Taki
Best books: Napoleon, 1812 by Nigel Nicolson. Having always read about the great Corsican in books written by Frenchmen, I finally decided to read something from across the Channel. It reveals Napoleon to have been the first modern man, ie. callous, a bureaucrat at heart, uncaring for his sol- diers, vain and glory-seeking. It also re- veals the real reason why Napoleon lost the Russian campaign — through indecision. The descriptions of the Battle of Borodino and the retreat are wonderful, showing Ney and Murat to have been brave and terrific leaders of men, far better than the emperor, and the scene of men dying at their posts without yielding an inch moved me as no book has in a long time. It should be read by yellow-bellied students and nuclear disarmers the world over, and after they have read it they should hang their heads in shame. They should do that even without reading it. Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu, by Bernard Fall. This was the second time I have read Fall's classic about heroism and defeat. What a cast of heroes! The Americans let them down and 21 years later paid the price for it. Bigeard, De Castries, Brechignac, Botella, all heroes, fought to the bitter end while the yellow politicians back home surrendered even before the fight had begun. I particu- larly liked De Castries naming his various defence outposts after his various mistres- ses. Unlike the vultures that reported from Vietnam when the US was involved, Fall wrote with love and admiration for the brave men who fought on both sides in that very small place that will be forever a bit Foreign Legion and France to me.
Most overrated: That is easy. Clive Ponting's apologia for treason. He should read Fall's classic and hang himself.
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