A biography of Robert Maxwell documenting his journey to become a media mogul and suspected Russian spy.
I remember Robert Maxwell in his heyday and expected to dislike him. What I discovered instead was an unexpected empathy and respect for a largely misunderstood character who was larger than life and had distinguished himself as a war hero.
At the age of 68 Robert Maxwell fell to his death from his £15 million yacht the Lady Ghislaine. Was it suicide, murder of a tragic accident? This book doesn’t provide the answer, but it does tell a rags to riches story of excess, ambition and dark despair unequalled in modern history.
Diary of an Invasion – Andrey Kurkov
For a long time Andrey Kurkov has been my go to source for news and narrative about the Ukraine, whether it’s his Twitter page or his writing.
This book is a collection of short diary entries chronicling the effects of the Russian invasion on the Ukrainian way of life in a distinctly non-partisan and personal way.
Andrey lived in Kyiv until the shelling drove him out, and his earlier book Ukraine Diaries was a first hand account of the Maidan uprising and the ousting of Yanukovich. Another must read. See also his entry on my fiction recommendations.
Everyone knows that the First World War was started by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo – but what do we really know about the events?
This book traces the life story of Gavrilo Princip who fired the fateful shot.
Contrary to what we think we know, Princip was not a Serbian nationalist, and one of his five fellow conspirators was in fact a Bosnian Muslim.
Far from espousing some Serbian dream of independence, Princip’s vision was an independent Yugoslavia. A fascinating work.
Hitler’s Horses by Arthur Brand
The Striding Horses was reputedly Hitler’s favourite statue, created by the Nazi artist, Jeff Thorak.
This book tells the story of a Dutch art detective who goes under cover to track down these giant bronze statues that once stood outside Hitler’s Chancellory, and to prevent them from being sold on the black market to former Nazis.
As an interesting adjunct, the sculptures were recovered by police and one of the horses was put on display in January 2023 at the Spandau Museum, Berlin.
A gripping read.
