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Anthoy Beevor - Author

Bootser

By Bootser
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Tosh

Tosh

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Posted
I've read Stalingrad and Berlin - both excellent.

 

Lots of detail without losing sight of the big picture and very readable.

 

Agree with that. Both well written and readable - which for their detail, length and subject matter is a masterstroke. Bit short on dialogue and character development though :rolleyes:

Will look out for the D-Day one

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fyds

fyds

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What he said.

 

He's gone a new book out 'D-Day' which I'll buy as soon as it's out in paperback - anyone know when that will be?

Read the first two and got the 'D-Day' one as a prezzie the other day and have started on it - he's an excellent historical writer - not at all dry or remote like for example, AJP Taylor was prone to being.

 

Feel free to disagree, but his 'intimate' style reminds me a little of William S. Shirer.

 

Great books, eminently readable - Berlin was superb.

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John am Rhein

John am Rhein

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Read the first two and got the 'D-Day' one as a prezzie the other day and have started on it - he's an excellent historical writer - not at all dry or remote like for example, AJP Taylor was prone to being.

 

Feel free to disagree, but his 'intimate' style reminds me a little of William S. Shirer.

 

Great books, eminently readable - Berlin was superb.

 

Have you read Max Hastings' 'Argmageddon'?

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Metro

Metro

Posted
Posted
Read the first two and got the 'D-Day' one as a prezzie the other day and have started on it - he's an excellent historical writer - not at all dry or remote like for example, AJP Taylor was prone to being.

 

Feel free to disagree, but his 'intimate' style reminds me a little of William S. Shirer.

 

Great books, eminently readable - Berlin was superb.

 

You're kidding? AJP Taylor dry??? The only lecturer I've seen who talked for nearly an hour without notes and finished exactly when he was supposed to. In the middle of Beevor's D-Day book now and up to his usual standard. Read them all except the one about the battle for Crete. Stalingrad (which I well remember!) and the Fall of Berlin were superb.

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fyds

fyds

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Have you read Max Hastings' 'Argmageddon'?

I started it - probably with mixed feelings as I don't like his writing style much (or his politics). I'll probably get back to it at some point but for some reason...I just couldn't get on with it, or at least it didn't hold my attention and I kept wondering why he wasn't addressing certain points in the text - small, but crucial ones to me at the time which left gaps in the exposition and later development of how, what and when meaning the 'why' didn't always add up.

 

A surprisingly good book was William Hague's 'William Pitt the Younger', adressed with a political mind yet (mostly) leaving his own political views and philosophy out of it - not something I'd have thought him capable of.

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fyds

fyds

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Typed as a light hearted jape - no offence intended.

 

Had no idea you were Deutsche! Where abouts originally?

Replied light heartedly in kind - something of an old forum joke ( a bit like me generally). I'm orginaly from Hannover, but was adopted and grew up in Liverpool.

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fyds

fyds

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You're kidding? AJP Taylor dry??? The only lecturer I've seen who talked for nearly an hour without notes and finished exactly when he was supposed to. In the middle of Beevor's D-Day book now and up to his usual standard. Read them all except the one about the battle for Crete. Stalingrad (which I well remember!) and the Fall of Berlin were superb.

I never saw a Taylor lecture (I had a history teacher, George Rannard, who could speak the same way - no notes, nothing - especially about the rise of the Third Reich as he was there working for British Military Intelligence from before Hitler's appointment as chancellor) but was referring to his writing style, which I do find somewhat dry. Basil Liddel-Hart his contemporary, though less celebrated, is a much more expansive read.

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stressederic

stressederic

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I never saw a Taylor lecture (I had a history teacher, George Rannard, who could speak the same way - no notes, nothing - especially about the rise of the Third Reich as he was there working for British Military Intelligence from before Hitler's appointment as chancellor) but was referring to his writing style, which I do find somewhat dry. Basil Liddel-Hart his contemporary, though less celebrated, is a much more expansive read.

 

He's also not as big a c*** as A J P Taylor.

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Metro

Metro

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Replied light heartedly in kind - something of an old forum joke ( a bit like me generally). I'm orginaly from Hannover, but was adopted and grew up in Liverpool.

 

Hannover? Not Stocken by any chance?

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fyds

fyds

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Hannover? Not Stocken by any chance?

Eichenstrasse in Ahlem - the site is/was a Daisy Markt now...I hardly remember the place, haven't seen it in a long, long time but plan on taking my daughter there next year as she's interested.

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fyds

fyds

Posted
Posted (edited)
interested in that - can you be more specific?

Off the top of my head as best I remember, one particular niggle was in the run up to the battle of the Bulge, a particular hobby-horse of mine due to work i did at the IWM a few years ago.

 

He misses out a full explanation of why the US 101 were detailed as reserves to hold Bastogne, despite being understaffed, ill-equipped, not having winter clothing, sufficient K rations or ammunition and with their commander away for Christmas* in the US, their chain of command being depleted after their actions in Eastern Holland when they lost over 70% of their Regimental level command officers.

 

* This had a lot to do with the 'why' the commanding General, Maxwell Taylor was neither liked by his men nor quietly considered 'fit' by Eisenhower or Bradley whereas his Divisional commander, Anthony MaCauliffe was MaCauliffe inititaed a programme of promoting well-respected NCO's as field commands at Platton and company level rather than bringing in untried relacement officers as Taylor was prone to do. This is crucial it maintained the corps elan and had Taylor been around, the newly arrived in Lille yet inexperienced 17th Airborne were pencilled in for the job according to James Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne who took on the job of retaking and holding the other crucial crossroads at Trois Ponts. There is far more detail to go into to expand on this but suffice it to say their own commander thought the 17th would have been over-run and the Germans across the Meuse and on their way to Antwerp - the veterans of the 101 of course prevented this despite their other difficulties and shortages.

 

Ironically, one of the few rows Eisenhower got embroiled in during his time as President was the appointment of Max Taylor as Head of the Joint Chiefs against the presidents wishes after his own choice, James Gavin was being investigated by McCarthy - Taylor was a disatrous choice in the end and Eisenhower was proved right. LBJ eventually moved him sideways.

Edited by fyds
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