Michael Burleigh is the author of a dozen books, including "The Third Reich: A New History," which won the 2001 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction. His work has been translated into twenty languages, and in 2012 he was awarded the prestigious Nonino International Master of His Time Prize. He lives in London.
"The new book "Small Wars, Faraway Places" is the vault of
knowledge that followers of current events have been seeking....
From the Mau-Mau Emergency in Kenya to the Korean War... to the
French misadventure in Indochina and the clash between Arab
nationalism and Zionism in the British Mandate in Palestine,
Burleigh traces 18 distinct story lines of terrorism,
counter-terrorism, intrigue, nationalism, and Cold War rivalry.
With these stories, the reader can find the tangled roots on nearly
all of today's nasty hotspots; he or she can even foresee the sort
of messes that modern-day conflicts are likely to create down the
road, using Burleigh's patient documentation of troubled areas like
Malaya and Algeria as templates.... That "Small Wars" eschews easy
answers or one-size-fits-all theories about the conflicts that it
documents is a tribute to its author."
--James Norton, "The Christian Science Monitor"
"Michael Burleigh takes on the interaction between the two great
geopolitical dramas of decolonization and the Cold War. The book
contains a series of vivid, vigorous narratives, illuminated by
telling snippets of information, compelling but rarely flattering
portraits of the key characters and some trenchant judgments....
Burleigh brings to life forgotten events."
--Lawrence Freedman, "The Washington Post"
"Burleigh is hard-hitting in his take on the consequences of the
vacuum left behind in the wake of departing colonial powers,
especially in his depiction of the Viet Minh's decisive victory
over the French at Dien Bien Phu and Britain's botched handling of
the Suez Crisis. Slyly humorous and wonderfully detailed,
Burleigh's vivid narrative does justice to the lesser-known
struggles of a complex era."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Agilely written, confidently argued, this is a fine contribution
to Cold War history."
--Booklist
"With Small Wars, Faraway Places, Michael Burleigh offers a
penetrating and often sardonic narrative of the struggles that
formed the world as we know it. Blending engaging characters
sketches and telling vignettes with geopolitical analysis, he
presents the two decades after 1945 from a vantage point that
provides illuminating perspective.... Burleigh's wide-ranging
account brings out the relationship between political challenge and
response, along with the difficulties in understanding very
different societies from the outside."
--William Anthony Hay, "The American Conservative"
"A brilliant, complex, contradictory story, replete with character
and incident, pungent and pithy and refreshingly free of preaching.
. . . The author delights in the detail, the small moment
illustrating a large truth."
--Ben MacIntyre, "The Times (London)"
"Burleigh nails his cast of politicians, generals and
revolutionaries to turn the page in a series of ruthlessly observed
character sketches."
--Keith Lowe, author of "Savage Continent"
"A dramatic saga which Burleigh recounts with panache and wit."
--Piers Brendon, "The Sunday Times (London)"
"Burleigh is an equal opportunity moralist, not an ideologue, and
he stalks his prey with feline grace. . . . This is a story of
personalities as much as one of geological shifts, and Burleigh is
a master of bringing it alive with sharp character insights."
--Christopher Silvester, "Financial Times"
"Burleigh writes with a keen eye for self-righteousness, hypocrisy
and unintended consequences. He is quite brilliant at puncturing
the vanities of history's great and good."
--Dominic Sandbrook, "London Evening Standard"
"Burleigh is the don of elegant, historical writing and every
vignette in this book is arresting. His ability to command his
material is truly breathtaking . . . damnably good."
--John Lewis-Stempel, "Sunday Express (London)"
Praise for" Small Wars, Faraway Places"
"Burleigh is hard-hitting in his take on the consequences of the
vacuum left behind in the wake of departing colonial powers,
especially in his depiction of the Viet Minh's decisive victory
over the French at Dien Bien Phu and Britain's botched handling of
the Suez Crisis. Slyly humorous and wonderfully detailed,
Burleigh's vivid narrative does justice to the lesser-known
struggles of a complex era."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Agilely written, confidently argued, this is a fine contribution
to Cold War history."
--Booklist
"With Small Wars, Faraway Places, Michael Burleigh offers a
penetrating and often sardonic narrative of the struggles that
formed the world as we know it. Blending engaging characters
sketches and telling vignettes with geopolitical analysis, he
presents the two decades after 1945 from a vantage point that
provides illuminating perspective.... Burleigh's wide-ranging
account brings out the relationship between political challenge and
response, along with the difficulties in understanding very
different societies from the outside."
--William Anthony Hay, "The American Conservative"
"A brilliant, complex, contradictory story, replete with character
and incident, pungent and pithy and refreshingly free of preaching.
. . . The author delights in the detail, the small moment
illustrating a large truth."
--Ben MacIntyre, "The Times (London)"
"Burleigh nails his cast of politicians, generals and
revolutionaries to turn the page in a series of ruthlessly observed
character sketches."
--Keith Lowe, author of "Savage Continent"
"A dramatic saga which Burleigh recounts with panache and wit."
--Piers Brendon, "The Sunday Times (London)"
"Burleigh is an equal opportunity moralist, not an ideologue, and
he stalks his prey with feline grace. . . . This is a story of
personalities as much as one of geological shifts, and Burleigh is
a maste
Praise for MORAL COMBAT
"A brilliant book."--Ben Macintyre, "The Times "(London)
"A bold, blunt, and sometimes beautiful defense of morality in
history . . . . Mr. Burleigh poses the moral questions to the
people that mattered at the great turning points of a vast
war."--Timothy Snyder, "The Wall Street Journal"
"Chilling. . . . A deeply researched and vividly written
book."--"The Cleveland Plain Dealer "
"This is a superb work of scholarship with fresh insights on nearly
every page that will likely leave the reader asking hard and
troubling questions long after finishing it. . . . An exceptionally
important book."--"The Christian Science Monitor"
"Burleigh has written a powerful, gripping book that will be
essential reading for an understanding of World War II. It is
worthy of anyone's attention who is interested in that war."--"The
Washington Times"
"Michael Burleigh has long been one of our foremost writers on the
importance of ethics in history, and in this deeply researched,
closely argued and well-written analysis of the moral issues thrown
up by the Second World War he has reached the zenith of his
career."--Andrew Roberts, "National Review"
Praise for BLOOD AND RAGE
"An ambitious cultural history... [Burleigh] seamlessly synthesizes
vast amounts of historical material and provides often-riveting
accounts of terrorist atrocities and the literary and political
environments where they took place."--"The New York Times Book
Review "
"Brilliant.... Tremendously erudite and enlightening."--"The New
York Observer "
"Takes everybody from Fenians and anarchists to the Red Brigades
and al-Qaeda, and is written with characteristically biting
flair."--Dominic Sandbrook, "Daily Telegraph" (Books of the
Year)
"An essential, imperative read.... Panoramic in its scope...
There's a hint of Edward Gibbon about Burleigh."--"The New
Criterion "
Praise for EARTHLY POWERS
Ask a Question About this Product More... |