17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis and the Biggest Cover-Up in History
Author:
Genre: History
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genre: History
Book Type: Hardcover
"17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis, and the Biggest Cover-Up in History" by Andrew Morton is basically a pretty good book. HOWEVER, considering the number of offerings that come out every day, I expect more than "pretty good" when I'm to invest my times in over 300 pages (or 10 CDs worth of audio narration, each over 1 hour in duration).
This book is about the Edward VIII, better known as the Duke of Windsor for most of his adult life. King of England during most of 1936, his rise to the throne and his desire and training (or lack thereof) for the job, his abdication of the throne for his desire to marry the American Wallis Simpson, and his attempt to make a life for himself afterwards. It is ALSO about the rise of the Nazis in Germany, and England leading up to and through World War II. But mostly, it is about how the man and his wife intersect with that time in history, both on the home front and in international affairs.
The book claims that the Duke is one of the few non-Germans that Hitler respected (if, indeed, he truly respected anyone besides himself). It talks about how the German high command had hoped that the Duke could be useful once England came into line, whether through conquering or through a negotiated peace and how the Duke himself believed he could facilitate such a peace. Indeed, he believed that had he remained King, there would not have been hostilities between Germany and England!
The main title of the book alludes to the relationship between the couple and German Foreign Minister Joachim Von Ribbentrop or rather, between Wallis Simpson and Von Ribbentrop. The subtitle, to the attempt by the government of Great Britain to suppress the publication of German documents dealing with the Duke and the Nazis.
I felt the majority of the book was spent name-dropping, discussing the various movers and shakers that the Duke and Duchess dealt with between 1937 and 1945. Often, I complain about history books that lack detail. In this case, I found the opposite to be true there was far too much detail attempting to paint a picture of the petulant ex-Royal who had no concept of what "there's a war going on" really meant in terms of sacrifice. The part of the book that I really wanted to read about, the "greatest cover-up in history" according to the subtitle, was a tremendous let down. A few chapters at the end of the book described the British government mostly Winston Churchill appealing to the U.S. Government to turn over the documents of the Duke's dealings with the Nazis, and the U.S. largely turning them down. (Given that our Constitution describes "Freedom of the Press" in the 1st Amendment but intentionally does not set up any kind of royalty, this could be a prejudice of my upbringing.) Hardly what I would call "the biggest cover-up in history".
In short a lengthy, detailed set-up to a very disappointing and brief conclusion. (Sort of like this review, actually.)
RATING: 3 stars.
DISCLOSURE: I was awarded a free copy of this book in a random draw. No requirement of a review was made, let alone any conditions on the tone / content of a review, however, it was hinted that winners who write and post honest reviews have a better chance of being selected to receive future books.
This book is about the Edward VIII, better known as the Duke of Windsor for most of his adult life. King of England during most of 1936, his rise to the throne and his desire and training (or lack thereof) for the job, his abdication of the throne for his desire to marry the American Wallis Simpson, and his attempt to make a life for himself afterwards. It is ALSO about the rise of the Nazis in Germany, and England leading up to and through World War II. But mostly, it is about how the man and his wife intersect with that time in history, both on the home front and in international affairs.
The book claims that the Duke is one of the few non-Germans that Hitler respected (if, indeed, he truly respected anyone besides himself). It talks about how the German high command had hoped that the Duke could be useful once England came into line, whether through conquering or through a negotiated peace and how the Duke himself believed he could facilitate such a peace. Indeed, he believed that had he remained King, there would not have been hostilities between Germany and England!
The main title of the book alludes to the relationship between the couple and German Foreign Minister Joachim Von Ribbentrop or rather, between Wallis Simpson and Von Ribbentrop. The subtitle, to the attempt by the government of Great Britain to suppress the publication of German documents dealing with the Duke and the Nazis.
I felt the majority of the book was spent name-dropping, discussing the various movers and shakers that the Duke and Duchess dealt with between 1937 and 1945. Often, I complain about history books that lack detail. In this case, I found the opposite to be true there was far too much detail attempting to paint a picture of the petulant ex-Royal who had no concept of what "there's a war going on" really meant in terms of sacrifice. The part of the book that I really wanted to read about, the "greatest cover-up in history" according to the subtitle, was a tremendous let down. A few chapters at the end of the book described the British government mostly Winston Churchill appealing to the U.S. Government to turn over the documents of the Duke's dealings with the Nazis, and the U.S. largely turning them down. (Given that our Constitution describes "Freedom of the Press" in the 1st Amendment but intentionally does not set up any kind of royalty, this could be a prejudice of my upbringing.) Hardly what I would call "the biggest cover-up in history".
In short a lengthy, detailed set-up to a very disappointing and brief conclusion. (Sort of like this review, actually.)
RATING: 3 stars.
DISCLOSURE: I was awarded a free copy of this book in a random draw. No requirement of a review was made, let alone any conditions on the tone / content of a review, however, it was hinted that winners who write and post honest reviews have a better chance of being selected to receive future books.
