461 books
—
708 voters
At half-past eight the work stopped very suddenly. We were not free till nine, but we used to throw ourselves full length on the floor, and lie there resting our legs, too lazy even to go to the ice cupboard for a drink. Sometimes the chef
...more
“Only the appointment of yet another prime minister, who declared that he would not pursue membership of the pact, bought an uneasy calm.”
― Lords of the Desert: Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
― Lords of the Desert: Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
“How refreshing it is’, wrote Stauffenberg, ‘to get away from this atmosphere to surroundings where men give of their best without a thought, and give their lives too, without a murmur of complaint, while the leaders and those who should set an example quarrel and quibble about their own prestige, or haven’t the courage to speak their minds on a question which affects the lives of thousands of their fellow men.’ Paulus either did not notice, or more likely he deliberately ignored, the coded message.”
― Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942-1943
― Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942-1943
“By then tensions were rising in Palestine. Almost exactly twenty-five years earlier, in the hope of creating what it called ‘a buffer Jewish state’ to guard the eastern approaches to the Suez Canal and keep the French at bay, the British government of the day had issued the Balfour Declaration, named after the then foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour. This pledged support for a Jewish national home in Palestine so long as it did not impinge on the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities there. It helped Britain secure the mandate to rule Palestine in 1920.”
― Lords of the Desert: Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
― Lords of the Desert: Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
“Having begun their protest by demanding that the realm should be governed only by ‘native-born men’, the opposition now insisted on nothing less than the total expulsion of all foreigners, ‘never to return’.”
― A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain
― A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain
“Our period of occupation did the country little permanent good, for all the selfless work of many devoted Englishmen and so many good intentions.”
― Lords of the Desert: Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
― Lords of the Desert: Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
Rob’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Rob’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Polls voted on by Rob
Lists liked by Rob















































