It has long been a goal of mine to learn more about the reasons for the outbreak of World War I, to go far beyond the assassination of Archduke FerdinIt has long been a goal of mine to learn more about the reasons for the outbreak of World War I, to go far beyond the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and generalized metaphors like "powder keg". This book has allowed me to accomplish just that, in every way. I rediscovered this title in a box of my dad's old history books which I inherited, and noting the author as John Keegan, one of my dad's favorite historians and almost legendary military historian and writer, I decided this would be my introduction into the complexities of the advent of the Great War.
I was in no way disappointed. By the end of the first two chapters, in which Keegan artfully describes the political, cultural, economic and military environments of Europe in the early 20th Century, thus providing the necessary ingredients for the almost perfect-storm of events leading up to the assassination and it's domino-like response, I was hooked. He provides witness to the descending black cloud of catastrophe which envelopes the continent at lightning speed in the Fall of 1914, the hubris and miscalculations and flatly out-dated methods of war-making which lead to the stalemate and entrenchment of massive armies, the size of which the world has never before seen. He describes each development bringing in new nations and Empires into the conflict; his depiction of the web of alliances and treaties, those violated and adhered to, is almost clinical in its clarity. I was very impressed with his clear ability to make this information accessible to the reader.
Keegan has a masterful ability to process, understand and explain the forces that affect war and battle. He takes an almost academic approach to breaking down strategies and tactics, and I was perhaps most impressed by the explanation of how the emerging technologies of the time, namely in firearms (think machine guns), artillery (larger guns, covering greater distances, produced and employed in almost unimaginable numbers), and gas and cluster bombs were employed to extreme effectiveness. However, part of this effectiveness was due to the fact that the tactical operations of both attacking and opposing armies were very often left stubbornly behind in old-fashioned movements, and could therefore rarely keep up with the effectiveness of the new, industrialized machinery, use in coordination with an attack, and could almost never effectively oppose it. Keegan shows us the intractable path the combatants laid out for the cataclysmic slaughter of their populations of young men, the likes of which the world had never seen, much less imagined, on such a scale before. It is during The Great War that we first witness the ability of human-made machines of the industrial era outpace both the killing and defensive abilities, and almost imaginations, of humans themselves.
My reasons for giving this book three starts instead of four, which are completely subjective in nature, are twofold: 1) Keegan is very much a military historian and tactician; thus, he can be somewhat dry and academic in describing battles. While many readers will be engaged by his dutiful commitment to describing which armies, regiments and companies moved/positioned/attacked/defended where, and why, I found this commitment to detail at times extemporaneous. But that's me, and I know a lot of people really get into that. 2) Keegan is a British author and therefor takes an understandably British-centric view of the conflict. While not exactly holding the Brits to any vaulted, higher position in the narrative (Keegan is very committed to historical accuracy), you can just tell where his heart lies. This is fine, but just be ready for it. It made me wonder if this subconsciously played any part in why the final chapter is titled "America and Armageddon", but contains much more Armageddon and not as much explanation as I expected about American involvement in the end of the war.
Overall this book is an excellent introduction to The Great War. It would definitely help to have at least a small background in military operation, as Keegan never explains the size differences of a company, regiment, army, etc.. Also it wouldn't hurt to have a cursory knowledge of European history coming into the 20th Century. But if you want to read an in-depth, intense, and descriptive narrative of the advent and course of the war, along with a serious and poignant appreciation for the role of this conflict in the making of the modern world, this book is for you. ...more
This is a very interesting book on two levels: 1) It portrays an on-the-ground, up-close view of raw life in the DR Congo on the eve of the 2006 presiThis is a very interesting book on two levels: 1) It portrays an on-the-ground, up-close view of raw life in the DR Congo on the eve of the 2006 presidential elections and their aftermath; and 2) It is written by a nascent, albeit very intelligent (he was a post-graduate mathematics student at Yale) journalist who is beginning his career by stepping off of a plane in Kinshasa and trying to find contacts. Not only does Sundaram show obvious and excellent skill in describing his environments and the people who inhabit them, he takes us along on his personal journey as he develops sources for news, chases stories and leads and tries to find paying editors for his work while navigating the urban and rural cultures of the DRC. He does all of this alongside the running narrative of his experience renting a room from a local family, whom a random contact of his from the US (his bank teller) has connected him too. Needless to say, there are no dull moments.
What impresses me perhaps the most from this book, among a handful of very worthy themes, is the way Sundaram literally places himself within the context of his story, physically, but living and working directly among the people he is covering. While other correspondents retire to Western-ish hotels at night, he washes in a flooded bathroom and listens to rats running along the rafters. We see glimpses of the mid-20th Century reporting style of Ryszard Kapuściński, which is very vibrant and refreshing, the embodiment of a true journalist's requisite driving curiosity and fearlessness. More accurately, it is because he pursues these stories at times in spite of his fear that makes the book all the more visceral and relatable to the reader.
I must point out what is probably my favorite scene in the book: the author is traveling up the Congo river to a distant city, shore-hopping from village to village surrounded by jungle. At one point he has hitched a ride on a canoe paddled and guided by three teenage boys. His discussions with them are just completely human, friend to friend, and sometimes foreigner to local. But mostly the four of them just talk as equals. To me this is a wonderful and potent example of the worlds and lives journalists are allowed, even invited, into, and a perfect illustration of why Anjan Sundaram is so good at what he does. ...more
This book was widely popular in Van Reybrouck's native Belgium when it first came out in 2010, and with good reason. He goes back to essentially prehiThis book was widely popular in Van Reybrouck's native Belgium when it first came out in 2010, and with good reason. He goes back to essentially prehistoric times and traces the history of the Congo (or today, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) up until the times leading up to just a few years ago.
It is an expansive history which of course encompasses the history of Central Sub-Saharan Africa, and per usual much attention is given to colonial times, through independence and up until the present day. However, Van Reybrouck pulls this off without coming across as Eurocentric; instead he wonderfully incorporates what must have been hundreds of in-person interviews with more academic and political histories, using the personal narratives to illustrate and add life to the facts and dates. We get to witness the rise of the Congo Free State, the independence movement, the development of the resource economy, the accent of Mobutu and the kleptocracy that followed, all through the eyes, sounds and words of those who lived through these periods. He does actually interview two people who claim to be over 100 years old, and therefore provide an otherwise unlikely firsthand source to the horrors and corruption of the Free State period. The men's stories back up their alleged ages.
Any history of the Congo will include descriptions of some of the most inhumane acts and blatant evisceration of human rights ever recorded in print. This work is no different. While certainly not exclusive to the Congo, these parts of the nation's history are tough to read. I've read extensively about the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia and am also well-read on the brutality of apartheid South African, and yet I still had to pause and reflect at times over what I was reading. But the histories of nations is rarely sparkling clean, and they certainly are not when Central Africa is concerned.
I enjoyed the book's depth of coverage of the independence period and the numerous players who were associated with this time. We get a well-explained background of how the structure of the independence government came about in 1960, including a not-always-flattering picture of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first prime minister, who is often portrayed as a martyr for Congolese freedom to the West. While he indeed was a staunch supporter of independence, he, like all of the men involved, was not without fault and had little to absolutely no experience with how to run a country. Van Reybrouck presents all of these players, warts and all.
Then of course we get to witness the Mobutu regime in all of it's glory. His is largely a textbook story of a Mid-20th Century dictatorship and it's inevitable evolution (devolution?) into extreme, naked corruption and paranoia. But it is interesting to watch it unfold and I found that this book filled in many of the gaps I had in the history of this part of the world. It is interesting to see how Mobutu used the Cold War rivalries, and an almost "Second Scramble for Africa" to his advantage.
Finally, the only thing that bothered me about this book was something I've never encountered before - an amazing amount of typos, almost all included in the first few chapters. It was uncanny. I almost grabbed a red pen to mark them, just to keep count. I understand that this happens nowadays with all the spellcheck and editing programs being used. And, it must be noted, this is the first English-language edition as translated from the original Dutch. But read this edition and tell me if you think a human being (who was fluent in English at least, if not a native speaker) couldn't have read it over once and made the elementary-level corrections. Tsk tsk.
Overall, an excellent, vastly interesting and encompassing read on the history of this ravaged nation, a country which will only play a larger factor on the world scene as the 21st Century proceeds. ...more
Excellently written account of a journalist's journey through Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007. He is intrepid and headstrong in his eExcellently written account of a journalist's journey through Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007. He is intrepid and headstrong in his efforts to travel over ground and water to the city of Manono, deep in one of the most war-torn regions of the East. It is part travelogue and part reporting, with wonderful sketches of the characters and people he meets along the way. Rawlence shows a real gift for making friends with all kinds of people; shopkeepers, NGO workers, warlords, bureaucrats, etc. He continuously seeks and finds rides further and further south until he reaches his destination, all the while defying constant warnings from locals and expats that moving forward with his quest is dangerous and very well might kill him. After reading this brief synopsis, you might consider the author to be an adrenaline-seeking adventure junky; I can't tell you how far this is from the case. Rawlence becomes the consummate journalist, seeking the meat of the story and the details behind the main dish; he works his way through the country by being a fellow human to those he meets, and he is treated (relatively) well for his efforts.
My favorite segment is his journey south over Lake Tanganyika as he bounces from one seaside village to the next, by day and night. At one point he is ferried along by a group of teenage boys, and it is during this interesting leg of the trip that his humanity is exceptionally apparent, just in how he relates to the boys and chats in the darkness.
Rawlence is a fantastic writer and he certainly, for better or worse, paints with an optimistic brush. Congo is a tough place to be optimistic, and indeed I found an article online while I was reading Radio Congo where Rawlence writes, post-publishing of the book, that his optimistic vision didn't exactly work out. But no matter how the oscillation of this turbulent place revolved after he put paper to pen on his journey, this book is a marvelous record of what one man can accomplish in one of the world's most dangerous places, when he arms himself with simply guile, humanity and the journalist's commitment to curiosity. If perhaps his vision of a peaceful, prosperous Congo on the horizon remains days farther away than he first expected, Rawlence succeeds in showing us, and very much reminding us, that the best of humanity still mixes side-by-side with the worst, wherever that may be, and that we are all better off for noticing. ...more
This book is the travelogue that came out of a recent-Harvard-graduate Hall riding his bike through Eastern Europe for two years in the early 1980's. This book is the travelogue that came out of a recent-Harvard-graduate Hall riding his bike through Eastern Europe for two years in the early 1980's. Hall had received a literary grant and literally embarked on his writing career with this effort, his first published book. It is very well written and entertaining; we certainly see not just glimpses, but fully developed examples of the writer's gift with prose. He does a great job of taking us to these places, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
The best part of this book is the section on Bulgaria. Here Hall is at his best: observant, informative, intelligent and mildly unbecoming. He seems to blend easily into his scenes as the best travel writers do. What is perhaps most important, however, on a subcutaneous level, is that in this section Hall has not yet developed the arrogance in his voice which will infect his later work. In Bulgaria he expresses himself more like the wandering traveler, recounting the experiences of new places, new characters and the daily adventures of life that travel brings. This is excellent work.
In the other sections, especially Hungary, you can see the beginnings of the more knowledgeable, more sophisticated, more worldly mental attitude that will be a theme in Hall's work and which is very evident in The Impossible Country, written some seven years later. I felt like too often I could either not be sure, except for times when I was positive, whether Hall held contempt for the people in his scenes. I don't particularly care for this kind of travel writing, but it does make me contemplate whether it is a valid perspective, since I don't believe we have to be nice about everyone we encounter on our travels. But sometimes I wonder, as I did with The Impossible Country, if at times Hall is just being mean.
All that said, Brian Hall is an excellent writer. His work is exceptional from his earliest beginnings and I will continue to read it. But it makes me wonder if, as I read his later work when he is truly growing into manhood and adulthood, if his perspective will soften about the people he encounters or if it will solidify into the voice of the arrogant American. ...more
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