Friend or Foe by Alistair Horne

Friend or Foe by Alistair Horne

In the centenary year of the Entente Cordiale between France and Britain, a new history of France by Britain's premier historian of France, at a moment when via the Euro, development of the European Union and the Tunnel, Franco-British destinies are more than ever intertwined, yet in so many other ways, immigration, the Gulf War for example, the two countries are at odds. With FRIEND OR FOE Horne follows up his recent SEVEN AGES OF PARIS (Macmillan, 2002), -'his most outstanding work,' writes Maurice Druon. 'He has perfectly grasped the wavelike contiunum in France's destiny, which travels incessantly from the peaks to the troughs.' Thus his history is 'idiosyncratic and schematic, a personalised interpretation of French history, swinging between heights and depths; cycles of illusory pursuit of 'la gloire' so often followed by hubristic disaster, and in turn miraculously swift recovery, and cultural triumph.' Horne gives a special focus on crises and dramas and personalities. He reflects on the state of the Franco-Brit 'Special Relationship' over the centuries. He will consider, in Epilogue, the proposition: is entente or rivalry, if not emnity, the natural status?F RIEND OR FOE takes a chronological approach.

"erudite, affectionate, vastly entertaining.. fascinating." - Jilly Cooper: Books of the Year, Daily Telegraph 20/11/04 "an ideal introduction to the compelling history of our nearest neighbour and closest rival" - Simon Heffer: Country Life review 4/11/04 "Horne has a genius for this sort of light-footed interpretation." - Adam Thorpe: The Guardian 20/11/04 - "As a Francophobe, I was shaken in my prejudice" - Andrew Roberts: Books of the Year, New Statesman 29/11/04 - "full throated , wonderfully readable chronicle of a nation that is neither close friend nor a sworn foe." - David Coward: Independent 26/11/04 - "His thoughtful comments, from a British perspective, about the dilemmas of occupation in the second world war were also welcome." SPECTATOR "Friend or Foe is the very fitting title of Horne's splendid story of enmities and alliances over the last thousand years, a learned tour d'Horizon written with much love of our nearest neighbour - but also offering frank opinions." - CLAUS VON BULOW THE CATHOLIC HERALD

Educated Le Rosey, Switzerland and Jesus College, Cambridge. WWII included attachment in MI5. Foreign corr, Daily Telegraph 1952-5. Founded the Alistair Horne research fellowship in modern history, St Antony's, Oxford 1969. Prizes include Hawthornden (for THE PRICE OF GLORY) and Wolfson (for A SAVAGE WAR OF PEACE). He was knighted in 2003 (Queen's birthday honours) for services to Franco-British relations.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780297848943
ISBN 10	0297848941
Title	Friend or Foe
Author	Alistair Horne
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Orion Publishing Co
Year published	2004-10-28
Number of pages	472
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable