Historian Richard Vinen's The Last Titans is a sharply observed dual study of two statesmen who came to embody British and French resistance to Nazism. While they pursued similar goals, their profound differences shaped the second half of the 20th century.
Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle were the living, breathing symbols of their countries during World War II. They each appealed to their citizenry to resist the Nazi forces in historic speeches on June 18, 1940. Vinen's free-flowing narrative unfolds over 12 chapters, beginning with the men's early upbringings before moving into the war years and the "shadowland" of their postwar lives. Whereas Churchill's childish bonhomie meant he could be "indifferent to his dignity," "de Gaulle's public persona was like a late-medieval suit of armour--uncomfortable and largely designed for ceremonial use." Thrown together by the fall of France in 1940, the vain and theatrical Churchill and the modest and reserved de Gaulle clashed frequently.
Shrewd insights abound in Vinen's enjoyable account, many of which are worthy of underlining in ink: despite being seen "as the victors of 1945... the defining experience of their lives was defeat." Vinen ably synthesizes impressive primary and secondary sources to portray Churchill and de Gaulle as leaders forced to adjust to empire's decline in ways that created the modern versions of Britain and France--lessons that remain relevant. The Last Titans is a superlative and eye-opening analysis of two of history's most iconic heroes. --Peggy Kurkowski, freelance book reviewer in Denver