Review by Choice Review
Farrar presents a detailed study of Alexandre Millerand, a dominant figure of the French Third Republic. Farrar argues that Millerand was a pragmatist with principles and a man whose Jacobin patriotism was matched only by his faith in a democratic Republic. Using excellent sources, including archival collections of Millerand materials and unpublished French governmental documents, Farrar investigates Millerand's extraordinarily long political career, which included ministerial office as early as 1899 and part of a term as president of the Republic, from which position he was driven in 1924. This study is political biography in the classic sense; the author goes to some pains to avoid presenting a psychobiography, perhaps at the expense of dehumanizing her subject. Expanding Leslie Derfler's Alexandre Millerand (CH, Oct'78), which took Millerand only to about 1905, Farrar makes sound and well-documented judgments. Her style is adequate and clear, but not sprightly. She concludes that Millerand's apparent movement from Left to Right was less a change in him than it was a change in the France around him. Upper-division undergraduates and above.-B. Lowry, University of North Texas
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
