soc.history.war.world-war-ii

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:53:03 -0400, WaltBJ
wrote:

>I am just finishing Max Hastings' "Retribution",

Having read Hastings's two books about the defeat of Germany,
1944-1945, I concluded that he would accept almost any argument that
would show the brilliance of Montgomery and the stupidity of
Eisenhower, or the doughtiness of the Tommy as opposed to the slacker
GI. If he argues that it was the Americans and not the Russians who
brought the Empire to surrender, you can be sure that it's not
knee-jerk admiration of the Yanks that persuaded him.

Of course, it's always possible that Mr Hastings despises the Russians
more than the Americans.

However that may be, he's an entertaining historian. I don't keep many
of the books I read, but I kept both of his.


Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942
new from HarperCollins www.FlyingTigersBook.com