Description
Book SynopsisTiersky examines the three major themes of Mitterrand's presidency-socialism, national reconciliation, and the reconstruction of Europe-and shows that on each count, Mitterrand left a decisive mark.
Trade ReviewThis book is fascinating for two reasons. It is a well-documented study of a complex 'political man' with a formidable appetite for power, pleasure, and life, whose career and achievements Tiersky traces with subtlety. It is also the record of a constant struggle between Tiersky's fascination with and sympathy for his subject, and his awareness of the darker sides of Mitterrand's 'Machiavellian Republicanism.' This struggle pulls the reader in, and Tiersky's scholarship and thoughtfulness allow each reader to make up his or her own mind. -- Stanley Hoffmann
Ronald Tiersky is one of the best American specialists of French politics. His excellent book on François Mitterrand will add both the point of view of a foreigner and some new insights, even for the French. -- Hubert Védrine, Minister for Foreign Affairs
The value of Tiersky's study is . . . in the way he decodes this most enigmatic of modern European leaders. . . . The psychological portrait helps explain a political career that started on the right and finished by defining the modern left in France . . . a fascinating study. -- Robert Graham * Financial Times *
Table of ContentsPart I 1 Winding Path, Contested Itinerary Chapter 1 2 Introduction: France's Most Controversial Politician Chapter 2 3 The Observatory Affair (1959): Mitterrand's Defining Crisis Chapter 3 4 Mitterrand's World War II: Between Pétain and de Gaulle Chapter 4 5 Government and Opposition, 1945 to 1981: Odyssey or Strategy? Part II 6 The Desire to Make History, 1981 to 1995 Chapter 5 7 Socialism Chapter 6 8 Europe Chapter 7 9 Legitimacy and Institutions Part III 10 Credo, Morality, Legacies Chapter 8 11 Machiavellian Republican Chapter 9 12 The Existential Mitterand Chapter 10 13 Mitterrand and the Human Comedy Chapter 11 14 Mitterrand Agonistes: Vichy Yet a Last Time (Fall 1994) Chapter 12 15 Conclusion: Legacies
