Verwandte Artikel zu France And the French: A Modern History

France And the French: A Modern History - Hardcover

Kedward, Rod

 
9781585677337: France And the French: A Modern History
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 1585677337 ISBN 13: 9781585677337
Verlag: Overlook Books, 2006

Inhaltsangabe

The definitive portrait of modern France--an authoritative history that sheds new light on the perceptions and prejudices surrounding America's most controversial ally.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Rod Kedward is the author of many works on occupied France and the resistance, among them the remarkable Resistance in Vichy France and In Search of the Maquis, which won the Philippe Vianney Prize in France. He has been honored by the French government and is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Sussex.

Rezensionen

From one perspective, the last century was unkind to France. The French endured two disastrous world wars, the drain of colonial wars in Vietnam and Algeria, and the subsequent loss of empire and the "grandeur" associated with it. Yet, in a cultural sense, France continued as a dynamic, vibrant civilization, producing literature, philosophical concepts, and cinema, which exerted an influence far beyond its borders. Kedward, author of many works on occupied France and the resistance, writes a superbly researched and comprehensive account of France from the apex of French imperial power to the close of the century as France struggles for influence within the European community of nations. Although this is essentially a narrative history, Kedward does not confine himself to political and military developments, also tackling such varied subjects as immigration, social change, and the ongoing search for a redefined national identity. Those with a basic knowledge of the broad outlines of French history will find this a valuable and often provocative examination. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

France rarely receives good press. Criticized for its haughtiness and breathtaking hypocrisy, France exists, so to speak, in a world of its own. Much of the abuse stems from a lack of understanding, says Kedward, an authority on France during WWII (In Search of the Maquis). He sets out to explain that "elusive, evocative quality" which is Frenchness. This book is not an easy read, but it's an amply rewarding one. The Revolution is alive and well in France, Kedward says, and every decision, every policy, is judged according to its adherence to enlightened republican principles. Conventional political distinctions between right and left are tangential to the ongoing struggle between revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries. Just as abortion and gun-rights politics in America are utterly bewildering to the French, Americans fail to appreciate how the seemingly minor issue of Muslim head scarves in state schools can create an existential crisis of national identity. France, in other words, is less a country than an ideology—and a troubled one at that. Kedward's book may be the best tonic for Franco-American relations since the Statue of Liberty. 33 b&w photos, 5 maps. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Verlag
Overlook Books
Erscheinungsdatum
2006
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1585677337
ISBN 13 
9781585677337
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
712
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar