The Paris Game: Charles de Gaulle, the Liberation of Paris, and the Gamble that Won France

by Ray Argyle, Maurice Vaïsse (Foreword by)

Overview

At a crucial moment in the Second World War, an obscure French general reaches a fateful personal decision: to fight on alone after his government’s flight from Paris and its capitulation to Nazi Germany.

Amid the ravages of a world war, three men — a general, a president, and a prime minister — are locked in a rivalry that threatens their partnership and puts the world’s most celebrated city at risk of destruction before it can be liberated. This is the setting of The Paris Game, a dramatic recounting of how an obscure French general under sentence of death by his government launches on the most enormous gamble of his life: to fight on alone after his country’s capitulation to Nazi Germany. In a game of intrigue and double-dealing, Charles de Gaulle must struggle to retain the loyalty of Winston Churchill against the unforgiving opposition of Franklin Roosevelt and the traitorous manoeuvring of a collaborationist Vichy France. How he succeeds in restoring the honour of France and securing its place as a world power is the stuff of raw history, both stirring and engrossing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459722866
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	08/26/2014
Pages:	488
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Ray Argyle is a Canadian journalist, the author of several books of biography and political history, and recipient of a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to Canadian life. During his long association with France, he has closely tracked the political careers of Charles de Gaulle and his successors. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Table of Contents

Introduction
 
I - Days of Darkness: The Hand is Dealt
                                                                       
Chapter 1 – The Débacle of Paris      
Chapter 2 – A Rebel at Heart
Chapter 3  - Into the Abyss
Chapter 4 – The Collapse of the Third Republic                   
 
II – Days of Defiance: The Wild Card is Drawn
 
Chapter 5 – The Appeal of June 18
Chapter 6 – Surviving the Swastika  
Chapter 7 – Soldiers of the Empire
Chapter 8 – Wild Cards in Play         
Chapter 9 – Warriors at Odds
 
III – Days of Might: The Bet is Called
 
Chapter 10 – Débarquement at Dawn                       
Chapter 11 – Return of the Fighting French 
Chapter 12 – To the Barricades!
Chapter 13 – The Road to Paris                     
 
IV – Days of Liberation: The Stakes are Raised
                       
Chapter 14 – The Liberation of Paris
Chapter 15 – Paris Exultant!              
Chapter 16 – Getting Even
Chapter 17 – From Rebel to Ruler
           
V – Days of Glory – The Wager is Won
 
Chapter 18 – The Gamble for France
Chapter 19 – The Last Battle – “Algérie francaise!”
Chapter 20 – The Republic of de Gaulle
Chapter 21 – The Legend and the Legacy
 
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Notes and Sources
Index

What People are Saying About This

Erna Paris

“The Paris Game is a superb account of Charles de Gaulle’s wartime career as the leader of France’s resistance against the Nazi occupation. Ray Argyle’s powerful narrative brings this transformational era to life with exceptional vitality and verve.”

William D. Irvine

"The Paris Game is a particularly engaging history of the Free French movement and Charles de Gaulle. It is both beautifully written and thoroughly researched. De Gaulle was a central actor in French and world history from 1940 until his death three decades later. He was both an enigmatic and controversial character. To this day historians still debate his role and legacy in the world of the late twentieth century. Ray Argyle deftly addresses these debates and gently guides the reader through them. What emerges is a compelling portrait of one of the great leaders of the last century. For the general reader looking for the one book to read about Charles de Gaulle, this would be it."

Neil Reynolds

“Ray Argyle is an author who writes exceptionally fascinating stories on social and cultural change.”

Neil Reynolds The Globe and Mail

“Ray Argyle is an author who writes exceptionally fascinating stories on social and cultural change.”

From the Publisher

"The Paris Game is a particularly engaging history of the Free French movement and Charles de Gaulle. It is both beautifully written and thoroughly researched. De Gaulle was a central actor in French and world history from 1940 until his death three decades later. He was both an enigmatic and controversial character. To this day historians still debate his role and legacy in the world of the late twentieth century. Ray Argyle deftly addresses these debates and gently guides the reader through them. What emerges is a compelling portrait of one of the great leaders of the last century. For the general reader looking for the one book to read about Charles de Gaulle, this would be it."

Ted Barris

“In retracing the legacy of Charles de Gaulle, Ray Argyle has chosen a road less travelled. His sources are not only de Gaulle’s global family, but also his blood family. Not only Churchill and Roosevelt, but also his Canadian contemporaries. Argyle brings a new perspective on one of the 20th century’s most controversial figures.”

Editorial Reviews

It is tempting to say that Ray Argyle’s well-researched, fascinating book reads like a novel, but that would be wrong. No novelist could invent such a protagonist.

Literary Review of Canada