Angus Calder (1942–2008)

An eclectic array of minibiographies covering a lot of people I knew of (but perhaps not well enough) and some intriguing people I for some reason had never heard of before. The eclecticness is so much that you almost feel Calder literally pulled names out of a hat to include, which sometimes makes "Gods, Mongrels and Demons" feel very uneven.

Even so, if Calder ever released a sequel I'm sure I'd read it, if only to see if Calder could top the story of Masiin, the shaman from Tikigaq, Alaska who apparently knew of Stalin's death long before anyone else.… (mehr)

A beginning to the discussion of life on the home front. North Americans, like myself, can only approach the experience of steady air attack and the day to day grind of the rationing of practically all consumer goods and food and other amenities by literary efforts like this. It is no wonder that the literature of the time and for the generation following, is fascinated by food. It draws heavily on materials drawn from the "Mass Observation" agency. This book has been re-issued at least twice in its history.… (mehr)

An amazing compendium of facts and reports of England's struggle in World war II, organized mostly chronologically, subdivided in such a way that roots of difficulties and obstructions are visited to explain the outcome.
The ultimate perspective for those who lived through it is partially one of surprise blended with partial remembrance of Churchill's oratory and statesmanship: raising Dunkirk from the ashes, the joyful arrival of the Yanks in Piccadilly Circus, the Pyrrhic victory implicit in the final VE Day.
A much treasured reference book, although one with an axe to grind.
Season with care,… (mehr)