A gift from the past

My Grandfather was a collector, not of anything specific, just stuff. He loved going to flea markets and collecting little devices, nick-nacks and the assorted book or game. A long time ago he gave me three first-American-edition volumes of Winston Churchill's history of World War II. The books were a bit water-stained, but still readable. They've been on my bookshelf for years.

(As a quick sidenote, my Grandfather fought in Europe in WWII. He never discussed it with me and I understand he mentioned it only a few times, right before his death.)

If you ever check out the sidebar and have noted the current book I'm reading, you may have noticed that I started reading the books a few months ago. For the last fifteen years I've mostly read fantasy novels. Occasionally I'll read non-fiction (I've read a lot of Dawkins and Sagan lately) but only occasionally. So picking these books up was something of a change of pace for me.

From the start, I really enjoyed them. Churchill is a great writer with a wry sense of humor and a good perspective on the whole history of the war. I know a decent amount about World War II but much of the history was unknown to me. I didn't know that right after France collapsed, the British, after giving them options to join the British fleet or sail to neutral America, sank the French fleet at Oran so it wouldn't fall into German hands. Attacking your closest ally like that takes some serious steel.

The personalities of the various leaders is fascinating. Churchill's correspondence with Roosevelt seems almost too familiar, as if they were an old married couple. Stalin is a whiny, petulant figure unhappy that most of the German army was on his doorstep (his own fault) and that he couldn't get the British to attack France before they were ready. The knowledge that he will screw over the Allies and take Eastern Europe after the war makes it difficult to read some of the fawning correspondence sent to him by Churchill.

Churchill himself is amazing. He micromanages everything, from weapons production to military tactics, often sending his Generals and Admirals passive-aggressive telegrams asking them why they hadn't attacked already or taken a particular town. The almost casual way he can talk write about the loss of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians after a particular battle is rather shocking compared to the way modern Americans handle that kind of loss. It paints a vivid picture of the differences between that generation and today's.

As I came to the middle of the third volume, I discovered the greatest revelation. The story was in mid-1941 and I couldn't figure out how he was going to resolve four more years of the war in another 300 pages. With a sinking feeling I looked up the work. Of course, there are SIX volumes. Another 1800 pages or so.

I ordered the last three volumes on Amazon and have just started reading the sixth volume. It really is an illuminating, astounding work of history. The detail and the scope are vast and incredible. I can't overstate how fun it's been reading this masterpiece.

Thanks, Grandpa.