Author:Jeremy Greenstock
Tony Blair's decision to back George W. Bush in his attack on Iraq will go down as a defining moment for Britain. First as Ambassador to the UN, and then as Special Envoy for Iraq, the UK’s highest authority on the ground, Sir Jeremy Greenstock was centre stage in the tumultuous days leading up to the Iraq war and witnessed first-hand its tremendous impact. This extraordinary book is a record of what he saw.
Greenstock writes openly about US—UK relations, taking his readers behind closed doors and revealing the actions of key players in New York, Washington, London, Paris and the Middle East. To what extent was the Bush administration determined to attack Iraq come what may? What promise did Blair extract in exchange for backing Bush? Was the war legal? What effect is it continuing to have on Britain’s long-term relations with America and Europe?
Held back from publication when originally written in 2005, and now revised with a new foreword and epilogue following the publication of the Chilcot Report, Iraq: The Cost of War is a groundbreaking blow-by-blow account of one of the most pivotal and controversial conflicts in recent world history.
It would be mistaken to treat this book simply as an archaeological curiosity . . . [It] offers vivid testimony about British relations with America, that thorny evergreen . . . Anybody who nurses delusions that clout can be purchased in Washington by accepting its leads on foreign policy should read Greenstock for a corrective.
—— Max Hastings , Sunday Times[Jeremy Greenstock] is by general acknowledgement one of the most talented diplomats of his generation. Iraq: The Cost of War amply demonstrates why.
—— Financial TimesA fascinating instruction manual for students of diplomacy and of the way we are governed.
—— The TimesAn empathetic and deeply humanising look at troubled times and dangerous, revolutionary days.
—— Peter Pomerantsev, author of 'Nothing is True and Everything is Possible'Black Square is a remarkable historical memoir: humane, shocking and full of brilliant insight. Sophie Pinkham never succumbs to easy judgement. Her book is essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the tragic and dangerous confrontation between Ukraine and Russia.
—— Rachel Polonsky, author of 'Molotov's Magic Lantern'Black Square is a sharp-eyed portrait of Ukraine in post-Soviet times – funny and moving, sad and slyly ironic by turns. It’s especially valuable in helping us to understand the deeper origins of the Maidan movement, and to see how the painful divisions running through Ukraine today have played out in everyday life. With a combination of sympathy and sceptical wit, Pinkham shows us an extraordinary, often baffling country in all its human complexity.
—— Tony Wood, author of 'Chechnya: The Case for Independence'The first few chapters are a scrapbook, lively and engaging but coloured by the innocence of a soft-fleshed outsider in a weird and bone-hard world. The characters swim up, vivid and yet surreal.
—— Financial TimesEssential reading for anyone who cares about Ukraine, anyone who’s wondering if they should care about Ukraine, and anyone who happens to like nonfiction narratives told in a human voice’.
—— Open DemocracyPinkham provides a portrayal of the tug-of-war of what it means to be Ukrainian, where its language is source of pride, and its nationalism is a source of capriciousness.
—— The Culture TripA wonderfully refreshing account of the origins of the regiment of balaclava-clad silent killers during the Second World War... The sharp style and sly wit reveal some pretty acute insights into the politics of the nation's favourite undercover boys
—— Evening Standard Books of the YearSo good and so much more than the boys own adventure you might think it will read like. Ben is a brilliant writer
—— Dermot O'LearyDid Passchendaele mark the moment when German morale collapsed on the Western Front? Nick Lloyd makes a compelling case . . . both as narrative and analysis, this book is masterly
—— Allan Massie , ScotsmanMasterly . . . He argues convincingly
—— Allan Mallinson , The Times Literary SupplementThe Nazis were all on drugs! So far, so sensationalist but German writer Norman Ohler's absorbing new non-fiction book, Blitzed, makes the convincing argument that the Nazis' use of chemical stimulants... played a crucial role in the successes, and failures, of the Third Reich
—— EsquireAn audacious, compelling read
—— SternEnthralling
—— Mitteldeutsche ZeitungA revelatory work that considers Hitler's career in a new light. 'Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich' is that rare sort of book whose remarkable insight focuses on a subject that's been overlooked, even disregarded by historians
—— The San Francisco ChronicleBlitzed is a fascinating read that provides a new facet to our understanding of the Third Reich
—— BuzzfeedIt's as breezy and darkly humorous as its title. But don't be fooled by the gallows humor of chapter names like 'Sieg High' and 'High Hitler': This is a serious and original work of scholarship that dropped jaws around Europe when it was published there last year
—— MashableA juicier story would be hard to find
—— The WeekDelightfully nuts, in a 'Gravity's Rainbow' kind of way.
—— The New YorkerTransforming meticulous research into compelling prose, Ohler delves into the little-known history of drug use in Nazi Germany
—— Entertainment Weekly[A] fascinating, engrossing, often dark history of drug use in the Third Reich
—— The Washington PostThis heavily researched nonfiction book by a German journalist reports that the drug was widely taken by soldiers, all the way up the ranks to Hitler himself, who received injections of a drug cocktail that also included an opioid
—— NewsdayThis is in part a work of reconstruction, unravelling Tom's life, partly a family history, and it's fascinating
—— Alan Massie , i magazineThis is a story of journeys, love, loss, memory and family and Boy's Own daring... beautiful, nostalgic, moving, shocking, swashbuckling and simply unputdownable
—— Family Tree MagazineI’m halfway through Dadland by Keggie Carew and OH THIS BOOK. Beautiful and fierce and brave. Memory and war and family and loss and, well, wow.
—— Helen Macdonald, author of H is for HawkI loved Dadland for its tenderness, humour and candour. It has begun to open the door for me to what may well lie ahead in my life, in so many of our lives, in terms of ageing parents. And it has also taught me something deeply moving about tolerance, and about love
—— Robert MacfarlaneA wonderful, haunting and beautifully written memoir... I found myself laughing out loud at times and, at others, unable to hold back the tears... An absolutely stunning book
—— James HollandDadland has the weight of family love but fizzes along in accessible and dynamic prose, highly recommended
—— Andrew McMillanA mesmerising performance by a natural storyteller gifted with the most seductive material possible, in the wild and wonderful life of her exasperating Irish father. Pain and annoyance is transmuted into pure narrative gold, as Keggie Carew interrogates the legend of this wartime adventurer and the bitter comedy of his domestic relationships and his late decline. A brave, risk-taking tale that alarms, delights and moves. As soon as you come to the end, you want to start again, to see if those things really happened
—— Iain SinclairYou love these people from the first page ... As Tom's life falls apart memory by memory, Keggie is picking it up again and her storytelling is spell-binding. Effortlessly readable, this is a delight combining laughter - and tears, yes, quite a few of those.
—— ConnexionCompelling
—— Charlotte Heathcote , Daily ExpressA moving memoir-cum-biography.
—— Molly McCloskey , Irish TimesBy some margin my Book of the Month... A detective story, a family history, a thrilling tale of derring-do, and the most distinctive and affecting memoir I’ve read since H is for Hawk.
—— BooksellerUtterly remarkable, and beautifully evoked… Dadland is a completely riveting, deeply poignant “manhunt” for which I predict great things.
—— BooksellerDadland, by Keggie Carew, is being tipped for award-winning breakout success in the vein of H is for Hawk
—— Jon Coates , Sunday ExpressIt’s an exorcism, ghost-hunt and swim through the archipelago of her father’s shattered self… The author’s descriptions have an easy lyricism.
—— Ed Cripps , Times Literary SupplementThe old question 'what did you do in the war, Dad?' has never had a more surprising or moving answer.
—— David HepworthWarm and funny, sometimes regretful and sad, but overall a read like a rollercoaster. Wonderful.
—— Western Morning NewsYou know the saying that everyone has a book in them? Well, unless your book is as good as this, I'd give up right now
—— Daily Mail , Markus BerkmannYou know the saying that everyone has a book in them? Well, unless your book is as good as this, I’d give up right now… This gripping book, written with real verve and a narrative expertise that wouldn’t shame a veteran.
—— Sally Morris , Daily MailA brilliant, bittersweet biography.
—— Cornelia Parker , ObserverKeggie’s writing is immersive… She writes with a warmth and generosity about her father, a man who was a genuine character and hero.
—— Paul Cheney , NudgeDadland is deeply personal. But it is also the story of our generations: people touched by war and by Alzheimer’s
—— Charlotte Heathcote , Daily Express