Cardinal Wolsey - For King & Country

Cardinal Wolsey - For King & Country written by Phil Roberts and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 208

The Wolseys of Suffolk date to Anglo-Saxon times. The earliest notice of a Wolsey as

an inhabitant of Ipswich is Thomas Wolsey’s father, Robert. He was a successful small

businessman and married Joan Daundy. Thomas was probably born in 1471 in an inn,

and was almost certainly baptised in St Mary at the Elms church, Ipswich.

Wolsey graduated from university and then his climb to power was extremely fast. He entered the royal household as the chaplain to King Henry VII. When Henry VIII ascended to the throne, Wolsey became his almoner, which gave him access to the king’s council. Henry was very impressed with Wolsey’s work, and Thomas gained many important clerical positions. In 1515, Wolsey became Lord Chancellor of England. Thomas Wolsey’s most famous peace treaty was signed between Henry VIII and Francis I of France at the glorious Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520.

Henry had not produced a male heir. A woman called Anne Boleyn came on the scene. Henry began to think that she could mother him a son. The king asked Wolsey to seek a divorce from his first wife. He tried his outmost, as always, but the Pope kept delaying the matter. Wolsey failed and fell out of favour with Henry. He was charged with treason and escorted to the Tower of London. On his way, Thomas became very frail and sadly, on 29 November 1530 he died at Leicester Abbey.

This book about Cardinal Wolsey was an interesting one in that it was a lot more balanced book about the Cardinal, a man who was quite an intelligent man who held big roles of power within the land. He is usually saddled with failing to get a divorce for Henry VIII, but he was quite an accomplished man. The book was very well written and nicely balanced, if you're a fan of the Tudor period, I would think you would enjoy this a lot.

Hitler’s Father - Hidden Letters: Why the Son Became a Dictator

Hitler’s Father - Hidden Letters: Why the Son Became a Dictator written by

Roman Sandgruber and published by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 272

The bundle of 31 letters, the pages of which had long yellowed with age, had lain

hidden in the attic where they were found for over a century. Only when the razor-

sharp script was examined further did historians discover just who had written them

– and that person, Alois, was Adolf Hitler’s father.

Born Alois Schicklgruber on 7 June 1837, the identity of his biological father still undisclosed, Alois eventually became a civil servant in the Austrian customs service. At around the age of 40, Alois changed his family name from Schicklgruber to Hitler – his infamous son being born some eleven years later.

The contents of the re-discovered letters have allowed the renowned historian and author Roman Sandgruber to reassess the image that we have of Alois, offering the world a completely new and authentic impression of the man. In Hitler’s Father, Sandgruber re-examines Alois’ personality and how he significantly shaped the young Adolf.

The letters also shed further light onto the everyday life of the Hitler family as whole, a story which is often characterized by myths, inventions and assumptions. They have given the author the opportunity to recount the childhood and youth of the future dictator, painting a dramatic picture of the ‘Führer’ growing up.

These letters also help answer the question that is so often asked: How could a child from an Upper Austrian province, seemingly a failure and self-taught, rise to a position of such power? Indeed, Adolf Hitler’s father and ‘the province’ seemingly lay heavily on him until his suicide in the Führerbunker in 1945. The author examines how the young Hitler’s lowly upbringing may have affected him in the years that followed – years which shaped the history of the whole world. 

I reviewed another book recently called Lucky Hitler’s Big Mistakes, a really good book that looks at the rise and fall of Hitler and how much of it was his own fault. This book has similar aims in that it wants to look at the background of Hitler and how he became the person he was by looking at how he grew up mainly through the guidance of his father, Alois Hitler. This is often a question asked in the circles of history buffs, trying to find out why Hitler became who he was, and in many ways, by looking at this father this can be seen and answers a few questions and dispels a few myths too. It was a fascinating and interesting read, or I certainly thought so, and I have my own opinions about this subject but then maybe I should write a book about it. This is certainly a really good book and if you are interested in finding out about what’s behind the mask, this book will help. The notes and bibliography at the back of this book are excellent, I didn’t realise so many books had been written on this subject previously.

Hitler’s Traitors Dissent, Espionage and the Hunt For Dissenters

Hitler’s Traitors Dissent, Espionage and the Hunt For Dissenters compiled by

Edward Harrison and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 248

This collection of vivid essays examines some of the most fascinating aspects of the German

resistance to Hitler. It includes the first translations into English of pioneering studies on the

role of a leading Nazi in the July Plot, the flight of Rudolf Hess to Britain and the vigorous

controversy over Hugh Trevor-Roper’s investigation of Hitler’s death. The book also explores

vociferous Catholic dissent in Franconia and the conspiracies against the Third Reich of the

revolutionary New Beginning movement. Through the study of important personalities and

dramatic events this book explores the possibilities and challenges faced by Germans in

attempts to frustrate and defy Hitler’s tyranny.

I would like to say that I enjoyed the 6 different essays compiled in this book, on Rudolph

Hess, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, the Monasteries and two reports about Hugh

Trevor Roper. Whilst I can see the first two fitting in well with the title of the book, I find the

essays about the monasteries and the two about Hugh Trevor Roper don’t really fit the

title well, it’s as if the book goes off on a slightly different tangent. But as I say they are all

perfectly good essays, maybe it’s me and I haven’t grasped this book properly.

Mysteries of the Norman Conquest

Mysteries of the Norman Conquest written by Robert Allred and published by

Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 248

Recent challenges to the traditional site of the Battle of Hastings have led to a surge of

interest in the events surrounding England’s most famous battle. This, in turn, has

increased speculation that the titanic struggle for the English crown in 1066 did not

take place on the slopes of what is today Battle Abbey, with a number of highly plausible

alternative locations being proposed. The time had clearly come to evaluate all these

suggestions, and Robert Allred decided to take on that task.

Taking nothing for granted, Robert hiked around the sites of the three battles of 1066 – Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. Armed with medieval sources and much of the current literature, he set out to appraise the evidence and to draw his own unbiased conclusions.

Following in the footsteps of the Viking warriors of Harald Hardrada, the knights of William of Normandy and the Anglo-Saxon soldiers of King Harold, the reader is taken on a journey from Yorkshire to the South Coast and down through the ages to re-examine what has been written about that momentous year – the intrigues, preparations and manoeuvres – which culminated on 14 October 1066, on a bloody hill somewhere in Sussex.

Whether this will settle the debate over the site of the Battle of Hastings or prompt further investigations remains to be seen, but it will be a book which cannot be ignored and that the reader will be unable to put down!

This was an interesting book in which the author Robert Allred attempts to look at the Battle of Hastings and try to establish the correct battlefield site for this battle, in amongst all the various bits of medieval evidence. The author establishes the real histories and reasons such as the Anglo-Saxon background, the Norman Invasion and also looks at three key medieval battle sites at Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and enjoyed how it was broken up into specific sections throughout the book which made it easier to read and believe each argument. I must admit to agreeing mostly with the conclusion in the book, but would it settle all the arguments, well you just have to read it and see what you think.

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects written by Simon Wills and published by

Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 224

The history of shipwrecks involves many shocking episodes: from men who saw shipmates eaten

by sharks, to castaways who ate each other. Learn about the cowardly captain who deserted his

passengers on a sinking ship, the obstinate ship-designer who took 480 men to their deaths, and

the first mate who wrecked his own ship for insurance money.

Historian and genealogist Dr Simon Wills is maritime adviser to BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? programme. In this fascinating book he uses objects associated with real incidents as touchstones for every tale. Our ancestors believed that sea monsters destroyed ships, but better-established causes include storms, war, pirates, human incompetence, fire and ice.

The pages of this book are packed full of tales of dramatic rescues and miraculous survivals, and as well as the stories of the innovations that have improved safety at sea. Meet the man shipwrecked three times within an hour, a coastguard still diving overboard to save lives at 79, and the lifeboat inventor who endured someone else taking credit for his work. Ships can have character too: refusing to sink despite overwhelming odds, or even returning to haunt us as ghost ships.

The dangerous life afloat stimulated pioneers to create the lifeboat service, offshore lighthouses, and lifejackets. Vessels lost at sea also inspired rewards for bravery, and artists and writers such as J.M.W. Turner, William Wordsworth, and Yann Martel the author of Life of Pi.

Featuring famous wrecks such as Mary Rose and Titanic, this book introduces other less well-known but equally remarkable events from our nautical heritage, some of which seem almost too extraordinary to be true.

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects is fast becoming one of my favourite book series, and the reason for this is that it shows how much you can learn about something just from small, seemingly inanimate objects or places. This is probably the 4th 100 Objects book that I have read, and this book is just as good as the others. They are all very interesting to read, the information is always insightful and intriguing, the authors always seem to do so much research and put plenty of detail into the book. This book covers a plethora of shipwrecks or problems at sea, ranging from wrecks through the weather, ‘monsters’, pirates and collisions with ships and the rocks. The objects are also wide-ranging and obscure too, such as paintings, medals, stained glass windows, tickets, photos and much more. I fully enjoyed this book and in quite a way it gets you hooked on the sea-faring life, if you are into life on the waves, you’ll love this book.

Lucky Hitler’s Big Mistakes

Lucky Hitler’s Big Mistakes written by Paul Ballard-Whyte and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 336

Adolf Hitler’s Great War military experiences in no way qualified him for supreme command. Yet by July 1940, under his personal leadership the Third Reich’s armed forces had defeated Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and France. The invasion of Great Britain was a distinct reality following Dunkirk. Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania had become allies along with the acquiescent military powers of Mussolini’s Italy and Franco’s Spain. These achievements prompted Field Marshal Willem Keitel, the Wehrmacht’s Chief of Staff, to pronounce Hitler to be ‘the Greatest Commander of all time’.

Storm clouds were gathering, most notably the disastrous decision to tear up the treaty with the Soviet Union and launch Operation Barbarossa in 1941. As described in this meticulously researched and highly readable book, Hitler’s blind ideology, racist hatred and single-mindedness led him and his allies inexorably to devastating defeat. How far was it good luck that gave Hitler his sensational early political and military successes? Certainly fortune played a major role in his survival from many assassination attempts and sex scandals. The author concludes, from 1941 onwards, the Fuhrer’s downfall was entirely attributable to military misjudgements that he alone made.

Lucky Hitler’s Big Mistakes exposes the enigmatic Dictator for what he really was – incredibly lucky and militarily incompetent.

The subject of this book is a question that often dominates military history message boards, in how Hitler rose to power from such a lowly position. The author of this book Paul Ballard-Whyte spends the first half of this book looking at how Hitler got to his position through a number of events that would help him get to the top of his ladder, such as the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, The Reichstag Fire and the Night of the Long Knives to name a few. Then in the second half of the book, he then looks at when Hitler was in his ultimate position he then failed a good number of times that would see his quest fail, such as Failure to Invade Britain, North Africa and Declaring War on the US. All the points in the book are nicely argued leaving the reader to decide their thoughts. I really enjoyed this book mainly because it was very well written and researched and it’s a subject I have often looked at over the years. An excellent book, especially if you like WW2 history and how it occurred.

In the Service of the Emperor - The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1931-1945

In the Service of the Emperor - The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1931-1945

written by Brig N S Nash CBE and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 -

Hardback - Pages 344

The expansion of the Japanese Empire between 1931 until its defeat in 1945 is one of the most extraordinary yet shocking episodes in human history. Extraordinary in that a relatively non-industrialised island nation was prepared to go to war, concurrently, with China, the most populous country, Great Britain with its world-wide empire and the USA, the wealthiest and most powerful country on earth. Shocking, as those 'in the service of the Emperor’ practiced persistent and unrestrained brutality as they conquered and occupied swathes of South East Asia. But, as this superbly researched work reveals, there is no denying their fighting and logistical expertise.

The author examines the political, economic and strategic effects of the rapid Japanese expansion and explores the cult of deity that surrounded the Emperor. The contribution of the Allied forces and their leadership is given due attention.

When retribution duly came, it was focussed on the military leadership responsible for unspeakable atrocities on their military and civilian victims—the physical perpetrators remaining largely unpunished. Japan, today, has still not acknowledged its wartime guilt.

The result is an authoritative, balanced and highly readable account of a chapter of world history that must never be forgotten.

I would like to say before I start that Japanese history is certainly not my strong point with regard to knowledge. So I have to say I have learnt an awful lot from this book, so much so I have started rereading it, because it is so comprehensive and detailed in information, for me this has been a fascinating read. The book first looks at the politics and economics of a fast-growing Japanese nation, a country that was fast-growing in population and personality. The book also looks at having an emperor and being run by a military leader and the difference that has on a nation and its mindset.

I found this book very educational and I have learned a lot, there is a lot of information and detail written in an informed way, and I’m rereading it mainly to help get more used to the names, places and personalities involved in the book. The book contains much text, information, graphs and tables, along with a steady flow of informative pictures and there also seems to be a good bibliography at the back.