Nome canonico: Elstob, Peter
Nome legale: Elstob, Peter Frederick Egerton
Data di nascita: 1915-12-22
Data di morte: 2002-07-21
Sesso: male
Nazionalità: UK
Luogo di nascita: London, England, UK
Luogo di morte: Burley, Hampshire, England, UK
Istruzione: University of Michigan
Attività lavorative: military historian
fighter pilot
businessman
publisher
Organizzazioni: International PEN (vice-president)
Archive Press (publisher)
Yeast Pac (director)
Breve biografia: The Independent said in his obituary that "Peter Elstob had an exceptionally varied, eventful and adventurous life. Charming, impulsive, courageous, audacious and a consummate risk-taker, he was a wartime tank commander and RAF pilot, a Spanish Civil War volunteer for the republicans, a novelist, military historian, critic, editor, publisher, entrepreneur, director of the Arts Theatre Club in London and Secretary-General and then Vice-President of International Pen, the writers' organisation."

Utenti

Recensioni

Battle of the Reichswald di Peter Elstob

Very detailed and copiously illustrated discussion of Montgomery's push into Germany itself in the first two months of 1945. Nice discussion of staff issues, which is somewhat rare in this kind of book, and decent coverage of the defensive issues faced by the Germans. I'll ding it a bit for the concluding chapter, which really didn't conclude anything, and for some poor printing and binding on some pages, but overall a concise history of a single (and in retrospect pivotal) battle near the end of the Second World War.… (altro)

Segnalato

dhaxton | Jan 12, 2024 |

Warriors for the Working Day di Peter Elstob

Whether because the brief age of the battle tank has passed, or because five men confined together in a metal box allows for close observation of character, or because the evident inferiority of the tanks to the dreaded threat of the Tiger and the 88, stories of British tank warfare in World War Two always seem to be fascinating and of high quality. I'd also recommend Tank! by Ken Tout and the memoir Mailed Fist by John Foley, but Peter Elstob's Warriors for the Working Day is about as good as this topic can be rendered in prose.

Elstob, a tank man himself during the war, draws heavily on his own experience in his novel. There is an authenticity to the combat, the training, the personalities of the tank crew and the sheer terror and mental strain of being a perennial target to an unseen and dangerous enemy. The book follows the fresh-faced Michael Brook – a fictionalised version of the author, it seems – as he takes over command from the battle-fatigued tank commander Paddy Donovan. Marvelling at Donovan's composure before his eventual break, Brook, upon taking command, goes through the same stresses of command, combat and extreme mental and physical fatigue before his own inevitable end point. Bookending this, command is passed on to another junior NCO who steps up, and the cycle continues.

Not only is this evocation of strain and terror told excellently, building throughout the novel, it is also couched in some great storytelling. The book takes us from the Normandy breakout through Market Garden, the Bulge, V2 attacks and into Germany and the liberation of Belsen, drawing us into each event and the grind of warfare without ever becoming samey or indistinct. The characters feel realistic, and often have reassuringly British names like Taffy and Smudger, and when some of them are killed, frighteningly quickly and without warning, as happens in war, it impacts the reader. There are sudden deaths and casual horrors, but also small mercies, such as the meeting with the countess and the Belgian resistance, and some of those great little oddities that every soldier seems to encounter, such as the propaganda officer with speakers blasting music on his van, who doesn't realise that Tigers have broken through and he's right in the middle of the danger. There are a number of memorable scenes well-drawn by Elstob, and the book as a whole is an excellent experience.… (altro)