Wartime Britain by Juliet Gardiner - Anybody Read?

Discussion in 'Books, Films, TV, Radio' started by Gage, May 24, 2010.

  1. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    I got this today (shh, don't tell Nick) and I'm surprised what a weighty read it is.
    Has anybody read it as it looks like a comprehensive book on the home front.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    yes have it and half a chapter in very informative
     
  3. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    She seems to be an obligatory presence on any recent WW2 documentary.
    Not read any by her.

    Often wondered if she's a descendant of Samuel Gardiner of Civil War History repute, but never confirmed it - these things often seeming to run in families.
     
  4. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Thanks C.

    There is no real info on her within the book. Wasn't she inteviewed on Blitz St?
     
  5. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  6. nicks

    nicks Very Senior Member

  7. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Craig

    Can I suggest one of these, you have a choice of four colours.

    IKEA | Bookcases | BILLY bookcase system | BILLY | Bookcase system


    :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: My missus is looking at me gone out as I burst out laughing, thanks Nick. As I'm moving (hopefully) soon to as bigger place I actually might need that link. :D
    (I've ordered another BofB book too but I'm going into rehab shortly!)
     
  8. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Don't be put off by the price,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it's so cheap at £8.99 !

    Excellent reference book and speaking as someone who had his share of the Blitz whilst waiting to be called up I found it ringing many bells :)

    Ron
     
  9. Dave T

    Dave T Junior Member

    Highly recommended IMHO. Comprehensive, informative and an enjoyable read. I did find a few minor errors which I have unsuccessfully tried to draw to the author's attention.
     
  10. Drayton

    Drayton Senior Member

    I have not seen the whole book, but I have read the chapter on conscientious objection. I regret to say that it has a number of errors, some more serious than others.
     
    Michael Bully likes this.
  11. Goodygixxer

    Goodygixxer Senior Member

    I've got that book, only read it up to the point of the kids getting vacuated so far....it's not an easy read though, i found it very difficult to get into.
     
  12. Michael Bully

    Michael Bully Active Member

    I am reading up on WW2 Conscientious Objectors in Britain . Would be pleased to hear your views on the subject- was tempted to get this book. Regards


    Drayton wrote
    I have not seen the whole book, but I have read the chapter on conscientious objection. I regret to say that it has a number of errors, some more serious than others.
     
  13. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Still haven't read this.
     
  14. Reid

    Reid Historian & Architectural Photographer

    I've got a copy of this - certainly not light reading and something you need to set time aside for to read. I did start it several years ago, but then my working life took over (again) and I was spending so much time in the air, continuing with it was almost impossible.

    Now that I'm spending a little more time on the ground, I'll be picking it up again in the next week or so - by then I'll have finished the current book I'm reading and be able to give it the time it needs, to be absorbed properly.
     
  15. Drayton

    Drayton Senior Member

    For the purpose of researching WW2 conscientious objectors, Juliet Gardiner's book is definitely not to be recommended. There appears to have been no attempt to research what is necessarily a specialist topic, and the chapter is sufficiently inaccurate as to be misleading.

    For a recent relevant book. I recommend Ann Kramer's Conscientious Objectors of the Second World War: Refusing to Kill (Pen and Sword, 2013). It is a popular, rather than academic, account, but care has been taken to chack facts. It includes accounts from a number of individual objectors.
     
    CL1 and Michael Bully like this.
  16. Michael Bully

    Michael Bully Active Member

    That's great Drayton. I will order Ann Kramer's book at the weekend. Thanks.
    Indeed, I can imagine that a serious study of World War 2 Conscientious Objectors can't be rushed. I am not finding it easy to track down much source material.
    Regards




     
  17. Drayton

    Drayton Senior Member

    Thanks acknowledged.

    There are two serious studies, both long out of print, but copies turn up from time to time:

    Denis Hayes: Challenge of Conscience, Allen & Unwin, 1949. Hayes was a solicitor, who served on the staff of the Central Board for Conscientious Objectors during the war, and was a CO himself. He thus had direct access to relevant material and was able to write from the inside. (incidentally, the Unwin of the publishers was Sranley Unwin, a CO in WW1.)

    Rachel;Barker: Conscience, Government and War, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982 (a doctoral thesis turned into a book), necessarily written from the outside, but reliable.
     
  18. Michael Bully

    Michael Bully Active Member

    Thank you Drayton. Have had a quick search for these books on line , they are about but at a hefty price. Will try to read them next time I go to the British Library.
    Regards

     
  19. Michael Bully

    Michael Bully Active Member

    Have now read Ann Kramer's book Conscientious Objectors of the Second World War: Refusing to Kill -appreciate the recommendation. Reviewed it on Amazon and gave it four stars. The author is obviously sympathetic to the CO's which leads on one hand to a thorough and well researched work. But seems to have avoided raising more awkward moral issues surrounding conscientious objection which might have led to an even more interesting book . One strand of Conscientious Objection she seems to have left out was the stance of Scottish Nationalists who opposed to the War, including Douglas Young, the SNP leader.
     

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