Ewan ButlerReseñas

A very briskly informative review of approximately the last 4,000 years of development of the northern European region known as Scandinavia: examining the evolution of human settlement in lands that have at least one border-shoreline on the Baltic Sea. In the last 2,000 years these lands gradually became identified geographically & historically as Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
There is not much analysis of key events or key people and minus an Index the book lacks the details that go to make the more substantial 'History' the scope of the topic requires.½

this book did not survive the switch to the world of the ISBN, and has not remained in my memory at all. Sorry, Ewan Butler.

Heavy with dates and lacking in detail other than “x did this and y did that”, this book is virtually unreadable. Might give it another go later on, but it felt more like a chore instead of an interesting, revealing read.

This is an EXTREMELY short, and very basic overview of Scandinavian history. It is only about 235 pages long, but the book is small and the type is rather large. I would guess that you could easily fit the text onto 150 reasonably spaced pages.

The writing style is very dry and clipped, with short factoids, one after another. There is absolutely no analysis and very little observation. The author essentially sets out a progression of kings and regents for each Scandinavian country, largely in chronological order, focusing on the various conflicts that arose throughout the region’s history. From time to time, certain cultural figures are mentioned, most of whom I’ve never heard of. Surprisingly, one of the most famous explorers of all time, Norwegian Roald Amundson is not mentioned.

This is ultra simple, little more than a reference book for the rulers of Denmark and Sweden. Finland and Denmark are barely even mentioned. Cannot recommend.

We recently watched the stupendous movie of Dunkirk so I felt obliged to learn a little more about the event. Chose this book as it was written fairly contemporarily, 10 years after, and by a participant. The book is nicely written - somewhat archaic language even for its time, and at times even a little poetically. No grand strategy here but a comprehensive coverage across the participants - Army - BEF, Navy, RAF, the civilian sailors, and the French.

Not too long a book and an excellent reasonably detailed overview starting in late 1939 when the BEF went to France and concludes, just after the lads got home after the 'miracle'.

An interesting perspective was on the RAF - typically disparaged as in "where's the bloody RAF?" - whom he couldn't lay enough praise on. Interestingly, he felt the heavily outnumbered flyers downed as many or perhaps more German planes than in the Battle of Britain.

This account of the early days of WW2 written by officers of the British Expeditionary Force shortly after the end of the war is a lesson for all. It's not just about the evacuation of Dunkirk by everyday citizens, but a clear perspective on the inadequacies of peacetime military forces and populations blindsided by overt aggression despite clear warning signs. At the beginning of the war, British planes were mostly obsolete, there were communication problems with the rest of Europe, and the Americans still had their heads in the sand thinking it was going to be a lark. I am an American. The writing is not the polished professional offering of a thesis or novel, but a stiff upper lip account well worth reading.
Thanks to Sapere Books for granting my request to read and review. I am very impressed with this and glad that it has been reprinted.

First published in 1950, only 10 years after the battle of Dunkirk, this story is told through fresh memories unchanged by the passage of time. The authors, Lt. Col. Ewan Butler and Major J. Selby Bradford served in France during late 1939 and early 1940 as junior officers.
This story of Dunkirk was the original motivation behind the epic film of 1958.

The forward by Lord Vansittart is fitting and still relevant today.
“This is not a heartening book, but the gallantry which it portrays is so immensely moving, so well told, as to be almost heartening’ – Lord Vansittart.
“If rulers and ruled alike will not learn from this book the lesson which it implants, we may as will give up teaching history” – Lord Vansittart.

The story of Dunkirk follows the day to day workings of the B.E.F. (British Expeditionary Force). It doesn’t concentrate on certain soldiers or officers but the force as a whole. A factual account that isn’t over dramatised. Stark and concise.
The authors tell of how underequipped the B.E.F. were; the murder of civilians by German soldiers; the harrowing conditions – underfed and underarmed; the acts of heroism by both servicemen and civilians; the discovery of spies amongst the French civilians and also amongst their counterparts in Belgium.

Keep the Memory Green was the original title of Dunkirk. It was retitled after the 1958 film release, Dunkirk, which was based on this book.
Sapere Books has rereleased Dunkirk in digital form.

There are so many quotes which I loved from this book but I will just leave you with a couple of my favourites.

“They were soldiers, doing a soldier’s job against odds which no British Force had ever been called upon to face, and which, it is to be hoped, no British Force will ever face again.’

“The fact remains that the troops who landed in France were but ill-provided with the tools of modern war. Save for a few tanks, most of them already semi-obsolete, we had no armour, nor many guns, with which to stop the sadly-plentiful armour of the enemy.”

I received an ERC from Sapere Publishing.