RaveThe Wall Street Journal\"Mr. Overy’s imperial emphasis does, at times, play down the role of ideology ... Blood and Ruins is a monumental work; it is hard to imagine that a more comprehensive study of World War II could possibly be contained between two covers. Richard Overy has given us a powerful reminder of the horror of war and the threat posed by dictators with dreams of empire. And, despite his emphasis on the combatants’ hunger for territory and the supposed prestige it could bring, Mr. Overy does not neglect the awful human suffering of the war, particularly on the Eastern front.
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Julie Kavanagh
RaveThe Wall Street Journal... tragic events are vividly recounted ... Ms. Kavanagh...deftly outlines the conspiracy ... But the Phoenix Park murders are merely the hinge of a fluent, well-researched study of Anglo-Irish relations in the Victorian era ... Ms. Kavanagh’s narrative of high politics and low intrigue, ranging from Dublin to Downing Street and the high seas, brings to vivid life a bloody chapter in the troubled history of Britain and Ireland.
