WASHINGTON TIMES. Monday, September 7th, 2009.
By Martin Rubin
THE LESSONS OF WAR: THE EXPERIENCES OF SEVEN FUTURE LEADERS IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
By William van der Kloot
The History Press/Trafalgar Square/IPG Books, $34.95, 240 pages
Reviewed by Martin Rubin
. . . [I]n this unusual book, William van der Kloot, distinguished professor emeritus at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, . . . allows readers to draw their own conclusions as to the effect “the war to end all wars” had on seven men caught up in its maelstrom, every one of them destined to govern his own nation later in the century.
And what a septet they are, all of course indubitably world-renowned figures, but some better known than others to the general reader. Perhaps because of their unique horribleness and the terrible effect they had on their own nations and the world, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini are still pretty prominent on the radar screen. It has been a while, though, since Kemal Ataturk, Charles de Gaulle, Harold Macmillan or Herbert Hoover have been in the spotlight at center stage. As for the seventh man, Gustav Mannerheim, the founding father of modern Finland, his fame does not extend much these days beyond his own land. . . .
For Martin’s full review, click here or visit www.washingtontimes.com.