international datelines - Winston Churchill

stained top page edges. Mortlake
variation "B."
4W. Same as 3W with H. Wolff
named on verso but "Riverside
Press" also carried on both verso
and t.p. in Old English type. Large
dot, debossed blind. Not in Mortlake.
VOL 5: CLOSING THE RING
Trade Editions
5A. Brick red cloth, headbands,
yellow stained top page edges with
first editions dated 1951 on t.p.
Mortlake "]"; Riverside Press.
BOMC Issues
5K. Pink cloth, no headbands, no
stained top page edges. First edition
t.p. dated 1951. Verso names
Kingsport Press. Small dot, debossed
black. Mortlake variation
"B."
5W. As above but verso names
H. Wolff and both t.p. and verso
carry Riverside Press name in Old
English. Dated 1951 on t.p. Not in
Mortlake.
5WW. As above but undated t.p.
Dot is now embossed, or a debossed
circle. A later BOMC printing
by H. Wolff, as suggested by
heavier, inked-up lettering on verso.
Not in Mortlake.
VOL 6: TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY
Trade Editions
6A. Description same as 5A but
first edition t.p. dated 1953. Mortlake
variation "D."
BOMC Issues
6K. Pink cloth, no headbands, no
stained top page edges. First edition
t.p. dated 1953. Verso names
Kingsport Press and includes
Library of Congress catalogue card
number. Small dot, debossed
black. Mortlake variation "G."
Not observed by the author to date.
6H. As above but verso lists no
LCC number and names Haddon
Craftsmen as manufacturer. Both
t.p. and verso carry Riverside Press
name in Old English. Small dot,
debossed blind. Not in Mortlake.
6HH. As above but large square
dot, debossed blind. Heavy, inkedup
printing on verso suggests a
later BOMC issue by Haddon
Craftsmen. Not in Mortlake.
6R. Pink cloth, no headbands but
top page edges definitely stained
yellow color as on trade editions.
Verso and t.p. name only Riverside
Press, verso also carries code letter
"W." All copies seen carry 1953
t.p. dates. Apparently manufactured
by Riverside to fill a shortage
of BOMC issues. Not Mortlake. •
Reviews continued . . .
These are elaborated upon under the umbrella of the
influence of Winston Churchill's Victorian upbringing,
which provided him with the psychological and
moral armament effectively to lead Britain and the
Allies to ultimate victory over the Axis.
The stage is set by the opening chapter, where the
author explains in some detail the Victorian framework
which contributed so significantly to Churchill's
traits. He describes the mood, mode and mindset
of the Victorian era, an age of romantic, emotional
enthusiasm and positive morality, combined with
the contradictory element of rational pragmatism.
War was a "sporting game" even though it was cruel
and ruthless. Cowardice was the ultimate sin.
Total war was the combination of von Clausewitz's
"remarkable trinity" of the government, the military
and the people. Jablonsky contrasts the nineteenth
century Victorian wars, fought in far off lands, with
the devastation of the twentieth century wars. The
second Anglo-Boer War was the transition between
these two. It was Churchill's retention of his Victorian
upbringing and participation in Queen Victoria's
little wars which permitted his management
and leadership of the big and total wars that came
later.
The First World War essentially was one of education
for Churchill and the British population in
"Total War." Although disillusioned by aspects of
this war, Churchill found his heroic men of action
and applied his Victorian education and principles
where he could. In the years between the two wars,
Jablonsky describes how Churchill's views of the role
of Government in Total War crystallized, while at the
same time he retained his romantic faith in the
Monarchy. With the advent of the Second World War,
the people and Churchill understood the concept of
"Total War." It was, however, his glorious and
romantic Victorian cries to battle and victory which
fueled and sustained the people. His veneration of
parliamentary principles permitted him to be held in
check by them. His constant battles with his generals,
his attempts to impose his will on them, and his
often impulsive ideas are elaborated upon by Jablonsky.
Thus the author completes the Clausewitzian
trinity relative to Churchill and leaves the reader
with the understanding that the great leader by-andlarge
had mastered its interrelationships.
A third element of the book discusses the role of
the "Great Game" of espionage and deception as
critical tools in "Total War." Jablonsky adequately
brings out Churchill's romantic approach to this
world of cloak and dagger, plot and counter-plot. Yet
he shows how the pragmatism of the Victorian era
was applied to espionage. Churchill's fertile mind
and fascination for technological gadgetry, combined
with his Victorian characteristics, kept him very actively
involved in the "Great Game." The various
levels of organization of the intelligence service,
mostly set up by Churchill; the role of Ultra and the
use of deceptive techniques; are described in significant
detail. At times the details of the technical information
provided seem disproportionately excessive,
especially compared with the smoothly flowing generalizations
and more sweeping overviews of the
earlier segments, which so successfully conveyed the
critical overall message of the work. The concluding
chapter succinctly and coherently sums up the major
points.
To this reviewer, who himself is unashamedly an
incurable Victorian romantic, . Jablonsky's concept
struck a distinctly favorable chord.
•
FINEST HOUR 75, PAGE 18