The Almost Impossible Ally

In 1963, General de Gaulle (described by the Foreign Office as Prime Minister Macmillan's ""almost impossible ally"") aggressively vetoed Britain's first bid to join the Common Market. It was a blow that delayed Britain's entry for a decade and hastened the end of Harold Macmillan's political career. Peter Mangold explores the complex issues that bound the two men in the post-war world, from decolonization to co-operation in the Cold War, and the character traits that separated them in this fascinating portrait of an Anglo-French friendship that turned sour.