Last night I finished off Andrew Marr's "A History of Modern Britain" (2007). It covers the period from the end of the Second World War. A time when we were blessed with real leadership and vision; the era of Churchill, Attlee, Beveridge and Bevan (to name but four). As I waded my way through this hefty *602 page tome I couldn't help comparing such giants (and those who followed them, such as Macmillan, and - arguably - Thatcher) with the crop of mediocrity we are presently saddled with. The book takes us up to the Blair and Brown years, but is not only about politics; Marr also provides lively sketches about what was going on in the arts, popular culture and societal changes in general. The book is very well written and even enjoyable! As it concludes before the "financial crisis", a new, updated, edition is obviously now much needed. Recommended. 10/10.
Earlier in the week I finished off James Holland's "Burma '44" (2016) about the little-known (to me at any rate) "Battle of the Admin Box" that took place in the Arakan jungle of Burma early on in 1944. It is hard to imagine a more inhospitable place to be surrounded by brutal attackers, fight them off for three weeks, and finally prevail. Luckily, the leadership on the ground was of a high order. But what is interesting from the historical point of view, is that this marked a turning point in the fortunes of the 14th Army, due in the main to new operational methods instigated (and insisted upon) by Mountbatten and Slim. Drawing upon eye-witness accounts from various sources, Holland has produced a very readable account. 8/10.
As a footnote, the other day I picked up a copy of James Lunt's "The Retreat from Burma" (1986). It was a pity I had not found that before the one mentioned above, as it obviously relates to an earlier period in British military history (1941/42).
* Yesterday I picked up for a quid (in paperback, and in new condition) Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East" (2005). It is only 1,286 pages long! Rather like John Simpson (plus a few others), Fisk has very much been a "witness to history" (and often a bit too close for comfort). I wonder if I'll ever get through it.
