Raymond (French studies, U. of Bristol, England) traces how the destiny of the party is woven into the evolution of French society as a whole, especially during the life of the Fifth Republic since the 1920s. At times it stood in opposition to the Republic and at other times embodied and exaggerated the changes within it, he says, but in both cases it reflected the state of French society at that particular time as well as the state of its own existence. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)