Over half a century of public service, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing embodied the dream of a united and strong Europe. From the youthful enthusiasm of the 1950s to the disillusionment of the 2005 referendum, his career chronicles an ideal confronted with the realities of power, national resistance, and populist winds. He tirelessly attempted to realize his youthful dream: a United States of Europe.