Tony Judt provides a sharp and intellectual ideological description of mid-twentieth century French intellectuals

“Past Imperfect is a forthright and uncommonly damning study of those intellectually volatile years [1944-1956]. Mr. Judt…does more than simply describe the ideological acrobats of his subjects; he is a sharp, even a vindictive moralist who indicts these intellectuals for their inhumanity in failing to test their political thought against political reality."—John Sturrock, New York Times Book Review