The Last Titans: How Churchill and de Gaulle Saved Their Nations and Transformed the World

In 1940, Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill met for the very first time, and with the future of their respective countries in doubt. Winston Churchill had recently become Britain’s Prime Minister, while France’s capitulation to Germany had forced De Gaulle to flee his country in exile. Churchill would oversee a large portion of the Allied effort until the US entry into the war over a year later. De Gaulle viewed the Vichy Government in his home country as not befitting the people and sought Churchill’s assistance in finding a way to assist with the war effort. The two leaders couldn’t have been more different, Churchill being a bombastic political animal, whereas De Gaulle was a taciturn and reluctant leader. The crucible of war would burnish their legacies, their impact on their countries’ history still felt today.

The Last Titans ranks as an exemplary dual biography delving into two leaders who shepherded their countries through the consequential Second World War. Author Richard Vinen’s important work illustrates the attributes that made Churchill & De Gaulle transformative leaders while not hesitating to point out the idiosyncrasies that made them fallible and more human.