The Bitter Sea: The Brutal World War II Fight for the Mediterranean Paperback – 1 April 2010
-
Get S$5 Off with Mastercard W/WE Cards. Enter code MCAMZ5 at checkout. Discount Provided by Amazon. Terms
Purchase options and add-ons
A gripping history of the Mediterranean campaigns from the first rumblings of conflict through the Second World War and into the uneasy peace of the late 1940s.
The Mediterranean Sea lies at the very heart of recent world history. To the British during the Second World War, the Mediterranean was the world’s great thoroughfare. To the Americans, it represented the answer to anti-imperialism. And to Mussolini, it encapsulated his violent vision of conquest. These three great powers attempted to overthrow the existing order in the Mediterranean, resulting in a collision of allies as well as enemies that hadn’t been seen before: the Germans fought against the Italians, the Americans against the Arabs, the Jews against the British, the French against nearly everyone. The Mediterranean was indeed ‘the bitter sea’.
In this masterly history, Simon Ball takes us through the tumultuous events set in motion by Mussolini’s lust for conquest that ended with the creation of Israel. Long drawn-out battles on land, sea and air – dominated by WWII’s most illustrious leaders, Churchill, Eisenhower and Rommel amongst them – resulted in Allied victory in the battle of El Alamein, the terrifying desert campaigns of Africa and the eventual defeat of Italy and then Germany.
The wars in the Mediterranean had huge consequences for all those who fought in them, but none more profound than those experienced by the lands, nations and peoples that lived around the sea itself. Based on entirely original research, ‘The Bitter Sea’ is expertly written, utterly compelling and unquestionably important.
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date1 April 2010
- ISBN-100007203055
- ISBN-13978-0007203055
Product description
Review
Praise for ‘The Guardsmen’:
‘Excellent…a historical classic brilliantly executed and an irresistible read.’ Guardian
‘Through skilful stitching of threads from personal and official papers, Ball has woven a superb panoramic tapestry of 20th-century Conservative politics…Compelling.’ Sunday Times
‘A magnificent achievement…Superb scholarship, profound insight and written in a style both incisive and flowing, this is a book for every taste. I cannot recommend it too highly.’
Spectator
About the Author
Simon Ball studied at Brasenose College, Oxford
and Christ’s College, Cambridge. He teaches
history at the University of Glasgow. The Guardsmen was published to critical acclaim in 2004.
Product details
- Language : English
- Paperback : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0007203055
- ISBN-13 : 978-0007203055
- Customer reviews:
Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries
First, I think Ball has some blinders on by his focus on the Mediterranean, and does not always present a perspective of this theater in the context of the world war, both with regards to the western Allies, the Soviet Union, and to the Axis. In fairness, this context could balloon the work from 300 pages to 1000 pages! Second, I think Ball could have really helped his readers by providing more explanatory chapter titles than the ones he has used--they are clever, but you had better read the chapter if you want to know what the chapter is about. Additionally, Ball does not provide a bibliography, so that I could not find additional sources that would be interesting to read. Third, and finally, the post-war Mediterranean coverage is a tremendous let-down. His focus on the dominating American policy is supported with British sources, some secondary articles, magazine articles (!), and Forrestal's diary. The assessment stops around 1952 time frame, but if he wanted to "expel" the UK from Mediterranean influence, he probably should have gone on the Suez debacle. So read the war chapters, skip the single post-war chapter, and you will have profitable read.
The author clearly hates and despises Italians. Of this there is plenty of examples. Look at the caption to the pcture of Badoglio.
For example, very few authors properly describe the devastating effect that the Desert Air Force was having on Rommel's forces by 1942. However, Simon barely acknowledges the existence of what became the model for tactical air support from that time on. He also fails to make clear that Rommel was only able to inflict the Kasserine debacle on the Americans, because of Montgomery's inexcusable tardiness in arriving in Tunisia with his main forces.
A worthwhile introduction to the politics of the times, but if you are after sound military history best to look elsewhere.