De Gaulle was instrumental in shaping the political agenda of his world, with a degree of success that other Western leaders, in their different spheres, often found elusive. His personal achievements have to be seen alongside the more impersonal forces at work in the political and social culture, but de Gaulle was undeniably a - if not the - moving spirit in the creation of La France Libre, the post-war recognition of France as a great power and one of the occupying forces in Germany, the establishment of the Fifth Republic after returning to power in 1958, the ending of the war in Algeria and the successful programme of decolonization, the creation of institutions that have given France political stability and permitted modernization to proceed successfully, the development of a distincitive voice for France both within the European Community and in the wider world. This book sets these and other matters in the context of their times and each contributor to the book focuses on the kinds of questions and issues that provide a fuller understanding of France's - and one of the world's most influential figures this century.