Friend or Foe

by Alistair Horne

A century after the Entente Cordiale ended centuries of war and enmity between France and Britain, and two hundred years after the coronation of Britain's deadly enemy, Napoleon Bonaparte, as Emperor, Alistair Horne contemplates two thousand years of France. The Entente Cordiale meant different things to the signatories. For France it meant, quite simply, the certainty at last of an ally who would counter-balance the dread power of Kaiser Wilhelm II's vast and menacing Reich on her doorstep. For Britain the Entente signified an end to centuries of conflict with France, but it also meant inevitable involvement in a major European war. The modern rift over the Iraq war has emphasized once again that a slim channel of water may be all that separates the countries physically, but in temperament, in attitudes, in life generally -- and, particularly, in history itself -- the differences remain fundamental, and intense.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Sir Alistair Allan Horne was an English journalist, biographer and historian of Europe, especially of 19th and 20th century France. He wrote more than 20 books on travel, history, and biography. He won the following awards: Hawthornden Prize, 1963, for The Price of Glory; Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Prize and Wolfson Literary Award, both 1978, both for A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962; French Légion d'Honneur, 1993, for work on French history;and Commander of the British Empire (CBE), 2003.

Reviews

[M.J. Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, which I’m learning a lot from. But Horne makes the basic and annoying mistake of saying ‘England’s Mary Stuart’ - after all the detailed research how is it possible to call a Scottish born queen, from a Scottish royal family, at a time before the union of crowns, English?

Folks: England is not the whole of the UK by itself!

[Frank Fragguzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of France written in a flashing decorative style that highlights the drama, but also provides insight into the political machinations throughout French history. For the most part it reads quickly and interestingly, but does get bogged down with the many characters and plots which he often presents in retrospect rather than chronologically.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi overzicht van de geschiedenis vaN Frankrijk. Vlot geschreven.Goed te gebruiken als voorbereiding voor het examenonderwerp 'Een Republiek in een tijd van vorsten, voor het deel over Frankrijk.