David Stafford (1)Besprekingen

One of the better books I have read this year. Stafford made me feel as I though I was right there on the shores of France. I highly reccomend

I hoped this book would let me know more about the end of the war in Europe. I thought including stories from men and women who were participating in some way would be a great way to flesh out the story. Alas! Stafford has written a nearly un-readable volume that lacks big picture viewpoint and is confusing throughout. He tells us in the introduction that he will be following 9 (Western) people (American, Canadian, British, New Zealand soldiers; UNRRA worker; BBC correspondant; German mother married to an Italian who gets sent to concentration camp by the Nazis) between the period of Hitler's death and (roughly) the Potsdam conference. I thought at the beginning that 9 people was a lot and it turned out to be too many. Worse, Stafford follows them chronologically, so we hear about each one in each chapter. It would have been better for him to discuss each individual and their experience in separate chapters. Not surprisingly, we find at the end that nearly all of the 9 have published their own books or memoirs of their experiences, so Stafford is left with little to do other than try and provide a larger context for the individual experience. Sadly, I just didn't think that context was provided and that the book overall was poorly written.

This is a chronicle of the life and times of Winston Churchill during 1921. It was a make or break year for his political career after it seemed to end when he was demoted in the Cabinet after the 1915 Dardanelles invasion fiasco. In 1921 he was appointed as Colonial Secretary which brought him into dealing with the Middle East -- Iraq, the Palestine issue in relation to the Balfour Declaration. He did not limit himself to his cabinet portfolio much to the chagrin of the Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon when he "meddled" in Foreign Office affairs. He took on a role in the Irish problems too. Churchill never shied away from his opposition to the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. He had strong views on the British Empire and its role in the world.

In addition to his political life, readers learn about his personal life and his strong family ties. In 1921 he suffered the loss of his mother and his daughter Marigold. Both deaths deeply troubled him and he was supported throughout his grief by his wife Clementine and brother Jack. He liked to spend money and in 1921 he came into an inheritance which relieved many of his financial worries. Painting was his greatest avocation and there was a successful exhibition of his pictures in Paris. All in all, Churchill is shown as an energetic and multi-talented individual, albeit sometimes lacking in judgement.

This book an excellent introductory biography of Churchill. So many books have been written about him that it's difficult to know where to go first if you want to read up on him. This book is a good beginning because it's readable, informative, and a balanced account without being fawning or over-critical.

Recommended.
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The publisher provided a complementary advance reading copy of this book through Netgalley. The comments about it are my own.½

Not quite sure what to make of this book. Some bits were really interesting, but the glaring errors from someone in the Author's position are simply inexcusable and make one question whether or not new "facts" one gleans are actually correct or not. Not something to be used as a single reference point.

This is a very well put together story of the Berlin spy tunnel, and some of the context that lead up to it being dug. It looks at the contemporary views and also re-evaluates the impact of the tunnel and whether or not it could be considered a success.

The tale is an interesting one, because the existence of the tunnel was betrayed to the Soviets before it was even dug. Blake took the minutes of meeting that decided to build it, and told his Soviet handler about it. Despite this the KGB didn't share the information as they wanted to protect Blake as a source, so they couldn't stop the tunnel until there was a reasonable excuse from another source. For two years the British and Americans taped all the traffic on the cables they'd tapped (it was a joint operation, but the US took the entire blame when it was discovered because Kruschev was on a state visit to the UK at the time).

This short book looks at one particular incident during some of the frostiest days of the Cold War in the mid 1950s - the daring construction by UK and US intelligence services of a tunnel across the sectoral border in Berlin to tap into Soviet and East German communication lines. The tap took months of careful preparation to plan and install and yielded months worth of material of a huge range of types. The irony was that the Soviets knew about the tap before it was even installed due to their MI6 contact George Blake being in on the project. Despite this knowledge, it emerged decades later in 1999 that the information tapped into was all genuine - such was the Soviet desire to protect Blake's role as their MI6 mole, that they didn't provide disinformation in case it led to his exposure. In the end the tunnel was officially discovered as if by accident and was used as a propaganda coup by the Soviets, though their ire was diplomatically directed purely against the US, as relations were improving with the UK at this time when Khrushchev and Bulganin were paying a visit to Britain. An interesting look through a specific case at the lengths the superpowers went to deceive and spy on each other at that time.

I read this to discover which of the Spy writers I liked (or hated!) had really been in the business. The style isn't outstanding.

dull...

I can't say enough good things about his book. This large tome was intimidating to look at, but very easy to read. Stafford has packed information and emotion in equal parts into a narrative format which leaps off the page. The viewpoints of mulitple participants are used to weave the story, including US troops who are liberating some of the concentration camps, a journalist shadowing Patton's every move, parachutists behind enemy lines, a woman interned with the Stauffenberg family, intelligence officers cracking codes.... Fiction can't compete with this. Although general previous knowledge of WW2 is helpful, Stafford does a good job of providing basic facts for each of the vignettes for those whose knowledge of a particular area may be spotty. I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. I don't see how Stafford could have done it any better.

Excellent account of the last months of WW2 in Europe. The emphasis on individuals who took part in the final actions contribute to the enfolding development of the story.Once again highlights the chaos and brutality which exists in all wars.

4637. Endgame, 1945 The Missing Final Chapter of World War II, by David Stafford (read 3 Nov 2009) This is an engrossing account of the time in Europe from Apr 20, 1945, to that summer, told in part through relating the experiences of nine persons involved in the momentous events of that period. There is much horror related, and one is dismayed that fanatical Nazis continued as long as they could to do evil..The Epilogue succinctly tells of the after-life of the nine persons who figure in the account, including a most poignant telling of the reunion of Fay von Hassell and her two sons who had been taken from her when she was arrested by the Nazis.

This book describes the relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill during WW2 from the standpoint of Allied intelligence efforts. Stafford's story reveals a “volatile mix of friendship, rivalry and resentment between the two national leaders (which was) amply reflected in the intelligence war in Europe.” The book’s subject matter might best be described as a niche within a niche. That is, although the focus is on intelligence, it is mostly explored from an administrative angle; there is virtually no coverage of how the codes were cracked, what operatives did, or the content of the intelligence they passed on.

We learn about the fascination both leaders held for the clandestine services, and the power struggles between their respective directors: “Wild Bill” Donovan in the U.S., and Sir Stewart Menzies in Great Britain. We don’t learn much about Donovan and Menzies as men, nor as spy directors: their stories are restricted to how they expressed the wills of their heads of government.

Churchill’s admiration for Roosevelt is explored in depth, as is his increasing (and reluctant) capitulation to the great American juggernaut as the war progressed. But Churchill wouldn’t discuss India, and in general Roosevelt ignored the subject, although he felt strongly about Indian independence. The two also disagreed on Stalin; Churchill fought in vain to get Roosevelt to recognize the danger of the USSR.

On the whole, I felt the book kept scratching the surface, but never taking the plunge. For example, I was surprised to find out how much time Churchill spent at the White House, but I never did really glean what he was doing there all that time, nor how Roosevelt felt about him after they got to know one another. Bletchley Park, Ultra and Magic were constant topics of discussion, and yet nothing much was said of what they were or did or accomplished. Famous moles merited only a passing mention, as they weren’t part of the overall intelligence strategy, I assume.

On balance, I would say this book had entertaining moments, but presented more of a tease than a solid reward.½

A cool book. Both these men were formidable and facinating in their own way. A great book if you want to learn more about how the whole modern spy game got started.

Mostly about intelligence, as you might expect from David Stafford, who mainly writes spy histories. This book concentrates on the conflicts, compromises and co-operation between FDR and WSC in the field of intelligence, with particular reference to the relationship between Churchill's SOE and FDR's OSS. This narrow field might be disappointing to anyone hoping for a more general account of the relationship between the two leaders, but of itself this isn't a bad book at all. It eschews sensationalism, has a decent regard for evidence and the reliability or otherwise thereof, and is tolerably well written. However, it doesn't really add anything new to the story, and suffers somewhat from long digressions away from the main subject (one particularly dull passage relates at too much length the story of a 'covert operation' in Spain that seems to have achieved nothing except enriching various Francoite leaders). An interesting sidelight for students of the era, but hardly essential reading.

The missing last chapter of WWII. Most histories of WWII end with the Surrender of Germany and Japan. This book connects the events of the last month of the war with the ongoing problems facing the allies for the balance of the year. Outstanding relating of actual stories. I am not yet finished and will add to the review when I have completed reading.

Adquirido em 2017