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Sep. 10th, 2003
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Meta something or other
Sep. 10th, 2003 10:09 amWhile doing some mindless research on titles of imaginary books in AP's Dance I came across the Invisible Library. It is a remarkably comprehensive catalogue of books which only exist in the context of other books. There may be a quiz in here somewhere....
A curious book
Sep. 10th, 2003 03:12 pmJust finished reading Alanbrooke's Wartime Diaries. AB is a figure who holds a particular fascination for me. Not well known to those who haven't studied the course of WW2 in some detail, disliked by the Americans, semi-systematically written out of history by Churchill's hagiographers (not least WSC himself), he probably did more than other individual in the Anglo-American camp towards winning the war.
I can't say AB emerges from the diaries as an especially attractive figure but it is easy to sympathise with him. He paints the allied commanders and politicians as a pretty undistinguished lot on the whole though he is fulsome in his praise for those (Dill, Andrew Cunningham, Sikorski) he does admire.
In many ways his most interesting judgements are on Churchill and some of the top allied commanders. His basic criticism is that they hadn't an ounce of strategic judgement between them (Churchill, Marshall, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Alexander, Mountbatten, Portal, Harris) and one can't help feeling he was right. The inability of the Allies to decide on a basic strategy for winning the war and then stick with it is glaring.
He gives Churchill full credit for his leadership in getting the country through the critical 1940-42 period but his account of Churchill's decline is heartbreaking. By 1944 Churchill is virtually incapable of coherent thought, prone to violent outbursts and frequently drunk by breakfast time.
There are some interesting omissions too. Slim barely rates a mention and Zhukov gets none at all. AB's attention, until very late in the war is almost entirely focussed on the problem of defeating Germany. The Japanese war very much takes a back seat.
All in all, essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in WW2.
I can't say AB emerges from the diaries as an especially attractive figure but it is easy to sympathise with him. He paints the allied commanders and politicians as a pretty undistinguished lot on the whole though he is fulsome in his praise for those (Dill, Andrew Cunningham, Sikorski) he does admire.
In many ways his most interesting judgements are on Churchill and some of the top allied commanders. His basic criticism is that they hadn't an ounce of strategic judgement between them (Churchill, Marshall, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Alexander, Mountbatten, Portal, Harris) and one can't help feeling he was right. The inability of the Allies to decide on a basic strategy for winning the war and then stick with it is glaring.
He gives Churchill full credit for his leadership in getting the country through the critical 1940-42 period but his account of Churchill's decline is heartbreaking. By 1944 Churchill is virtually incapable of coherent thought, prone to violent outbursts and frequently drunk by breakfast time.
There are some interesting omissions too. Slim barely rates a mention and Zhukov gets none at all. AB's attention, until very late in the war is almost entirely focussed on the problem of defeating Germany. The Japanese war very much takes a back seat.
All in all, essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in WW2.
A while ago I posted a spoof article about Siamese Siamese cat twins in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
cat_skinning. Today I get this comment/message from a clueless 19 year old suggesting I need to 'get a life and EVOLVE'. Doh!
cat_skinning. Today I get this comment/message from a clueless 19 year old suggesting I need to 'get a life and EVOLVE'. Doh!