I don’t know what I expected when I picked up Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. I know I didn’t expect how laugh out loud funny it would be. I definitely didn’t expect it to be as thought provoking as it was, and how it made me question what I know about the U.S.’s military presence in the world, or how I could come to see gorilla warfare as more humane.
The thing about Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was that in the end, it was far more gentler than the “gentlemanly” kind. Compared to aerial bombing the acts of sabotage in this book killed fewer civilians–even when there were Nazi reprisals–and destroyed less infrastructure, meaning the civilians who survived had better lives.
But if you’re not looking for philosophy, this book is for you, too! Every single chapter of this book could be made into a feature length film–and some have! Still many have not. I’d like to know more about the man who was clever enough to think “Hmmm…instead of bombing the German tanks I’ll switch out the engine oil of the tank transports” and hear about how all the saboteurs did it. This little maneuver was hugely responsible for the allies success at Normandy.
As mentioned, this book is laugh out loud funny, it’s got tons of action, and you’ll learn about covert antics you may have missed, and about the men and women who pulled them off.
This book is traditionally published, and it’s expensive new. However, at least in the US the second hand paperback version is reasonably priced on Amazon. Also, it’s available at the moment from Scribd in Audiobook and eBook.
Available in eBook format at Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia
and Apple, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay
Remember, it’s traditionally published–so look for it in your public library!
