William G. Andrews is Professor of Political Science at the State University College of New York at Brockport. He is the author of French Politics and Algeria and other books on comparative politics. Stanley Hoffmann, Professor of Government at Harvard University, also directs Harvard's Center for European Studies. He is coauthor of In Search of France, author of Decline or Renewal? France Since the 1930s, and other books on international politics.

The first twenty years of the Fifth Republic encompass four presidential elections, alternating political control of the National Assembly, and years of rapid economic growth and contraction. Thus a variety of events now allow an evaluation of the efficacy of the Fifth Republic. The chapters of this book examine: the governmental framework and various political groups that have vied for control of it; industrial development and modernization; education and culture; and foreign policy. Containing both favorable and critical assessments, the book provides a comprehensive balance sheet on the Fifth Republic and the influence of Charles de Gaulle. Its 25 essays were written by such well-known scholars as Crozier, Gagnon, Gourévitch, Ross, Suleiman, and others, as well as some of the younger generation of French specialists, with concluding synthesis by Stanley Hoffmann.
The book features an essay of historical importance on the Constitution of the Fifth Republic by the Constitution's own "father," the former Prime Minister of France, Michel Debré.
Looking into the areas of government, politics, economy, society, culture, and foreign policy, this volume gives the reader an understanding of the considerable impact of Charles de Gaulle's administration on contemporary France.