HGJohn

Important History

Reviewed: 16-03-23

This book is a real eye opener. Be warned, it’s a difficult read at times as it does not spare us the details of this gruesome episode. More than just a simple narrative history of the Rape of Nanking, this book delves into the historiography as to why this story is not better known in the West. In writing the book the author uncovered many new witnesses and contemporary documentary sources including contemporaneous diary accounts, photos and film. It’s a gripping piece of work that deserves a wide audience. It’s worth noting the author’s Chinese heritage an reading the Wikipedia page on the book when reading. Excellent stuff!

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Essential History

Reviewed: 27-02-23

There are few history books that can be regarded as essential reading. This is one. Elkins shows how the British Empire, in case after case, colony after colony, built on laws of repression, methods of torture and dubious dissembling, to try to hold on to its crumbling edifice.

A note on the performance: it is excellent , but delivered in an American accent (the. author is, after all, a Harvard Professor). Would the book’s searing message have been even more powerful if delivered in an English RP style accent?

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Arresting and Moving

Reviewed: 30-01-22

This is an arresting and, at times, moving account of the Dieppe Raid. As usual, Peter Noble’s brilliant performance enhances the narrative. Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

History on an epic scale

Reviewed: 06-11-21

Growing up in the east of England in the 70's I was thrilled by the Phantoms, Harriers, Buccaneers and Jaguars that used to fly over our house at ridiculously low levels. We used to cycle the 20 or so miles to Alconbury and go round the perimeter fence to watch the F111s and F5 Tigers, waving to the pilots as they queued up on the taxi way. The Cold War was framed for me purely as an East/West confrontation across the West German border. The Warsaw Pact were the bad guys, Nato were the good guys. This book completely ignores such a narrow scope and looks at the Cold War as a global conflict. It is history on the most epic and sweeping scale. This only ever works if you have the in depth, detailed and wide ranging knowledge that Odd Arne Westad demonstrates throughout this book. I learned huge amounts. Thoroughly recommended.

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Great story in need of an update?

Reviewed: 30-09-21

While Hastings does an admirable job of retelling the narrative history so soon after the event, I wonder whether this volume could do with a second edition, particularly in relation to the conclusion. For example, what actual steps did the Royal Navy take when it discovered that its missile defence systems were found to be severely wanting in respect of convoy defence, inshore defence and multiple target defence? And what was the immediate and more long term effect an Anglo-Argentinian relations? This is a classic work but I think a little more reflection on the subject now nearly 40 years on is warranted.

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3rd Reich Apologists Look Away Now

Reviewed: 10-06-21

This book examines the events around the infamous march of the 2nd SS Panzer Division, Das Reich from its base n southern France to Normandy. It is not a military history of the division itself but puts its movement into the wider context of the French resistance and the SOE activities in the area. And it’s much the better for it. Anyone with an interest in the Normandy campaign will appreciate the light shone on the strategic decision making in the German High Command and the way it employed the Das Reich division in the immediate aftermath of June 6th. Dodgy French pronunciation aside, this is a classic of military history and highly recommended.

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Interesting but troubling

Reviewed: 19-01-21

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. To many, the story of German resistance begins and ends with the July 20 plot and the failed coup attempt. The stories contained within this book go some way to adding depth and understanding to this subject. However, I do have some problems with the narrative. One fault is the simple perpetuation of the myth that the Reichstag fire was started by the Nazis as a pretext for mass arrests of communists. Richard J Evans has conclusively debunked this and all the evidence points to a lone wolf attack by Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe as they German courts found at the time. The Nazis needed no such pretext. More grave, however is the charge that stems from the title, “The Good Germans.” The book, to my mind, reinforces the dichotomy that the Germans could be split in to two groups: Nazis = evil; ordinary Germans = good (and,by extension, resistors, or at least sympathetic to the resistance). This is very far from the truth. Without widespread approval, including at the ballot box, the Nazis would never have been able to go so far. The myth of the all knowing Gestapo has also been shown to be highly exaggerated. Within the Reich itself it was a much smaller organisation than might be imagined and relied heavily on denunciation for information. For ordinary Germans they may have feared the Gestapo and the concentration camps, but they were not directly affected by them. (Note: in countries occupied by the Nazis and the active resistance, both internal and foreign, the threat of the Gestapo and their methods of interrogation was all too real). This book shines great light on the inspirational resistance of Ernst Thälmann, Julius Leber and Fabien von Schlabrendorf among others, but it should not be forgotten that these people were in the tiny minority of Germans willing to oppose the Nazis. Statistics might be boring, but at least a chapter on putting these stories into a wider context might have been helpful.

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7 people found this helpful

Essential Spanish history

Reviewed: 02-10-20

For most people, myself included, Spanish history of the 20th Century begins and ends with the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. By following the themes of corruption and political incompetence, Paul Preston puts the War and dictatorship into a wider context of coup, brutality, repression and corruption across the whole of the 20th Century. Franco may have been the master, but by no means the only perpetrator. This is a brilliant book, superbly narrated by Peter Noble and will be essential listening for all students of Spanish history.

I've read other reviews on here criticising the Spanish pronunciation of Paul Noble. I think they're confusing the differences in Spanish pronunciation and Catalan where "j" is not an "h", but a "dz" sound. Paul Noble's narration is excellent throughout.

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2 people found this helpful

Only for the committed

Reviewed: 11-08-20

Littered with dodgy pronunciation and obvious overdubs, this book has some interesting stories and anecdotes to share, but it’s a bit thin and doesn’t satisfy as an audiobook.

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Puts the Battle of Britain in its proper context

Reviewed: 03-08-20

By starting with the invasion of France and by also covering the Battle of the Atlantic, this book covers far more than just the air war over Southern England. The book tells the whole story of the spring summer and early autumn of 1940 and is much the better for it.

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1 person found this helpful