| Cross Channel Currents: 100 Years of the Entente Cordiale Contributor(s): Johnson, Douglas (Editor), Mayne, Richard (Editor), Tombs, Robert (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0415346614 ISBN-13: 9780415346610 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $152.00 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: April 2004 Annotation: When a century ago the British foreign secretary Lord Landsdowne and the French foreign minister Theophile Delcasse signed the agreement that was soon dubbed the Entente Cordiale, they could not have realized how important a watershed it was. What began as a deal over various colonial issues became an increasingly close relationship in a world growing more dangerous. Ten years later it became a life-or-death alliance in World War I, and during the fraught inter-war period a partnership attempting vainly to keep the peace. During World War II the two countries struggled together for the freedom of Europe and their own survival. Since then, they have been leading partners in European politics and the chief representatives of Europe and defenders of its interests in the outside world. This book tells the story of the triumphs and tragedies of this hundred-year relationship, as well as the everyday common interests and shared pleasures that give it substance. It involves monarchs and politicians, soldiers and Resistance heroes, writers, artists, entrepreneurs, engineers, tourists, expatriates, sports stars and students. Many hands have made light work of the story. Those who tell it have themselves contributed to history. They include the late Roy Jenkins, in a witty and personal view of Winston Churchill's relationship with France; Pierre Messmer, a companion of Charles de Gaulle during World War II and later his prime minister; former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd, who remembers the historic meeting of Edward Heath and Georges Pompidou; Hubert Vedrine, a former French foreign minister, on future cross-Channel relations; and their successors Dominique de Villepin and JackStraw. Protagonists and witnesses are balanced by analysts and scholars from both countries. Not all are professional historians. They include well-known writers ranging from John Ardagh, Miles Kington and Gillian Tindall to Maurice Druon, Andre Fontaine and Jacques Viot. Their work has been welded into a coherent whole by theFranco-British editorial team. What the book reveals, again and again, is the importance of looking beyond agreements and disagreements to the unspoken assumptions that underlie conscious thoughts and policies. Only thus, as experience shows, can the Entente be truly Cordiale. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Education | Teaching Methods & Materials - Arts & Humanities - Political Science | Comparative Politics - Political Science | International Relations - General |
| Dewey: 327.410 |
| LCCN: 2004001265 |
| Physical Information: 0.95" H x 6.34" W x 9.5" (1.46 lbs) 344 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Cross Channel Currents explores the understandings and misunderstandings that make up the Entente Cordiale - the hundred-year relationship between Britain and France, as well as the everyday common interests and shared pleasures that give it substance. Contributors include the late Roy Jenkins, in a witty and personal view of Winston Churchill's relationship with France; Pierre Messmer, a companion of Charles de Gaulle during World War II and later his prime minister; former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd, who remembers the historic meeting of Edward Heath and Georges Pompidou; Hubert Vedrine, a former French foreign minister, on the difficulties of cross-Channel relations; and their successors Dominique de Villepin and Jack Straw. |