The End of the Beginning

Rating:
Summary: Another Finest Hour
Review: Having enjoyed 'Finest Hour', the authors' previous book on the summer of 1940, I was curious to see whether or not they could repeat their successful character driven narrative over a much wider field than the Battle of Britain. 'End of the Beginning' covers the pivotal year of 1942 when the tide of World War Two finally began to turn against Hitler. The book covers a wide range of topics from the heroic defence of Malta and bombing raids over Germany, to the Dieppe raid to Churchill's difficult relationship with the senior British officers in the desert trying to fend off Rommel's drive on Egypt. Yet, as with 'Finest Hour', by far the most impressive thing is the fascinating mix of characters whose individual recollections form the backbone of the book. Their personal accounts of the unique rituals of tank warfare in the desert, night bombing over Germany and volunteering to reboard a stricken Malta bound tanker to name but three examples bring starkly to life the wider themes of the war in 1942. This approch brings home to me how very ordinary people rose to the challenge of war. This is most clearly shown by the accounts of various Nottinghamshire soldiers in the run up to El Alamein, the climax of the book. Their detailed accounts show that however great the generals, wars are still ultimately won by individuals who clear minefields with a bayonet or slug it out in individual tank to tank duels under the desert sun. One of the recurring themes of the book is that none of the interviewees thought that they were doing anything untoward. Judged by the standard of the times this may have been so. Sixty years on, their heroism and scarifices are even more starkly outlined. 'End of the Beginning' is a fascinating account of war at the ground level illuminating the high politics of the Anglo-American relationship. If, like me, you do not know a great deal about this period of the war, the book will prove an invaluable and entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Follow Up to 'Finest Hour'
Review: Once again the talented combination of Tim Clayton and Phil Craig have produced a new and exciting account of a well know period of the Second World War. Their newest book, apparently the second in a trilogy designed to mark the 60th anniversaries of Britain's three most important moments during WW2, covers the year 1942, the turning point in the Allied camp.

Following on from their excellent book 'Finest Hour', we again meet up with some familiar faces from that story. Peter Vaux, now fighting with the famed Desert Rats, Edith Heap working with R.A.F. bomber crews in England and Ken Lee still flying fighters in the R.A.F. but now over the desert. The authors have used the same winning formula with their last book and we follow these people and their stories along with a few others through the events of 1942.

We experience the fighting in the desert against Rommel and his men. We read how the British tanks are out classed by the German panzers and how the R.A.F. try to protect the Allies and harry the advancing German and Italian units as they advance towards Alexandria. We read about the desperate battles on the sea and in the sky to get convoys into Malta. We hear the stories of the inhabitants of that bombed out Island, hanging on desperately against the might of the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica during daily bombing missions and with the fear of invasion hanging over their heads.

The story takes us back to Europe and we learn of the fate of many of the R.A.F. bomber crews fighting their own lonely war over the dark skies of occupied Europe. We read about the terrible tragedy at Dieppe and the political infighting amongst the leaders of the allied nations. Most of the story has been told before, however there are some elements that most readers will find new and interesting. I was not aware of the American intelligence blunder that gave away many Allied secrets to the Germans nor was I aware of the true mastermind behind the defence at El Alamein.

These things and more are told here for the first time and we read the stories of those who experienced this frightening but also uplifting period with a mixture of awe and amazement. This is a good book and in just over 400 pages we get a good feel for what it was like for many participants to be involved in this most important period in British history. One story that I won't forget and found hard to believe was the account of a young Jewish woman that was deported to Auschwitz from Guernsey. You read this story and you ask yourself 'how could this happened?'

I am sure that most people who enjoy popular history will get a buzz out of this book. "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning" - Winston Churchill, 10th November, 1942

Rating:
Summary: 1942: The Turning Point of the War
Review: The End of the Beginning covers World War II on the western European front from May 25 to November 10, 1942. It's written in almost novel form as it follows certain real people in the various theaters of the war, so it's not as dry as some history books can be. However, the effect of the writing is diluted by some of the varying topics the book covers, lessening the impact and bringing down the quality of the book.

Clayton and Craig have an easy-going style that draws the reader into it. The "characters" in the book come from all walks of life, from the British aristocracy to a nurse on the island of Malta to Winston Churchill himself. The authors spent a lot of time interviewing many of their subjects, while other parts of the narrative are taken from war diaries and previous interviews that had been conducted. They weave all of this into a wonderful tapestry that's sure to garner interest.

The chapters are set up to cover a certain number of days each. Some are only one day, while others span a week or two. Inside each chapter, many different events are covered during 1942. The narrative jumps back and forth among these events, allowing us to get to know the people involved, the horrors that they faced and the bravery that they exhibited. Sometimes, such as in the case of Mimi Cortis, a nurse on Malta, it was the bravery of just surviving day to day. All of the stories are interesting and make you want to read more about them.

A number of the chapters have a theme that uses two events that contrast with each other to make a point. In one chapter, the authors contrast a bombing mission over Germany that results in the pilot being captured and interred in a POW camp with a Jewish woman who is arrested on the island of Guernsey and her trip on train after train until she finally arrives at Auschwitz. This chapter also puts together the deportation of the Jews from occupied territories, and the treatment that they had to endure, with the British bombing of civilians in Germany. It's a very powerful chapter as we see man's inhumanity toward man demonstrated. Yet we also see the apparent necessity of one of these against the barbarity of the other.

Another strong contrast is the chapters talking about Churchill's visit to Stalin to try and convince him that a second front (namely, an invasion of France) was not possible in 1942. Stalin questioned the bravery of British troops because of this and they had many heated discussions. Also in this chapter, though, is the story of a convoy that attempts to get supplies to Malta. The convoy is bombed, stalked by U-Boats, and attacked by some surface ships. Many cargo ships go down, but one of them refuses to sink. The crew, along with rescued crewmembers from other ships, desperately work to keep the ship afloat and get it to Malta. They finally succeed. The scene in this chapter constantly switches back and forth between these two events, effectively putting the lie to Stalin's statements about British bravery.

There are some real problems with this book that bring it down considerably, though. The first is the scattered nature of the narrative. While all of the events and characters are interesting to read about, the scattershot approach makes for a very disjointed read. The scene jumps from Egypt to Malta to England to Germany, back to England and then back to the Middle East. Just as you are getting used to one event, it's on to something else. While I never lost interest in the book, it did become a bit annoying.

The second problem is related to this in a way. Some events are given short shrift because of this approach. The battles in Egypt and Libya are given lots of time. Malta has its fair share, too. Life around a bomber base is detailed pretty nicely as well. But other areas, while mentioned, are neglected to the point that I have to conclude the only reason they were included was for completeness' sake. The raid on Dieppe, for example, is over in a few pages. The main character that the authors use to discuss Dieppe is an American Ranger who was in the more successful aspect of this operation. Most of the mistakes and catastrophic results of the main raid are told in hindsight and don't get that many pages. Of 4963 Canadians who landed on the beaches, 3369 were killed, captured, or wounded. But it only gets a few pages.

The other aspect that gets so little discussion that it's a wonder it was included is the political wrangling between the Americans and British. Clayton and Craig talk about how the Lend Lease, where military equipment was "lent" to the British on the promise that they would pay when they were able to, was partially designed to keep Britain economically dependent on the United States so that the British Empire would fall and Britain would lose its world dominance after the war. This is a potentially explosive issue, screaming for analysis. But it gets only a few pages and is never discussed in great detail.

One would not be wrong to think this book is mostly about the battles in the Middle East. While other subjects are covered, that gets the majority of the spotlight. Sometimes I wished that they had just stayed there and covered that in even more detail and left the other insights to other books. As good as this book is, it would have been so much better with a little bit of concentration. As it is, I can't give it four stars. But I would give it 3.75 if I could.

David Roy

Rating:
Summary: The Nazi Tide Begins To Ebb
Review: This book is one of the best ever written about the travails of the Allies, particularly the British, as they struggled to stop the Nazi's unchecked aggression in the early days of WWII. The authors have woven a colorful chronological tapestry of individual soldiers', airmens' and sailors' stories, entwined with the broader perspectives and struggles of Churchill and Roosevelt as they approach the strategic challenges of a global war. The text follows the various central characters as they fit into the chronology, so each ones story is told against the backdrop of the overall war as it unfolds. This gives the book an almost novel quality, captivating the reader as these personalities tell their stories. The reader is given a foxhole look at the very bloody and unusual warfare conducted in the desert, following enlisted men and junior officers as they try to outwit the genius of Field Marshal Irwin Rommel at the very pointed end of the spear. Most of the first-person testimony is seen for the first time and is riveting in its realism, making the reader feel as if they are actually witnessing the battles, skirmishes and situations confronting the combatants. As a result of historians generally paying scant attention to this period, both the strategic and tactical issues discussed make for particularly insightful and entertaining reading. The air war waged above and the convoys being sunk in attempting to re-supply Malta, and the very unique warfare in the desert are particulalry interesting. This book is easy to read and is very well researched, thus bringing the reader along on the airplanes, ships and armored vehicles as they are wielded as instruments of battle. This book is an absolute "must read" for anyone interested in the first halting successes of the Allies as they learn to meet and defeat the Axis powers.

Rating:
Summary: Another Finest Hour
Review: This short book is an effort to provide a ground view of the turning point of the war in North Africa. Focusing on the recollections of number of veterans, the authors depict the sequence of events leading up to the defeat of the Afrika Corps at El Alamein. This story has been told many times previously, and often better. The effort to present the ground view is laudable but not particularly novel. There is little effort to integrate the personal accounts with broader events. The authors also diffuse the impact of the story by including some extraneous events such as the Dieppe raid. The most novel aspect of the book is the detailing of the success of German intelligence in penetrating British battle plans.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: This short book is an effort to provide a ground view of the turning point of the war in North Africa. Focusing on the recollections of number of veterans, the authors depict the sequence of events leading up to the defeat of the Afrika Corps at El Alamein. This story has been told many times previously, and often better. The effort to present the ground view is laudable but not particularly novel. There is little effort to integrate the personal accounts with broader events. The authors also diffuse the impact of the story by including some extraneous events such as the Dieppe raid. The most novel aspect of the book is the detailing of the success of German intelligence in penetrating British battle plans.