Allies at War: The Bitter Rivalry Among Churchill, Roosevelt, and de Gaulle

Simon Berthon's fine overview of General De Gaulle and his complex relationships with Churchill and Roosevelt raises more questions than it answers. I couldn't help but wonder whether a more concilliatory attitude towards De Gaulle by Churchill, and especially, Roosevelt, might have led to a more harmonious postwar relationship between the United States and France during the Cold War. Certainly France's independent foreign policy seems at times designed to be spiteful of U. S. interests; no doubt this is part of a bitter legacy stemming from De Gaulle's difficult relationships with the wartime leaders of Britain and America. Berthon does a fine job portraying De Gaulle as a stern man of principle motivated solely by what he thought was in France's best interest, not his own. Despite flaws in pacing and occasional typos, "Allies at War" is a revealing look at a largely overlooked saga of World War Two, and hence deserves my strong recommendation to those interested in Allied politics during the course of the war.

Allies at War presents the story behind the scenes of de Gaulle, FDR, and Churchill. Reading the letters between these men and their internal conversations is very revealing. FDR comes across as being judgemental and surrounding himself with many incompetent cronnies. FDR's political manuevering is interesting as he switches sides, or seems to, from appeasement of the Vichy government to flirting with the Free French as election polls dictate many of his actions. Churchill comes across as temperamental and authoritarian. Although Churchill deeply admired de Gaulle, he is willing to appease FDR's hatred for de Gaulle because of the enormous military aid which the United States can bring to bare to win the war. Charles de Gaulle comes across as man of principle who is very temperamental and outspoken. Many of the outbursts seem unforgiveable in the eyes of Churchill and FDR but often are simply honest remarks and answers to questions asked by the press.The editors did a poor job of correcting typo and grammatical mistakes in this book. Also, Berthon's pacing appears off kilter. One feels the author rushes to finish the book. FDR's flirtation with Stalin and its effect on the leaders is explored in only the slightest degree. Berthon summarizes the effect of these after war tensions in a very short chapter of fifteen pages. De Gaulle's criticizing of America's Vietnam War as a "detestable war, since it leads a great nation to ravage a small one," is portrayed as resentment against America for FDR's bad treatment of him during WWII; the author never justifies this last judgement with any collaborating facts. In conclusion, this book reveals some insight into the often contentious relationship between the three leaders. De Gaulle comes across as a man of courage, intelligence, morality, with a deep passion for France. De Gaulle sets his own course, unwilling to be a pawn of either England or the U.S. and in so doing becomes instrumental in Frances regaining its position as an important European power. Churchill comes across as the man stuck in the middle acting as a bulwark to hold the allies together. FDR is seen as a man of little conscious bent on winning the war his way, whatever the cost.