If any modern democratic leader has believed in the ''great man'' theory of history and acted self-consciously in accordance with it, it was surely de Gaulle. On both occasions when he came to power it was in his own right, as a ''providential figure'', not as the representative of a political or social movement. In office, his wielding of power was, by modern standards, remarkably personal; and his impact on France, and on Europe, was immense. He is a natural subject for Profiles in Power.