Piers Brendon

This book was dense. I liked it, but it took me 2 months to read it (granted, with much else going on).

It's definitely one of those books written from the stance that there are no good guys in history. Well, people that do good, but... Eh.

Very interesting; while the US has never had the colonial reach of GB, there are definitely some parallels (some). In that thread, it is interesting to become aware of ones own thinking following earlier reflections re: The decline of Romam Empire --> The decline of the British Empire --> The decline of the US... Hegemony.

But dense!… (más)

Den brittiske historikern Piers Brendon återger de händelser som från den stora depressionen, genom fascism, nazism och Stalinterror ledde fram till det andra världskriget. Här porträtteras inte bara periodens ledande gestalter som Hitler, Stalin och Mussolini, utan också historiens vanligtvis anonyma fotsoldater.

Trettiotalet var tiden mellan två världskrig. Tron på kapitalismen krackelerade i takt med att världsdepressionen ruinerade många miljoner. Det hopp som den unga sovjetstaten utgjort för många bleknade. Världsrevolutionen uteblev och Stalins diktatur tog livet av miljontals människor. I Europa var demokratin inte alls självklar. I många länder hade fascistiska eller auktoritära regimer makten. I bl.a. Frankrike och Spanien gjordes misslyckade försök att förena demokrati och sociala reformer. Demokratins nederlag ledde till det spa… (más)

After a short introduction, the book is alphabetically divided into the different ways Churchill used animals, in his life and in his fiery rhetoric. With his animal and it's usage in speeches there are also short explanations, histories, placing them in context. For example: he called the Bolsheviks baboons, and compared them to the Jacobins. I was amazed at his extensive use of these animals, often using them to compare people and world leaders.

He loved animals but was also an avid Hunter. Contradictory, but hunting was a big part of many lives at that time. One quirky revelation made me laugh, seemed so not in keeping with this complicated man. When he would arrive home to Clementine, he would bark to announce his arrival. She would meow in reply. As is often stated, truth is stranger than fiction.

Parts were interesting. This is a very original look at this man, so I applaud this noted author of Churchill. It did, however by the end, become a little boring.

ARC by Edelweiss.… (más)