Jim: Often we can see things that are outside of our domain of expertise better than people on the inside, ken because they're j'st too close to it. gerard was a young frenchman who'd come to america shortly after the second world war. His background was not in he was really a historian by trade. Wrote his dissertation on french us perceptions of each other - which is a fascinating topic. Didn't want to turn down work. Didn't wants to turn down money.