proper nouns are terribly mangled. E.g it is Edgard Faure, no accent on the last e (not like the composer), the Duc d’Enghein, hard g not like engine, and so on for hundreds of characters and places. But do buy this great book.

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5 people found this helpful

Hugely informative

I knew nothing about de Gaulle previously and only had a primary school understanding of the part France and the French played in ww2. A lot of detail here, which was great but for the times when I wasn’t fully concentrating it was still possibly to pick up the gist.
Great sense of the personalities involved too; above all the supremely enigmatic General.
Very clear narration too, not too speedy when so much information involved and excellent sense of his voice. Highly recommend.

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2 people found this helpful