A CERTAIN IDEA OF FRANCE: THE LIFE OF CHARLES DE GAULLE

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 quarreled violently with Churchill and Roosevelt. But through sheer force of personality and bloody-mindedness, he managed to have France recognized as one of the victorious Allies.