by Winston S. Churchill
The second of six volumes, Their Finest Hour takes us through the momentous year of 1940 beginning with the start of the Battle of France and the ascension of Winston Churchill to the Prime Ministership. In many places this volume is more gripping than the one that precedes it - the Norwegian campaign, which I found was discussed at too far a length, is almost immediately forgotten about as the real show in France takes center stage. Churchill describes the Battle for France in an excellent manner, rightly describing it as the preventable high tragedy that it was. Much to my surprise, and happiness, the descriptions of the interplay between the British and French governments hold center stage through most of this first half of the book. Churchill shows with remarkable ease the sense of hopelessness that rapidly came to dominate French thinking. Their principal military leaders - Gamelin and Weygand - are either incompetent or unable to react in step with events (in one remarkable scene Churchill describes meeting with the French government in a chateau with only one phone, located in the restroom of all places). The French political leadership is almost as bad, but its strongest figures such as Paul Reynaud are simply not up to the task.
Following the Battle of France the rest of the book looks at the Battle of Britain, Home Defenses in Britain, negotiations to keep the French fleet out of German hands, relations with Vichy France and Nationalist Spain, Lend-Lease, and the situation in the Middle East. On a large degree these lack the tempo that the first half of the book has, and took me much longer to get through until the pace improved dramatically near the end with the British victory over Italian forces on the Egyptian border. Still, this second volume is just as good as the first - their is still a large number of high quality maps included and almost a hundred pages of appendixes of which a large portion are Winston Churchill's private correspondence. My only complaint is the amount of run on shown by some of the correspondence put directly into the text, and the lack of responses to those letters - especially from figures such as Franklin Roosevelt.
***** out of *****
Thursday, May 15, 2008
New Books
Unsurprisingly walking up to the bank to deposit my tax rebate cheque this week led me to not one, but two, bookstores which stole yet more money from my week bibliophile hands. All together I returned with eight more books...
1. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (review below)
2. Treat 'Em Rough! The Birth of American Armor, 1917-20 by Dale E. Wilson
A nice hardcover edition
3. Fatal Passage: The untold story of John Rae, the Arctic adventurer who discovered the fate of Franklin by Ken McCoogan
I have a small thing in my heart for good exploration yarns. Plus it was oddly connected with Heart of Darkness.
4. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by Alfred Thayer Mahan
I've wanted this one for awhile and every time I head into the BookMart I've almost grabbed one of the four or five editions they have. This time I grabbed a nice 1960s hardcover edition with plenty of nice maps.
5. Churchill's Second World War volumes three through six.
I'm almost done the second volume and only picked up the first two the last time I went to the BookMart and grabbed the last four - all first editions of the Houghton Mifflin mass market hardcovers from the late 1940s - early 1950s. They look awfully nice on my bookcase (which I think is perceptibly groaning under the weight of all these books).
1. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (review below)
2. Treat 'Em Rough! The Birth of American Armor, 1917-20 by Dale E. Wilson
A nice hardcover edition
3. Fatal Passage: The untold story of John Rae, the Arctic adventurer who discovered the fate of Franklin by Ken McCoogan
I have a small thing in my heart for good exploration yarns. Plus it was oddly connected with Heart of Darkness.
4. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by Alfred Thayer Mahan
I've wanted this one for awhile and every time I head into the BookMart I've almost grabbed one of the four or five editions they have. This time I grabbed a nice 1960s hardcover edition with plenty of nice maps.
5. Churchill's Second World War volumes three through six.
I'm almost done the second volume and only picked up the first two the last time I went to the BookMart and grabbed the last four - all first editions of the Houghton Mifflin mass market hardcovers from the late 1940s - early 1950s. They look awfully nice on my bookcase (which I think is perceptibly groaning under the weight of all these books).
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
I very rarely read fiction these days, but I grabbed Heart of Darkness the last time I went to Pennywise Books right next to my bank after having had it alluded at several times in King Leopold's Ghost which I read last year.
While small this book was really packed deep. Haunting really, as I read onwards my heart increasingly palpitated as I got further into the story as Marlow - narrating from the deck of a ship in the Thames - recounts his voyage up the Congo river towards a man named Kurtz. Kurtz as we are told - in hushed tones early in the work - is the head of the Central Station up the river, the most successful ivory trader by far, but alone in the wilds he's gone mad. The backdrop of the Congo Free State is pitch perfect as an element of late nineteenth century colonial Africa in the wake of the "scramble" for that continent. Conrad rather quickly - and effectively - shows the horrors and moral darkness of the peculiar form of colonialism that existed in the Congo at that time. Non-whites are shown with distain - at best just "niggers," but more often referred to as savages who can barely be excised from the jungle, or as cannibals. Coexisting with that most evident form of darkness is the theme of personal moral darkness as Marlow goes up the river and sees the trappings of civilization collapse, culminating in the most savage of sights at Kurtz's station. On the whole, I very much liked Heart of Darkness. It kept me enthralled throughout and managed to get much more meaning into just over a hundred pages than most books manage to get in four or five times that much.
***** out of *****
I very rarely read fiction these days, but I grabbed Heart of Darkness the last time I went to Pennywise Books right next to my bank after having had it alluded at several times in King Leopold's Ghost which I read last year.
While small this book was really packed deep. Haunting really, as I read onwards my heart increasingly palpitated as I got further into the story as Marlow - narrating from the deck of a ship in the Thames - recounts his voyage up the Congo river towards a man named Kurtz. Kurtz as we are told - in hushed tones early in the work - is the head of the Central Station up the river, the most successful ivory trader by far, but alone in the wilds he's gone mad. The backdrop of the Congo Free State is pitch perfect as an element of late nineteenth century colonial Africa in the wake of the "scramble" for that continent. Conrad rather quickly - and effectively - shows the horrors and moral darkness of the peculiar form of colonialism that existed in the Congo at that time. Non-whites are shown with distain - at best just "niggers," but more often referred to as savages who can barely be excised from the jungle, or as cannibals. Coexisting with that most evident form of darkness is the theme of personal moral darkness as Marlow goes up the river and sees the trappings of civilization collapse, culminating in the most savage of sights at Kurtz's station. On the whole, I very much liked Heart of Darkness. It kept me enthralled throughout and managed to get much more meaning into just over a hundred pages than most books manage to get in four or five times that much.
***** out of *****
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Churchill's Second World War: Retreat!
It's been a few days since I finished the first volume of this series. If this was a series of fiction books Churchill would have basically left us with a gigantic cliffhanger knowing that the main thrust of the German war effort would not be finding its way against the French, Belgian, and Dutch armies with the BEF making its efforts to help yet ultimately being forced into the "miracle" at Dunkirk.
Churchill did a very admirable job with this part of his narrative and does well to weave himself into it - most noticeably by way of his several visits to the leaders of the French government such as Paul Reynaud (then Prime Minister of France) and Georges Mandel. Churchill's immediate interactions with these figures give us a few more interesting and very alluring character profiles that I've really fallen in love with. Reynaud comes off as a man attempting to save France and continue the fight but proves incapable of mustering the effort required. Mandel appears the governmental version of Charles de Gaulle - full of bluster and temerity towards the German onslaught. Both Weygand and Gamelin seem considerably out of their depth, the former perhaps coming onto the seen a little too late and the latter for having absolutely no reserves in hand to deliver a decisive counter-attack when the opportunity loomed so large at the apex of the battle. In almost Shakespearean tones Laval seems to be lurking in the wings, waiting his chance to bring France directly in line with the Germans. Curiously Petain is not discussed much, merely tossed aside as a defeatist - which seems too nonchalant for such a mysterious figure. That said the diplomatic battle to keep France in the fight, perhaps in North Africa, and then to get ahold of their fleet, and the small battle to effect a union of Britain and France was I dare say more engrossing than the actual overview of the fighting.
Right now I stand at the start of the Battle of Britain. Churchill has gotten me thoroughly stoked - as early as pg. 238 when he sums up the reaction to the British assault on the French fleet at Oran.
Churchill did a very admirable job with this part of his narrative and does well to weave himself into it - most noticeably by way of his several visits to the leaders of the French government such as Paul Reynaud (then Prime Minister of France) and Georges Mandel. Churchill's immediate interactions with these figures give us a few more interesting and very alluring character profiles that I've really fallen in love with. Reynaud comes off as a man attempting to save France and continue the fight but proves incapable of mustering the effort required. Mandel appears the governmental version of Charles de Gaulle - full of bluster and temerity towards the German onslaught. Both Weygand and Gamelin seem considerably out of their depth, the former perhaps coming onto the seen a little too late and the latter for having absolutely no reserves in hand to deliver a decisive counter-attack when the opportunity loomed so large at the apex of the battle. In almost Shakespearean tones Laval seems to be lurking in the wings, waiting his chance to bring France directly in line with the Germans. Curiously Petain is not discussed much, merely tossed aside as a defeatist - which seems too nonchalant for such a mysterious figure. That said the diplomatic battle to keep France in the fight, perhaps in North Africa, and then to get ahold of their fleet, and the small battle to effect a union of Britain and France was I dare say more engrossing than the actual overview of the fighting.
Right now I stand at the start of the Battle of Britain. Churchill has gotten me thoroughly stoked - as early as pg. 238 when he sums up the reaction to the British assault on the French fleet at Oran.
The elimination of the French Navy as an important factor almost at a single stroke by violent action produced a profound impression in every country. Here was this Britain which so many had counted down and out, which strangers had supposed to be quivering on the brink of surrender to the mighty power arrayed against her, striking ruthlessly at her dearest friends of yesterday and securing for awhile to herself the undisputed command of the sea. It was made plain that the British War Cabinet feared nothing and would stop at nothing. This was true.In addition to this, I'm also really enjoying the amount of maps, tables, and appendix's that were included. Just a treat.
Weekly Wishlist (May 11th, 2008)
I've got a problem with wanting more books than I could possibly read in any short period and as a result my browser has an overabundance of links to wishlisted books. Here are three...
1. Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War by Robert A. Doughty
I've always been a rather avid reader when it comes to the First World War - but little to none of this has been on the French role in that conflict though they were arguably the most important of the Allied nations when it came to land forces. Over the last two years I've only read two books on the French contribution in the First World War - Verdun 1916 by Malcolm Brown, which was merely okay, and the very good Paths of Glory: The French Army 1914-1918 by Anthony Clayton. Picking up this book, along with Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 should do much to round out my knowledge.
2. Beyond Baghdad: Postmodern War and Peace by Ralph Peters
It still occasionally surprises me that the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan interest me on a level other than just regular old wanting to keep in touch with current military news, etc. I've devoured a few books on the Iraq war - most notably Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor and House to House by David Bellavia. The latter being an absolutely engrossing memoir which includes perhaps the most gut wrenching and arresting testament of close-quarters combat I've seen written down. This, and my readings as a result of a poly. sci. class on foreign relations where great emphasis was placed on the transitions since the collapse of the Soviet Union has got me wanting this book.
3. Military Innovation in the Interwar Period by Williamson R. Murray (Editor) and Allan R. Millett (Editor)
As noted above I highly enjoy devouring a good First World War book, and do enjoy the occassional book on the Second World War - as evidenced by my current love of Winston Churchill's series on that war. As I'm still on the early volumes of that series this book would fit in well as it seems it has nice essays on the development of radar, armour theory, strategic and tactical bombing, and aircraft carriers (though I'd really like a full volume on that particular subject).
1. Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War by Robert A. Doughty
I've always been a rather avid reader when it comes to the First World War - but little to none of this has been on the French role in that conflict though they were arguably the most important of the Allied nations when it came to land forces. Over the last two years I've only read two books on the French contribution in the First World War - Verdun 1916 by Malcolm Brown, which was merely okay, and the very good Paths of Glory: The French Army 1914-1918 by Anthony Clayton. Picking up this book, along with Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 should do much to round out my knowledge.
2. Beyond Baghdad: Postmodern War and Peace by Ralph Peters
It still occasionally surprises me that the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan interest me on a level other than just regular old wanting to keep in touch with current military news, etc. I've devoured a few books on the Iraq war - most notably Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor and House to House by David Bellavia. The latter being an absolutely engrossing memoir which includes perhaps the most gut wrenching and arresting testament of close-quarters combat I've seen written down. This, and my readings as a result of a poly. sci. class on foreign relations where great emphasis was placed on the transitions since the collapse of the Soviet Union has got me wanting this book.
3. Military Innovation in the Interwar Period by Williamson R. Murray (Editor) and Allan R. Millett (Editor)
As noted above I highly enjoy devouring a good First World War book, and do enjoy the occassional book on the Second World War - as evidenced by my current love of Winston Churchill's series on that war. As I'm still on the early volumes of that series this book would fit in well as it seems it has nice essays on the development of radar, armour theory, strategic and tactical bombing, and aircraft carriers (though I'd really like a full volume on that particular subject).
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Second World War, vol. 1: The Gathering Storm
by Winston S. Churchill
It wouldn't be an understatement to call this one of the most important works of history of the twentieth century. The first of six volumes by Winston Churchill this book chronicles the period between the end of the First World War, through the growing German and Italian threats to the peace, and into the war as far as the Battle of France. To say that this book is well written would be a substantial understatement. Churchill has a way with the English language that is very rarely seen which serves to enliven a story that has been done to death in the decades since this was originally published. As a participant at the highest levels of government throughout most of the period of this book, and especially after the start of the war, there is an added level of clarity, moral force, and insights that are often lost in most examinations of the period. Of particular note I found were the various descriptions of those principal actors such as Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, and Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov. Contrary to my expectations, Chamberlain himself is not vastly attacked by Churchill in any substantially prolonged way, especially after Munich when his demeanor changed drastically - a better accounting of the failures of the prewar government fall to Baldwin as it stands in this account for putting party over country. On the whole much of the emphasis in this volume is placed on the prewar era, and rightfully so - while the period described from September 1939 to May 1940 is also of the highest quality it does drag at some points with Churchill's descriptions of the Norway campaign which are perhaps too long considering the rapidly approaching thunderstorm that was making its way to fruition on the continent.
This said, while this series can be viewed as a history of the war it is better viewed as a serious of war memoirs from one of the most important figures of the war and should inevitably rest on the shelves of any respectful reader of the Second World War.
Of note for this volume itself are several very nicely done maps - particularly as they relate to the Polish campaign, Scapa Flow, the naval battle against the Graf Spee, and the Norway campaign. A variety of useful appendixes are also included, particularly those relating to naval affairs considering Winston's position as First Lord of the Admiralty from the start of the war until his assumption of the duties of the office of the Prime Minister.
***** out of *****
It wouldn't be an understatement to call this one of the most important works of history of the twentieth century. The first of six volumes by Winston Churchill this book chronicles the period between the end of the First World War, through the growing German and Italian threats to the peace, and into the war as far as the Battle of France. To say that this book is well written would be a substantial understatement. Churchill has a way with the English language that is very rarely seen which serves to enliven a story that has been done to death in the decades since this was originally published. As a participant at the highest levels of government throughout most of the period of this book, and especially after the start of the war, there is an added level of clarity, moral force, and insights that are often lost in most examinations of the period. Of particular note I found were the various descriptions of those principal actors such as Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, and Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov. Contrary to my expectations, Chamberlain himself is not vastly attacked by Churchill in any substantially prolonged way, especially after Munich when his demeanor changed drastically - a better accounting of the failures of the prewar government fall to Baldwin as it stands in this account for putting party over country. On the whole much of the emphasis in this volume is placed on the prewar era, and rightfully so - while the period described from September 1939 to May 1940 is also of the highest quality it does drag at some points with Churchill's descriptions of the Norway campaign which are perhaps too long considering the rapidly approaching thunderstorm that was making its way to fruition on the continent.
This said, while this series can be viewed as a history of the war it is better viewed as a serious of war memoirs from one of the most important figures of the war and should inevitably rest on the shelves of any respectful reader of the Second World War.
Of note for this volume itself are several very nicely done maps - particularly as they relate to the Polish campaign, Scapa Flow, the naval battle against the Graf Spee, and the Norway campaign. A variety of useful appendixes are also included, particularly those relating to naval affairs considering Winston's position as First Lord of the Admiralty from the start of the war until his assumption of the duties of the office of the Prime Minister.
***** out of *****
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Churchill's Second World War
Every year I tend to make grandiose reading plans after school finishes and I get nearly unlimited reading time for a few months. Last year I wanted to read all of Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - an idea that lasted all of five chapters into an abridged version. This year I've selected a rather more achievable goal, namely reading all six volumes of Winston Churchill's The Second World War.
So far I've grabbed the first two volumes - The Gathering Storm and Their Finest Hour - from George Strange's Bookmart (awfully nice little used bookstore if you ever go to Brandon, Manitoba). I've been making my way through the first volume for about two weeks now, reading one or two chapters every day or so and its certainly been a treat. Churchill really, really knew how to write and had a certain genius when describing all the individual actors involved in the conflict. Of Hitler he describes a wealth of "lying effrontery." Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov is said to have had "verbal adroitness and imperturbable demeanour." The kind of pleasurable language that gets me well used to ringing up dictionary.com whenever the author rather frequently uses a term I'm not used to.
Currently I've only just made it into the war and as Churchill has shown the years leading up to the start of the war has been an almost unheard of Shakespearean tragedy - the incompetence of both the British and French governments has been shown many times before and possibly in a better factual manner, but this account by Churchill has such moral force behind it that it can still render the reader befuddled at how inexplicably vain and misguided some of the figures are, particularly Neville Chamberlain.
With anticipatory glee I think I'll get myself back into this volume sooner rather than later. I know how the entire story will play out, but I'd rather like it if Sir Winston told me.
So far I've grabbed the first two volumes - The Gathering Storm and Their Finest Hour - from George Strange's Bookmart (awfully nice little used bookstore if you ever go to Brandon, Manitoba). I've been making my way through the first volume for about two weeks now, reading one or two chapters every day or so and its certainly been a treat. Churchill really, really knew how to write and had a certain genius when describing all the individual actors involved in the conflict. Of Hitler he describes a wealth of "lying effrontery." Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov is said to have had "verbal adroitness and imperturbable demeanour." The kind of pleasurable language that gets me well used to ringing up dictionary.com whenever the author rather frequently uses a term I'm not used to.
Currently I've only just made it into the war and as Churchill has shown the years leading up to the start of the war has been an almost unheard of Shakespearean tragedy - the incompetence of both the British and French governments has been shown many times before and possibly in a better factual manner, but this account by Churchill has such moral force behind it that it can still render the reader befuddled at how inexplicably vain and misguided some of the figures are, particularly Neville Chamberlain.
With anticipatory glee I think I'll get myself back into this volume sooner rather than later. I know how the entire story will play out, but I'd rather like it if Sir Winston told me.
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