Command: How the Allies Learned to Win the Second World War
£6.10£10.40 (-41%)
Al Murray’s passion for military history and the Second World War in particular has always run parallel with his comedy and was brought to the fore with several acclaimed and award-winning television shows and the recent huge success of his podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk which he hosts with fellow bestselling military author James Holland. In his first serious narrative book, Command showcases Al Murray’s passion for this pivotal period in the twentieth century, as he writes an engaging, entertaining and sharp analysis of the key allied military leaders in the conflict.
Command highlights the performance and careers of some of the leading protagonists who commanded armies, as well as the lesser-known officers who led divisions, regiments and even battalions for the British, Commonwealth and United States of American armies. By showcasing each combat commander across every major theatre of operations the allies fought in, Murray tells the story of how the Western Allies rebounded from early shocking defeats (Dunkirk and Pearl Harbor) to then victories (El Alamein and D-Day) in its efforts to defeat the Axis forces of Nazi Germany and Japan, and what that tells us about the characters and the challenges that faced them. Command is the book for all fans of Second World War History who appreciate a true enthusiast of the genre with something new and compelling to say.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Headline (25 May 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 352 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1472284631 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1472284631 |
| Dimensions | 12.8 x 2.5 x 19.6 cm |
by TicTac
This is a good book – a good read, but it falls short of its own aims. One would expect a contrast of a before and after sort, but there’s none of that.
Should the author consider a second edition I’d suggest adding the extra level of detail, and losing the rather odd wistfulness about Patton’s greatness.
Nonetheless – a good book, and one worthy of reading.
by G. Bell
I was expecting more of Al Murray’s humour but instead he plays it largely straight. The book is too short and largely skims over the subject matter.
by Martin
A humane and frank history of the Second Word War, told through pen portraits of the leaders involved, from the dizzying heights of figures like Montgomery & Patton, to the men on the ground having to make their grand strategies work.
by BG
Ditto, ditto, and if you will, ditto…
And an extra 13 words to make Amazon happy.
And 4 more words
by zandavanmk2
If you’re a world war two history buff this book will be right up your cul-de-sac.
by Nick Jones
Great and detailed book by Al Murray , well written and researched.
by Ribble
I’ve always enjoyed Al Murray’s ventures into history, and this book was no disappointment. A fascinating and thought-provoking read—I learned a lot and it encouraged me to explore some byways of WW2.
BUT the Kindle edition was marred by typos on almost every page. Sometimes I couldn’t even work out what Al had actually written. Just as well it was only 99p—any more and I’d have wanted my money back.
by Hereward the Wakeful
Mr. Murray has written an engaging history in the form of a series of short biogs of a selected few of the Big Names in command of the Allied forces in WW2 – save for the last chapter which concerns Second Lieutenant Peter White of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, which provides a nice contrast with everything else that came before. Through each commander’s personal story and a closer understanding of their thought processes we get an unusual inside glimpse of the whys and wherefores of the campaigns they were involved in. Mr. Murray’s writing, very readable throughout, really takes on wings in the last chapter. It’s no exaggeration to say I felt a real sense of tension and excitement as I read it. I suspect the author himself felt a greater empathy with his subject – The Poor Bloody Infantry and uncredited war heroes. From that point of view it’s an important chapter in the sense that it’s the officer leading his men in the trenches that wins battles not the planning in the HQ tent. I’m actually a little surprised that this is Al Murray’s first history book. As a well known stand-up and satirist he is obviously a writer and it’s strange that this with his long term interest in WW2 haven’t come together sooner. He far too modestly says he is not a historian but this book clearly demonstrates that he is.
It would be nice to finish on that high note but I’m going to be a party pooper and have a carp about proof reading. There aren’t many typos here – I only found three – but I feel if I don’t go on about this publishers will think we don’t care. I do. Very much, because it seems it’s impossible to buy a book without them nowadays. I hate it when the reading flow comes to a grinding crash as I try to work out what that nonsense sentence means or my mind is suddenly needlessly focused on an irritatingly muddled spelling, e.g. in this case ‘sued’ instead of ‘used’. This is very much a sign of the times, an over-reliance on spellcheckers which simply don’t give a fig as long as the string of letters makes up a word that can be found in the dictionary. Publishers, this is your responsibility. Get professional! Think of it this way; if you bought a new teapot with a chip knocked out of it you could still use it but you wouldn’t be happy would you?
Nonetheless, great read, Mr. Murray. Thank you for a splendid teapot…er, I mean book.