Power and pleasure : Louis Barthou and the Third French Republic /

Young (University of Winnipeg) presents a sympathetic biography of a prominent figure in the Third Republic. Generally overlooked by historians, Louis Barthou is surely worth the attention he has at last received. He is a wonderful example of upward social mobility in the Third Republic, rising from lower middle class origins through talent, hard work, and scholarships to gain a degree in law and then election to the National Assembly in 1889. Barthou served there continuously, sometimes in office, sometimes not, until his assassination in 1934. At various times, he held almost every cabinet position, including the ministries of Interior, Justice, Foreign Affairs, and the prime ministership. Republican, but rather conservative, he was, according to Young, "an inherent temperamental centrist." Less kind was another's description of Barthou as a "quintessential intellectual tourist." Barthou himself claimed he was "neither a backward conservative nor a reckless revolutionary." This well-balanced and well-written biography is a necessary addition to Third Republic collections. Upper-division undergraduates and above.-B. Lowry, University of North Texas