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.A People's Tragedy: Russian Revolution, 1891-1924

by: Orlando Figes

July 31, 1997
One small example of the problems with Figes' book, small but typical : on pages 631-632 we are treated with the horrendous shooting of Bim-Bom, the clown who dared mock the bolsheviks, at the hands of the Cheka bursting onto the circus in the middle of the comedian's act.

Except that a small amount of research would have made Figes aware that Bim-Bom was not a single clown but a duet, and that no such assassination took place : on the contrary the founder of this famous duet ("Bim" real name Ivan Semenovich Radunskim) died in 1955 after a long career.

But hey ! Why let facts get in the way of a good scene ?

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.Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45

by: Max Hastings

October 01, 2007
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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.Comrades: Communism: A World History

by: Robert Service

May 02, 2008
I was really looking forward to 'Comrades' arriving but after reading the introduction was already beginning to feel a little disappointed. Robert Service is clearly a very intelligent man who has trawled through miles of archives. Unfortunately he cannot hide the fact that he is rabidly anti-Communist. He makes too many childish remarks about the most prominent leaders and even the colour prints in the centre of the book are accompanied by petty jibes. We know that life under Communism was never the utopia it had hoped to be and that in many Communist states life was truly a nightmare of terror and repression. Unfortunately because of Service's style and commentary I get no sense of how much of the suffering came to be. It is too simplistic to claim that Communism was intrisically ... Read More:
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.Fire in the Blood

by: Irene Nemirovsky

September 27, 2007
What a wonderful book. Lyrical and atmospheric, this book is a story told by Silvio about his family in the early last century who live in a little village in rural France. What starts out gently and as a story of great love between the various family members quickly descends into secrets, lies, betrayal and grief.

I picked this book up this morning and read the first page to see how I liked it and before I knew it I have read the whole things while barely pausing for breath. A lovely book and I shall certainly be reading more by this author.
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.The Discovery of France

by: Graham Robb

September 07, 2007
I must admit I was seduced by the wonderful cover photo of Mont-Saint-Michel, and the title which suggests a romantic travel book, where the local peculiarities are grounded in the authors knowledge of local history - something like a H.V.Morton's Traveller in Italy for today (and for France).

What you actually get is a social history of the provincial French peasantry from 1780 to 1880. I now find out that the American edition has a sub-title very like this, but not a sign of it on my copy, or on Amazon-UK. However, it is well written and so not as dull as that sounds, in fact it is good to read, and interesting in a rather vague way - paints pictures rather then pushing a thesis.

The only way it is 'heavy' is the 400 good-size pages, 100 of which are notes & index, ... Read More:
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.Hitler's Empire: Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe (Allen Lane History)

by: Mark Mazower

June 05, 2008
This is a first class book which allows a comparative reading of the Nazi occupation of different countries of Europe. What it really shows is the difficulty of trying to see Nazi occupation as a monolith. In reality the practice pursued in the different occupied countries varied enormously- according to which German administration was dominant in the occupied country, according to Nazi stereotypes of each country and what they hoped to achieved from occupying it, according to how the population of each country responded, not forgetting that Nazi occupations generally became more severe with time. A complex history but well worth reading about.
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.The Decline and Fall of the British Empire

by: Piers Brendon

October 18, 2007
Im still reading this, It gives a considered and riveting tale of my Countrys History. Keep an open mind, fantastic achievements by towering figures, they were Empire builders and Empire spoilers, working to the values and ethics of their times. Reads like an action packed novel. Well done ancestors and well done this author.
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.Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941

by: Ian Kershaw

February 28, 2008
Kershaw examines ten choices that changed the world between the spring of 1940 and the end of 1941. Each of them could have been different (though Kershaw shows that the alternatives, usually lengthily and therefore somewhat repetitively rehearsed, were not very appealing, and sometimes not even sensible), and had they been different, the history of the Second World War and of the world following it would of course have been very different, too.

The first choice Kershaw examines is that of Britain refusing to negotiate with Hitler after the fall of France. The decision to fight on alone was taken by the inner war cabinet of only five men. Among them only the Foreign Minister, Lord Halifax, argued strongly for exploring possible peace terms. The others (and the members of the outer cabinet ... 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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.Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and Its People

by: Jonathan Dimbleby

May 01, 2008
Of course JD was able to work as a reporter in Russia without speaking any Russian...Re-Odd choice of presenter/writer. British reporters in Russia just follow the BBC/Times party line...so why would they have to speak any of the local language? The present Guardian correspondent speaks Russian like a small dim-witted child (from London). What chance does he have of digging up any good stories?

RE - Erroneous and misapprehending - Khordorkovsky is the hero of the BBC/liberal western media...do you seriously expect them to investigate allegations that he was responsible for murder? (Mayor of Nefteyugansk anyone?)



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