‘Flight of the Eagle’ is an entertaining showcase of the Lord’s biases, but not without merit. By Rafe Mair. Conrad Black’s new book chronicles America’s greatest achievements as selected by Conrad Black.
Originally published 13/07/13 on theTyee.ca
[excerpt] My first thought when reading Conrad Black’s new book, Flight of the Eagle: A Strategic History of the United States, was of the great Dorothy Parker, who said of another narrative in another time, “This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” But though Black’s book has many faults, I read all 699 pages — and felt both shortchanged and better informed for the effort. Perhaps a more apt quote would be: “Like the curate’s egg, parts of it are excellent.”Flight of the Eagle: A Strategic History of the United States
Conrad Black
Signal/McClelland and Stewart (2013)
Black postures that he is a competent enough scholar to expertly describe the greatest of all empires, the United States of America, and I found myself recalling Arthur Balfour’s remark on Winston Churchill’s The World Crisis when he said: “How clever of Winston to write a history of the world disguised as his autobiography.”
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