TWENTIETH-CENTURY PROFILES
An Anthology
Translated by Robert Pralle
Twentieth-Century Profiles gathers together twenty-one portraits from the French press, frequently in the form of obituaries. The names are well known. The period in which they were made was 1940-89, with World War, followed by Cold War serving as reference points. These are largely 'Big Men', as well as one Iron Lady.
Once dealt with in 'Part 1: France', the collection is not so much about as from that country; it is the French slant that reveals Golda Meïr and the others distinctively for English language readers. 'Part 2: Paris and Elsewhere' is shared by three natives plus a visiting American (President Kennedy), a German (Karl Lagerfeld), and an Iranian (Ayatollah Khomeini). Following that, the voyage is international, to 'East Europe and Beyond' (Part 3, comprising a section 'Leaders who Rose: Ho Chi Minh, Tito, Lech Walesa') then back to 'West Europe' (Part 4), which concludes with its first subject's – Charles de Gaulle – assessment of Winston Churchill.
Whilst they make a 'bookending' pair there are others that naturally suggest themselves, such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Raymond Aron; Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier-Bresson; Juan Antonio Samaranch and Giovanni Agnelli, or, as studies in contrast, Meïr and Yasser Arafat.
Respecting the grand narrative of key figures' lives while providing telling detail, Twentieth-Century Profiles is history with a human face.