Editor's Picks

This week, don’t miss a dual portrait of Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, a study of Roman emperors through the eyes of everyday citizens, and a look into the collaboration behind Psycho

By Jim Kelly

Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle towered above much of the 20th century, though it can be argued that Churchill’s finest hours were in the early stages of World War II and that de Gaulle’s best years stretched for more than two decades after it. Both held romantic visions of their countries, though de Gaulle was more aware that his was not realistic. What Richard Vinen does so brilliantly in The Last Titans is to show how the differences between these two leaders helped dictate the destinies of their people, and he does so with just the right balance of intimate detail and trenchant analysis. De Gaulle comes across as the cannier of the two, but that may be because he had a sharper sense of tragedy. READ ON