A Certain Idea of France

The Life of Charles de Gaulle

By: Julian Jackson

Narrated by: John Banks

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Certain Idea of France by Julian Jackson, read by John Banks.

In six weeks in 1940, France was overrun by German troops and surrendered. One junior French general, refusing to accept defeat, made his way to England. On 18 June he spoke to his compatriots over the BBC, urging them to rally to him in London. At that moment, Charles de Gaulle entered into history.

For the rest of the war, de Gaulle frequently bit the hand that fed him. He insisted on being treated as the true embodiment of France, and quarrelled violently with Churchill and Roosevelt. But through sheer force of personality and bloody-mindedness he managed to have France recognised as one of the victorious Allies.

For 10 years after 1958 he was President of France's Fifth Republic, which he created and which endures to this day. His pursuit of 'a certain idea of France' challenged American hegemony, took France out of NATO and twice vetoed British entry into the European Community. His controversial decolonisation of Algeria brought France to the brink of civil war and provoked several assassination attempts.

Julian Jackson's magnificent biography reveals this the life of this titanic figure as never before. No previous biography has depicted his paradoxes so vividly. Much of French politics since his death has been about his legacy, and he remains by far the greatest French leader since Napoleon.

©2019 Julian Jackson (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Outstanding biography, awful pronunciation

Excellent dissection of De Gaulle's personality and deep understanding of the wider context although in my opinion the book would have benefited from being a bit shorter.
Julian Jackson shows De Gaulle's theatrical and almost grotesque pride and prickliness was real but he made a srewd use of brinkmanship and was ready to back down when necessary. Still, his ingratitude to the Allies and later his meanness to the US and Britain is shocking. His extreme awkwardness in his early career gave way to a more self-assured stance and there is an element of mischievous fun in his brutality which somehow makes it less odious. His oratory and litterary style, while often vague and opaque, was clearly outstanding.
Unfortunately the reader mispronounces half the French names he comes across, sometimes beyond recognition. This became so annoying that I switched to the excellent French version of the book, also available on Audible.

Excellent, but weird pronunciation of some French names

Great voice acting, on the whole, but I couldn't let the narrator's pronunciation of Montesquieu as "Monteskwee" slide.

Five stars in spirit, nonetheless; I like this narrator a lot, and I don't want to be impolite. Still, though.

Excellent and thorough tour de Force of de Gaulle

It is by far one of the best biographies of de Gaulle. A very interesting walk through his life and career. I knew a lot about de Gaulle during the war but found it interesting to know more of him “ruling” France in the 60s.

A masterpiece

Thrilling account of the life and time of De Gaulle. Brilliantly written and read and difficult to put down.

One of the best biographies I’ve read

I have a special relationship to France where I spent part of my life learning French and later teaching English and I try to keep up with French history, culture and ideas and visit the country several times each year. I don’t know if others who do not feel as passionately as I do will be interested in such a long and in depth audiobook but I’ve been listening for over a month and could not abandon this book - it is so well done. I have some small objections to the narrator who reads too fast and whose French is not as well pronounced as he might think. I slowed the recording down to .9x to deal with the first and noticed some small improvement as the book advanced for the second (or maybe I just got used to it). As for the text itself it couldn’t be more comprehensive or better. The author clearly knows his subject and is well read and knowledgeable about all aspects of French life and culture and politics. I found his analysis both informative and insightful. The reader, although he mispronounces things right and left, is at least comprehensible and the rhythms of his narration made things relatively easy to follow once I got used to his pace and pronunciation and kept my interest through what is a very long and detailed history. At the end of the book I felt I had a much better grasp of De Gaulle and his role in 20th century French history than even after several French history courses in college and graduate school and many years in France. I was also impressed with the scholarship of the book and I cannot recommend it highly enough for those with a passion for France or a desire to understand more about France before going there to live or visit. It was really the highlight of my reading and listening so far this year.

Best history of the last Frenchman

This book truly tells the tale of the last Frenchman and the one who saved the honor of France.

Engaging Narrative Biography of a man embodying “Gradure”

The narrator was excellent with perfect french pronunciation. De Gaulle’s life and bombastic presence on the world stage makes for a fascinating story. Well researched and neutral.

This book will help you understand modern France

Terrific book. The narrative is we structured and the content is well researched. The narrator has a great voice although he occasionally has trouble with certain French pronunciations. Although it’s a long book, it helps illuminate much of modern France and it’s institutions through the person of General De Gaulle. If you enjoy history or biography, this is a book for you!

Excellent

An excellent review of a complex figure. Well worth a listen. I recommend the book highly.

Insightful, beautiful spoken, well documented

As another reviewer mentioned, this 35 hour audio is richly detailed, insightfully written, and so engaging that it's hard to press stop! C’est parfaitement écrit et très difficile d’arrêter d’écouter!

Yes, the narrator John Banks delivers a few odd French vowels and also a few odd English syllable stresses, but these are idiosyncrasies of the voice-actor and no cause for righteous indignation. Author Julian Jackson weaves a brilliantly nuanced portrait of CdG as a towering, determined, and often intimidating man.

De Gaulle believed that He * was * France. The scion of conservative Catholic academics, he held an unswerving belief in his own historical destiny. The text is interwoven with quotations from many contemporary sources, including deGaulle's memoires, letters, and speeches; diaries of his peers; and scholarly assessments from professional historians.

CdG's quirks, habits, style of movement, family life, literacy -- all suggest his inner world, feelings, and convictions. WW-2 figures play complex psychological roles. Through the eyes of those in his orbit, we meet Churchill [who despised deG] Roosevelt [who dismissed deG] Stalin [who toyed with deG] and Eisenhower [who remained friendly] along with the hard-working diplomats who had to deal with the moody, vengeful savior [Harriman, Eden].

His autocratic leadership and bitter animosities emerge again during the violent Algerian independence and the creation of the Fifth Republic. The author's stance is profoundly insightful while remaining coherently objective. It was so good that I listened twice! Well recommended!