At page 271 of Castles of Steel, I abandoned ship and went looking for a copy of Dreadnought. I started Castles of Steel only because The Economist selected it as one of the best books of '03 (along with World on Fire, and The Majesty of the Law, both excellent, relatively unnoticed books). Why does WWI attract writers of long books? After starting Castles of Steel, I discovered that Massie assumes knowledge of Dreadnought. Dreadnought, though, turns out to be an absorbing book. Massie sees history as driven by personalities -- not for him the dry interest rates of Niall Ferguson (although The Pity of War is an excellent book). Whether or not Dreadnought is good history, it is great reading! On Salisbury: "Lord Salisbury was the father of ten. He treated his children like small foreign powers: not often noticed, but when recognized, regarded with unfailing politeness." He also says that Salibury "knew Jane Austen's six novels almost by heart." Six? Almost by heart? My real problem is that Arthur Gelb's City Room (a Christmas present to one of my sons) is sitting unread on the sideboard in the hallway whispering, 'read me instead. I'm not about WWI.'
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