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.Hitler's Empire: Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe (Allen Lane History)

by: Mark Mazower

June 05, 2008
This is an excellent book, with a qualifying 'but'. If you want to understand the dynamic of 'Hitlers Empire', how it developed and collapsed, and the details of its particular favour of genocidal gangsterism, then this will satisfy all the curiosity you have, and then some. My only complain about the main content is that it is a bit short on personalities (though this may be an unavoidable problem - the focus of the book is, after all, on process and governance). You get little real feel for the _people_ who did all this. Mazower does not mention anyone having nightmares, or developing a drink problem (lots of people are mentioned as having drinking problems, but only for the usual, soap-opera sort of reasons, not because of a day job in ... Read More:
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.Warsaw 1920: Lenin's Failed Conquest of Europe

by: Adam Zamoyski

February 04, 2008
Warsaw 1920 is an easily available book on an important topic. As an introductory narrative it's OK. There's little exploration of major themes, the presumptions behind what analysis there is are unexplored. Quite why (other than a 'miracle') the Poles reversed their early defeats remains unexplained. The wider context of the Russian Civil War isn't really integrated. The pro-Polish bias grates after a while.

Much richer, if you can still get it, is Norman Davies' 'White Eagle, Red Star'. Plenty wrong with that as well, but it provides a deeper exploration that makes it useful even if you don't share Davies' viewpoint.
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.Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944--45

by: Max Hastings

October 01, 2008
At the Winchester Festival, reviewing his book, Hastings made a misguided and alarming remark, "that the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, other than Taranto Raid, played no significant part in WW2". It is therefore no wonder that he has omitted to include in his book the British Pacific Forces's successful attack on the Japanese oil refineries at Palembang (Java) in January 1945. Four British fleet carriers with 244 aircraft embarked disabled the refineries that were supplying Japan precious aviation fuel. Glancing through the book Hastings does not do justice to the Royal Navy in the Far East during 1944-45 period, until he educates himselve on the Fleet Air Arm's war effort, I will stay clear of his books. Question for you Max, which allied torpedo bomber aircraft ... Read More:
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.The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919

by: Mark Thompson

September 04, 2008
In the UK, were are taught about the First World War. We are taught about the trenches, the slaughter and the waste. Mostly, were are taught about the British and Commonwealth soldier's experience on the Western Front. 'The White War' teaches the English reader about what they are not taught - the Italian/Austrian front.

After declaring war on Austria-Hungary for dubious territorial reasons, Italy sent hundreds of thousands of men to their deaths on the rocks of Carso near Trieste. Men, indeed, who were most likely to be peasants from places such as Calabria in the south, who barely had the vaguest idea of 'Italy' or what they were ordered to fight for. Thomson details the grim experience and grimmer treatment of these men from their superiors. The Commander-in-Chief ... Read More:
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.Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius

by: Richard Holmes

May 06, 2008
A fine overview of the life of Marlborough with some interesting details and fascinating insights. This may not be the definitive book on Marlborough (I think that honour still lays with Churchill's 3 volume history of his illustrious ancestor) but it would serve as a useful companion to the Churchill series giving some much needed balance to Churchill's occasionally one sided view.
The book has a minor but niggling weakness in that the title, 'England's Fragile Genius' seems to have little connection with the contents. It mentions his headaches and various illnesses but he doesn't seem to be portrayed as particularly fragile.
The major strength of this book is Holmes descriptive capabilities. I've previously read descriptions of the Battle of Sedgemoor and been quite baffled ... Read More:
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.Empires of the Sea: The Final Battle for the Mediterranean, 1521-1580

by: Roger Crowley

May 01, 2008
This is the best history book I have read in a very long time.

It tells the story of a 60 years old battle fought in the Mediterraneum by the Ottoman Turks against the Christian nations in southern Europe.

It is very hard to put down and the narrative is very engaging. The maps , pictures and drawings are excellent , a rarity in this type of books. although there are some minor issues with some historical aspects ( the muslims lives pacefully in Spain for 800 years ) the book is a very compelling read.

More please
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.The Bloody White Baron

by: James Palmer

March 20, 2008
I've been fascinated by this period of Mongolian history ever since I found a musty old copy of Ossendowski's Beasts, Men and Gods in a used bookstore years ago, so I was very happy to find a new look at those times in this book. Finding sources or historical writing on this period is difficult, at least here in the US, since Outer Mongolia almost seems to be a fictitious country in itself. Fortunately, James Palmer has travelled the East and waded through the various scraps and pieces of its history and pulled together a picture of a fascinating, if horrendous, figure who stamped his mark upon the era. Ossendowski's book, while purportedly true, reads like a pulp adventure novel, and his account of Baron Ungern certainly makes a modern reader believe that he must have been made up. Not so, of course, ... Read More:
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.Odin Mission

by: James Holland

May 19, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Great action scenes set in a fascinating and horrific period of our history.
Jack Tanner and his sidekick are brilliant characters and you'll find yourself cheering them along as they attempt to thwart those nasty Nazis.
The pace is terrific and the scenery incredibly vivid.
This is an incredibly entertaining WW2 action book and I eagerly anticipate the next one. Hope I don't have to wait to long, Mr Holland?
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.The Wildest Province: SOE in the Land of the Eagle

by: Roderick Bailey

February 07, 2008
This excellent and gripping book is a must buy for anyone serious about understanding the Second World War and its aftermath, as well as for anyone serious about cracking good reads. On almost every page there is a fascinating fact - not least legendary British actor Anthony Quayle's involvement in SOE - and they are all woven into a skillful whole that will by the end give the reader a new perspective on Europe and the perils of messing about in other people's countries. By turns breathtaking, funny, tragic and sometimes horrifying, the book is an indictment of the human spirit and what it is capable of: courage, determination, betrayal and dreadful violence. The best kind of modern history writing.
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.The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia

by: Orlando Figes

October 04, 2007
In this book, Figes has diluted and refined his mastery of the art of weaving historical sources together. These family narratives which, without this book, would certainly have been lost, provide a compelling insight into the reality of Soviet Russia - the 'historical' backdrop of dates and movements takes a back seat to the gritty honesty of real people's testimony of what living through this era was actually like.
A fantastic read.
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