· 2017
This book, first published in 1888 and reprinted in 1974, offers a history of US protective tariffs and their consequences for that country’s international trade, particularly with Great Britain. Its aim was to present to the reader the arguments for and against the opposing principles of protection and free trade, and in this it is successful – the book is a comprehensive analysis of the issue, seen from a time when the debate was perhaps at its most intense.
· 2017
An explosive story of blunders and courage in the battle that might have brought victory in Europe in 1944. "I believe my book could be described as an attempt at an heroic history of a very long and important battle, which is truly a series of battles. All the events 'depicted' in it happened, and if I have erred it has been on the side of understatement, for heroism often is beyond the ordinary use of prose, and if one feels unable to express it beyond a doubt it is better to let it speak for itself in the deed...."—Foreword
· 2014
This is perhaps the most revealing case history of the politics of modern warfare ever set down. It is a story of a time when image making and public relations took precedence over strategy at the cost of thousands of lives. It is the story of the distortion of history and the promulgation of questionable glory. By August 1942, disaster had struck Great Britain in every theater of war, Singapore had fallen; Crete was gone; the Egyptians were hammering at Egypt. The British Navy and Air Force were being repulsed, and Churchill wrote: “I should have then vanished from the scene and the harvest would have been ascribed to my belated disappearance.” The shadow of becoming a second class power was already falling on Britain, and Churchill and his generals were about to be eclipsed by Roosevelt and the strength of America. Churchill was desperate for victory and a glamorous hero. General Auchinleck, commander of Britain’s Eighth Army, had already fought a successful battle at El Alamein. But Churchill needed something more theatrically effective than what Auchinleck could provide. SO he set the propaganda machinery working to obliterate that victory. Auchinleck was sacked and replaced by Montgomery. Although Rommel was by this time a very sick man with a weakened army, the myth of the Desert Fox was revived as well. And the second Battle of El Alamein, the one recorded in the history books, was launched. Every man played his part well, including the public relations staff, General Montgomery’s personal photographers, the moving picture teams, and those who fell in battle. This is a fascinating book, not just for buffs of military history, but for anyone concerned with how a war is really run in an age of propaganda.
· 2021
This book, first published in 1967, examines the foundations and the substance of the Montgomery Legend. His appearance upon the scene in the Western Desert coincided with a change in warfare as ‘ironmongery replaced generalship’, as General Fuller observed, and with Montgomery’s victories came a British need for a Champion for all to see. The public needed a Hero as Britain’s time on the ropes ended, and it was also politically necessary, lest Britain be swamped by the power of its allies.
· 2021
This book, first published in 1969, examines the achievement of Montgomery and the 21st Army Group in the campaign in Northwest Europe in 1944-45. The author observed the campaign first-hand, and has spent twenty years poring over war diaries and regimental papers to provide an in-depth analysis of Montgomery’s generalship, personality, complex relations with his American allies, and his own subordinates. Looking at Montgomery’s performance as a morale builder both for troops and civilians, this books also examines his difficulties with the diplomatic niceties of coalition warfare.
· 2021
This book, first published in 1963, is an early biography of Winston Churchill, examining his personality and character that was woven so closely through the texture of Britain’s story in the first half of the twentieth century. In attempting to discover a complete and complex Churchill, in his character, ambitions and personal experiences, the book seeks to present a clearer insight into the events of Churchill’s life.
· 2013
The Dieppe Raid is perhaps the best known and the least known about of all the important actions of the Second World War. The complete facts were never made known to the public, and the scrappy bits and pieces published at the time created a sense of frustration and unease. Sir Winston Churchill wrote 'Military opinion seemed unanimous that until an operation on that scale was undertaken no responsible General would take the responsibility of planning for the main invasion.' Thompson's book is history, very old-fashioned history, and he has done his utmost to lay down the facts clearly. The brief snatches of dialogue quoted are authentic, usually word for word, but always sticking to the simple sense of what is known to have been said. For example, Sergeant Dubuc, being a French-Canadian, may have cried, 'Sauve qui peut!' the moment after he had killed the German guard. He certainly said something very like that in French or English.