But come on, admit it: deep down there's something in all of us that likes to take a swipe at our Gallic friends... And this book provides you with fifty painstakingly researched, wittily written reasons to back up your prejudices. From an analysis of France's greatest military victories ('Did you mean "French military defeats"?') to a review of its most pungent cheeses, from an examination - at arm's length - of their personal hygiene to close-up pen portraits of French personalities like De Gaulle, Napoleon and Serge Gainsbourg, the Quasimodo of French Pop, this book answers every question you've ever had about the French - except one: 'Why only fifty?'