Antony Lambton
The most enjoyable book I read this year was James Lees-Milne's The Enigmatic Edwardian, the life of Lord Esher. He turned a man who has long been a shadow into a comprehensible eminence grise who preferred to lead from behind. His private life was extraordinary and it is even odder to realise his inclinations were public knowledge and all the boys in Harold Acton's house at Eton were warned against entering his bedroom in the castle. This is I think the best book Mr Lees-Milne has ever written.
My second choice is Martin Gilbert's The Holocaust, which every man, woman and child in this country should read, despite their disinclination to be shocked and offended. It is particularly germane this year, when the Nazi past of Waldheim enormously increased his popularity in Austria and secured his election as chan- cellor. And it's necessary to remind ourselves of the appalling horrors of the Germans' treatment of Jews and under- stand the bestiality of the German charac- ter and the possibility of a revival of Nazism and the persecution of the remain- ing Jews. It is no longer possible to pretend that the whole of Germany was not aware from 1933 onwards what was happening and few of them raised a finger in protest, excusing themselves with few exceptions with the question 'What could we do?', and although I may have been unlucky I've never met an upper-class German who was troubled by regrets.
As for the worst book of the year I have not much doubt the cup goes to Kingsley Amis's The Old Devils (Hutchinson). To those who don't wish to spend money buying it I suggest they can easily catch its pith and message by calling late one night on a lot of drunken friends and listening to their conversation. Of course if they like getting blind drunk as well they may find this repetitious, tedious account of drunk- en conversation interesting, otherwise it merely proves that the Booker judges have decided to go on playing their annual joke on the establishment by selecting the most unreadable, dull book they can find.
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