Jonathan DimblebyRecensioni

Comment from Russian perspective

Let me comment on it from Russian perspective: I think it is an exceptionally good book on the matter. One can only wonder where does this vitriol of the reviewers seep from?
First, to me the book feels absolutely objective. I unlike other foreign reviewers haven’t sensed any bad feelings toward my country and its people or at least the ones that significantly affects his ability to perceive reality objectively and I was never offended. I had a luxury of traveling to many same destinations the author visited (even that bar in Murmansk) and thus know what I am speaking. The vastness of the country is nicely captured in his strategically placed visits to its most nodal and/or characteristic points.

Yes, he confesses his downbeat emotional state at times, but it’s Ok. We’re all humans. What is important is that his emotional state does not influence the speakers he interviews. And the speakers…you may not like their opinions, but they speak what they think. And there’s a great array of opinions, just like it is in reality in Russia. His interlocutors are Stalinists, yuppies, dissidents, common folks or in general from all walks of life and layers of Russian societies. I heard those opinions thousands of times and can confirm their genuineness. They are all grounded in reality unlike Orlando Figes’s stretching, wishful thinking and outright fraud. Such array of views should be very sobering to those of you who has your own pet-theory of Russia or who thinks it is monotone and monochrome.

The author sheds light onto many pages of Russian history and does it timely, appropriately, not boring and with verve. I immensely enjoyed the book, it is not shallow, it is not glossing over or vilifying Russia. The man just tries hard to understand the country, which at times is incomprehensible to its own citizens, who often can only mumble something fatalistic like “This is Russia”.

I may myself not like some things he sees and reports, but it’s not his fault. He conveys the actual reality, which currently is not a solacing view. Don’t attribute society’s and state’s ills to the author’s ill-deposed attitude to Russia. Don’t pick on him for extolling virtues of true democracy and always contemplating what he sees in Russia ….Of course a book that reports only niceties is vastly more pleasant to read. But switch on or tune to Russian State Channel news and you’ll get this rosy view in spades. That is why Russians are NOT watching their television. You may not need such disturbing depictions of our country, but we certainly do. In fact, the reality and corruption are even uglier and less conceivable. From time to time he also makes comparisons between Russia and his native UK with such comparisons not always in favor of the latter.

And after all, he is not that downbeat all the time – there are multiple moments and encounters in which he experiences generosity, wit and good humor or Russian people (not only ethnical Russians). To summarize: it is an enlightening, thought-provoking and realistic work that reads well.
P.s. it is not unavoidable to drink as much vodka as he did during his trips. I managed to stay within reasonable limits (I hate the taste of vodka) while visiting pretty much the same places and simultaneously was able not to offend my genuinely well-meaning hosts :)

Decent overall view of Barbarossa. Large portions of the book deal with the behind the scenes diplomacy that was on-going during Barbarossa. The military side of Barbarossa was only covered lightly.

I approached this book with some trepidation. At over 500 pages plus maps and photographs, it details the first six months of one of the most horrific military campaigns of the twentieth century, the Eastern Front during the Second World War. The beginning of the book is a test of concentration, detailing the twists and turns of the politics and diplomacy leading up to the war. Once the military invasion begins, the author deftly weaves between politics and diplomacy, the strategy of the generals, and the frontline experiences of the ordinary soldier on both sides and the civilians caught up in the maelstrom. The author also explores the genocidal megalomania of Hitler and paranoid psychopathy of Stalin, detailing the horrific stories of their victims, as much a part of 'Barbarossa' as the military operation. Well written and thought provoking, even if you think you already know something of this period of history.

Recommended.

Copy purchased by the Reviewer from Readings Bookshop St Kilda, $A35 paperback.

Not read Jonathan Dimbleby previously. Surprised how well written. Very clear exposition and well defined profiles of leading characters. Learned a lot.

Roger Lancashire was a surgeon aboard the cruiser HMS Exeter in her confrontation with the German battleship Graf Spee. As his ship came under fire he described dealing with the injured:
“The casualties were pretty devastating. There were two or three who literally died in my arms. These were people I had been living with, as it were, for three years. There were cases where, if I’d had the facilities and an endless supply of blood transfusions, things might have been different, but it wasn’t like that. I did a quick assessment of who was most likely to benefit and then went to work on them”.
Powerful personal testimonies such as this are part of the delight of the new generation of military history, exemplified by Anthony Beevor’s work over the past few decades. British broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby has taken this model and applied it to this important theatre of World War 2. Through a range of mostly secondary sources he successfully sweeps from the broad strategic view down to the experiences of those on board the merchant vessels, navy ships and submarines that bore the brunt of the battle. As he points out, the term “Battle of the Atlantic” is a misnomer. It “not only lasted from the very first to the very last day of the war but, so far from being a single battle, it involved hundreds of hostile encounters on a wide variety of fronts” - more of a campaign according to Dimbleby.
He portrays the importance of the battle well, both through the views of war leaders such as Roosevelt and Churchill and through the everyday experiences of (often quoted) Nella Last of Barrow-on-Furness, dealing with the consequences of rationing. The drama is not just portrayed through the life and death struggle of the participants, but also with the battles within the participant powers. Churchill recognised the strategic importance of the theatre, but at the same time allowed the RAF to diminish the importance of Coastal Command’s efforts, resulting in a diversion of long range aircraft to bombing instead of maritime duties which almost let the German’s win the battle of attrition. On the German’s side Raeder and Donitz competed for Hitler’s attention and undermined each other with their visions of the relative importance of the surface and submarine fleets. Overarching these conflicts were the disagreements between the war leaders, especially Stalin’s displeasure and distrust of the US and Britain and their ability to meet their commitments for equipment supply via the Arctic convoys.
Interestingly having recently read [b:Enigma - The Battle for the Code|817512|Enigma - The Battle for the Code|Hugh Sebag-Montefiore|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348562133s/817512.jpg|145475] and seen the film The Imitation Game it was fascinating how little coverage Dimbleby gives Enigma. After getting the impression that the reading of Ultra (or not) directly correlated with success in the war against the U Boats, this book gives more subtlety, pointing out the many other factors especially the fact that the German’s could also read the merchant navy’s codes. This meant that when the convoys were diverted as a result of intel from Ultra the German’s were able to move their U Boats in response. Dimbleby’s viewpoint does carry some weight, as it explains why Donitz in particular, although suspicious never worked out that his communications with U Boats were being intercepted. Arguably in this theatre the two side’s efforts in code breaking almost nullified each other.
If I have one criticism of the book it is that at times the context about other theatres of war (for example the Russian front) are given a bit more attention that is necessary. This felt a bit like filler at times, although for someone reading this book without a good knowledge of the Second World War I’m sure these passages will be welcome. Overall this book provides a sound explanation of this vital theatre which places it in its justified historical context, providing well balanced coverage of the personalities, strategic decisionmaking, importance of the Atlantic lifeline and most of all conveying the struggles, discomfort and danger confronted by the sailors on the high seas. A recommended book.

Jonathan Dimbleby, in The Battle of the Atlantic: How the Allies Won the War, argues quite effectively that this theater was most crucial to the success of the Allies. He makes this argument while also providing a very readable and well-researched volume contextualizing the events here within the overall war effort.

Dimbleby's ability to both personalize the events, whether from the view of war leaders or the people aboard the ships, while never losing sight of the larger picture of how these events affected the war effort makes this a particularly enjoyable read for both the historian and the general reader.

In questioning some accepted opinions he introduces little new information but rather views much of what is known from a different perspective. That perspective is no doubt influenced by what he does bring to the discussion that was not previously included.

I would highly recommend this to both professional historians and the general reader with an interest in World War II, military history or history in general.

Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

A slick piece of propoganda written to show what an exceptionally wonderful person the Prince is.

I enjoyed the tv series this book accompanies and looking for more detail read with increasing fascination first the chapters dealing with the places that moved me in the series and then the entire volume. Jonathan Dimbleby's engaging candour, knowledge, depth of understanding and ability to communicate these skills on the page is moving and illuminating. Russia is vast and complicated and this is an excellent work.

This is the story of the last British Governor of Hong Kong and the extraordinary efforts he made to introduce elements of democracy into this long standing British Colony prior to the Chinese take-over in 1997. The name Dimbleby might ring some bells, both his brother and father were/are much more famous British television commentators that Jonathan, who has been known to do the odd documentary or two himself. Jonathan is however primarily a political commentator, and his treatment of Chris Patten's Governorship is masterful. Patten was the quintessential politician, once touted to be the next conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Dimbleby is very close to Patten throughout Patten's five years in the job, taking notes and interviewing the key players as events unfolded. Although it might be more accurate to say 'unraveled'. At almost every step Patten's plans to introduce democratic reform in Hong Kong were opposed by the British Foreign Office and most of the largest commercial enterprises in Hong Kong who all saw China's antagonism towards democracy as a threat to Hong Kong's and Britain's future commercial relationship with China. China was - of course - the most vehement in their opposition towards any steps towards democratisation of Hong Kong, preferring to see it revert to a bare rock populated by sea birds rather than become a trojan horse of popular dissent within the 'new China'.

That Patten managed to achieve anything is remarkable, and Dimbleby does a fine job of documenting both the successes and failures of Patten's stewardship. You get the sense that Patten (and Dimbleby in telling the tale) had some real sympathy with the lot of the ordinary Hong Kong citizen, driven by necessity to make compromises in order to achieve financial stability, but always hoping for something even better for their children. Dimbleby doesn't pull any punches in describing the extremists on all sides of the debate, the libertarian capitalists, the ideologically pure but hopelessly impractical democrats and the ideologically obsessed communists. It may be that he spares Patten some criticism, but it is human nature to have greater sympathy for the subjects closest to you, and at least it can be said that Dimbleby manages to convey a fairly even handed tone throughout. His section of further reading includes some excellent books, including some which take a much harsher view of the British handling of affairs, which Dimbleby acknowledges contains more than a few grains of truth.

The strange thing about this otherwise excellent book though is the almost complete encapsulation of the story within the time frame of the career of Chris Patten as Governor. Events leading up to his appointment are covered adequately enough, but the reader might do well to have a look at Cottrell's 'The End of Hong Kong' for the full story. And of course every chronicle of events must choose a time to rule off the last entry and go to press, but Dimbleby's book ends (or fades out really...) a few weeks before the actual Chinese take over of Hong Kong. Hundreds of loose ends and contentious issues are left hanging in mid sentence, to be continued. The story of Hong Kong after the Chinese take over will make another fascinating book for anyone who has followed this one with interest. But as it stands, and because of his unparalleled access to the story and the main players, Dimbleby's book will always be an essential part of the telling of the story of Hong Kong. Highly recommended.

One of the most sypathetic and deeply understanding views of modern and Russian history I have ever read. He conveys the Russians and the country vividly. His analysis of what is going on there is spot on. A truly remarkable book and with a wonderful sense of humanity throughout. I would recommend it to anyone embarking on a study of Russia or to anyone with a passing curiosity about it.

The style of writing is not particularly easy to read, rather disjointed at times. Although the detail is very interesting, I have struggled to complete this book. Finally after eighteen months of picking it up and reading short passages, I have completed the read. Not a first choice for reading for me.

L is reading it.

Group L

Social Sciences
- HK Government