France: Warrior's Rest

For all his preoccupation with building the New France, le grand Charles is also his country's grandliseur, whose voracious reading takes up at least two hours of each day. On rising, De Gaulle skims through the morning press, after lunch he peruses Le Monde, then he snatches a few chapters from a book. Evenings, De Gaulle relaxes in a bedroom chair with more books.

Inundated by gift copies, De Gaulle leafs through every volume sent him, reads with care those that seem promising. Afterward he writes personal notes in longhand to the author, length and warmth depending on his opinion...