Just in

Books

To 1944 and back

This may sound a degree absurd from someone in their sixties with a general interest in military history but last week I made my first-ever research trip to Normandy as a member of a small touring group spending five days ‘doing’ the D-Day Landings and elements of the 1944 Allied campaign to [...]

July 8, 2018 // 0 Comments

France :A History from Gaul to de Gaulle / John Julius Norwich

I always have a lot of respect for writers of non fiction whose preparation involves a lot of research and who can nonetheless produce a final work that is concise. Norman Stone wrote a brilliant short history of the First World War, Neal McGregor a superb but short history of Germany and now John [...]

July 3, 2018 // 0 Comments

Lord Ted /Alan Lee

It’s always interesting to read a biography – or autobiography – of someone one knows well  to see if it chimes with your impressions and what bits of their life you know which have not been revealed. Alan Lee’s biography was published in 1995 after Ted Dexter resigned as Chairman [...]

June 27, 2018 // 0 Comments

After the Party/Cressida Connolly

I can probably as I am one say this without being ravaged in social media but After the Party is very much a woman’s novel. It features at its heart the relationship between 3 sisters and covers subjects such as food, rearing children and middle class county socialising, all more likely to engage [...]

June 24, 2018 // 0 Comments

Greeks Bearing Gifts /Philip Kerr

I had occasion to seek the advice of a friend who is a loss adjuster to be informed that he was on a remote Greek island investigating a claim. Coincidentally Bernie Gunther, in the latest Philip Kerr novel, is doing exactly the same. I drew this coincidence to my friend’s attention to be [...]

June 22, 2018 // 0 Comments

Dead if you don’t/Peter James

It is significant that this crime novel by the popular Brighton writer was recommended to me by the former Chief Constable of Sussex. It is clear that James has a close relationship with the police force which benefits both. The police explain procedure and criminal background and he represents the [...]

June 14, 2018 // 0 Comments

The Kites/Romain Cary

Very often a fictional account can be more gripping than factual historical one and this is certainly the case with Romain Cary’s story of Ludo Fleury, a young man growing up in Normandy during the last war. Both his parents perished in World War One and he is brought up by his uncle a builder of [...]

June 9, 2018 // 0 Comments

Around and around

I have just returned from a stay with a pal of forty years and more, a far more well-read and sociable cove than me. It was a fascinating experience as I knew it would be. I’ve rarely read much purely for pleasure, which he does on practically a daily basis and I admire him for it. Instead I have [...]

June 2, 2018 // 0 Comments

Riviera at War//George Kundahl

This is a most detailed account of World War 2 on the Riviera by American writer George Kundahl. Sometimes it is difficult to extricate themes from the mass of statistic. Nonetheless the account serves to enlighten the reader on a relatively undocumented region and theatre of war. The Riviera [...]

April 19, 2018 // 0 Comments

Dolce Vita Confidential /Shaun Levy

I very much enjoyed this affectionately appreciation of Cinecitta, the great rise and contribution to world cinema by Italy, which is also known as “Hollywood on the Tiber.” I am a huge fan of Italian cinema and the book is a worthy addition to my film library. Yet it is more than just a film [...]

April 8, 2018 // 0 Comments

1 … 19 20 21 22 23 … 36

Copyright © 2026 The National Rust | Design by Premonition