Книги, похожие на «John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War»

In this controversial and hotly discussed book, Sir Peregrine presents a reactionary and playful look at the origins, evolution and demise of the aristocracy.Every country has the aristocracy it deserves; so what does it say about Britain that it is in the process of removing the last vestiges of political power from one of the most ancient hereditary aristocracies in the world, and one, moreover, whose record of public service has been impeccable?The word aristocracy has many connotations, some good, some bad, and Britain's aristocracy has in the past earned most of them in some degree or another. But Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, one of our most influential and respected political commentators, argues that not only does the good far outweigh the bad, but that our aristocracy has contributed mightily to our stability and prosperity, and that without it we would have neither. And yet it is ever more being politically written out of the national story, with the result that soon there will be no hereditary peers in the House of Lords.The disestablishment of the peerage will bring cheers to the lips of many, but in this passionately argued and highly original essay Worsthorne forcefully demonstrates the shallowness of those who would crow. For though many now forget it, Britain once had an upper class which was the envy of the world, and which, crucially, 'had enough in-built authority – honed over three centuries – and enough ancestral wisdom – acquired over three centuries – to dare to defy the arrogance of intellectuals from above and the emotions of the masses from below; to dare to resist the entrepreneurial imperative; to dare to try to raise the level of public conversation; to dare to put the public interest before private interests; and to dare to shape the nation's will and curb its appetites … to do for Demos what courtiers could never do for princes: be a true friend rather than a false flatterer.'

There are just a handful of men and women alive today who served and fought with the Special Forces during the Second World War. They are a dwindling bunch of veterans in their twilight years whose tales of heroism and daring-do will soon be lost in time forever – yet they still regularly get together in a gentleman’s club, right in the heart of London – The Special Forces Club.In ten separate and astonishing accounts of ingenuity and heroism, the Sunday Telegraph defence correspondent Sean Rayment visits this unique group of people, and through their vivid memories, transports the reader back in time to the dark days of the Second World War when Britain was again fighting on multiple fronts across the globe.These incredibly heroic tales are taken from men such as Captain John Campbell, MC and Bar and the last surviving officer of ‘Popski’s Private Army’, whose triumph over being wrongly labelled a coward led him to serve with distinction and bravery behind Rommel’s lines in North Africa. Balancing the heroism in the field of battle is the story of Noreen Riols, who worked under the legendary Colonel Maurice Buckmaster, helping train operatives in the art of counter-espionage and counter-surveillance, who was used to ‘honey trap’ would-be agents. Then there is Mike Sadler, who served with David Stirling in the LRDG and took part in an SAS attack on a German airfield near el-Alamein in 1942 in which 34 aircraft were destroyed; and Harry Verlander, who served with the legendary Jedburghs, a highly secret element of the Special Operations Executive, and recalls his service during D-Day and subsequent operations in Burma. The book covers all theatres of operations and provides a unique glimpse into why the members of the Special Forces Club are truly exceptional.Time is running out to capture the myriad of epic stories WWII threw up over its five-year period. In their twilight years, the Special Forces Club has decided to reveal its identity at last.