Charles De Gaulle: Futurist of the Nation

In this elegant and original book, Regis Debray argues that for two hundred years the defeats of the left have stemmed from its failure to understand what it likes to call the ‘national question’, while equally its successes have grown from an unacknowledged liaison with the ‘unreal reality’ of the nation.

According to Debray, Charles DE Gaulle was no narrow nationalist. By grounding his actions in a generous philosophy of the nation he was able to wed boldness to insight: on 14 June 1940 he...