A lively; revelatory popular history that tells the story of both the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956—a tale of conspiracy and revolutions; spies and terrorists; kidnappings and assassination plots; the fall of the British Empire and the rise of American hegemony under the heroic leadership of President Dwight D. Eisenhower—which shaped the Middle East and Europe we know today.The year 1956 was a turning point in history. Over sixteen extraordinary days in October and November of that year; the twin crises involving Suez and Hungary pushed the world to the brink of a nuclear conflict and what many at the time were calling World War III. Blood and Sand delivers this story in an hour-by-hour account through a fascinating international cast of characters: Anthony Eden; the British prime minister; caught in a trap of his own making; Gamal Abdel Nasser; the bold young populist leader of Egypt; David Ben-Gurion; the aging Zionist hero of Israel; Guy Mollet; the bellicose French prime minister; and Dwight D. Eisenhower; the American president; torn between an old world order and a new one in the very same week that his own fate as president was to be decided by the American people.This is a revelatory history of these dramatic events and people; for the first time setting both crises in the context of the global Cold War; the Arab-Israeli conflict; and the treacherous power politics of imperialism and oil. Blood and Sand resonates strikingly with the problems of oil control; religious fundamentalism; and international unity that face the world today; and is essential reading for anyone concerned with the state of the modern Middle East and Europe.Blood and Sand includes 25-30 black-and-white photographs.
#755973 in Books Von Tunzelmann Alex 2016-10-11 2016-10-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.68 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 006224924X560 pagesBlood and Sand Suez Hungary and Eisenhower s Campaign for Peace
Review
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Informative; not quite as "exciting" as the publicity makes it out to beBy MT57I bought this based on a brief review in The New Yorker that described it as "exciting" and "an hour-by-hour" account of the events of late October and early November 1956; when the USSR invaded Hungary (twice) to crush a popular uprising against Communism; and in Egypt; when Great Britain; France and Israel collaborated on an invasion intended to enable the West to re-take the recently nationalized Suez Canal and depose the leader; Nasser; who had sponsored the nationalization.I found it informative; especially because I had never read about Suez. I was familiar with the Hungarian side of the story and in fact had studied under the Hungarian exile; Charles Gati; who is quoted several times in here. But it wasn't any more exciting than any other history book. This is mainly because the author necessarily devotes the first 200 pages to explaining what had given rise to the parties' interests and positions. For example; the inter-relation among the interests of Israel; France and Great Britain are explained by reaching as far back as the Balfour Declaration and the Sykes-Picot Agreement. One also learns about the Algerian situation (France) and the Baghdad Pact (G. Br.). So it takes a long time to get to a portion of the narrative that is truly hour-by-hour.A related structural issue is that; while the events in Hungary and Egypt occurred simultaneously; there is not much obvious connection between the two. There is an obvious strategic fact; that the existence of a Western power invasion of Egypt made it difficult for the West to take the moral high ground re Hungary. I compliment the author on also divining another strategic relation; namely that the Hungary occupation diverted USSR attention from the Middle East and thus may have kept the latter situation from expanding into a wider WWIII-type conflagration. But there is no real narrative reason to tell these two stories in the same book.The book draws mainly on US; UK; Egyptian and Soviet sources. Some Israeli and not much at all from French sources. I do not understand why there was little French insight. Candidly; I was stunned at the callous aggressiveness of the French government; which had no moral qualms about either the invasion or the false pretext that launched it and it would have been interesting to see how the French people and opposition dealt with that. On the topic of callousness; there were numerous massacres of civilians by the invaders of Egypt; and they are recounted here.The predominant theme is one of British unpreparedness; incompetence and failure to anticipate secondary consequences. A secondary theme is the astonishing mendacity of the invaders' governments. Eisenhower is credited with maintaining a moral high ground and also bringing the conflict to an end through; of all things; financial pressure on the UK; the first successful use of financial sanctions in history; as one British leader notes. (Actually; throughout the book; I felt Eisenhower's big-picture views reminded me very much of those of the Obama Administration -- deeply wary of committing U S Forces; highly focused on the moral high ground; and supportive of financial sanctions). It was also interesting to see how everyone outside of the Soviets took the UN very; very seriously. Times have changed.On the whole; I found the book informative; if not as exciting as its publicity would make it seem. I hope I have conveyed both aspects of my reaction effectively in this review.14 of 15 people found the following review helpful. An Episode so riveting as to survive a flawed bookBy BookHawkSuez was a watershed of epic proportions on its own and coupled with thr Hungarian revolution created an unprecedented world crisis. The drama at the time was excruciating. Eisenhower's skillful leadership defanged the immediate threat of more serious world conflict but the events now sixty years ago resonate in current Middle East conflict.This book provides the dramatic narrative but interrupts itself so often to veer off into historical asides that the reader is left to fend for him/herself. It's too bad because the tale is one of astounding diplomatic and military miscalculation and duplicity that nearly boggles the mind. It seemed lunatic sixty years ago and more so today.Somehow the vast upheavals of that time simply faded away; overshadowed by the greater dramas of The Cuban missile crisis;the Vietnam war and other crises. But the confluence of Suez and Hungary was an explosive moment. It warranted a better book. Lots of riveting detail and attention to larger issues but a flawed organization of narrative and background that made this a slog even for a reader for whom this episode has always resonated.Four stars because the subject matter is endlessly absorbing.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Political Stupidity at Its FinestBy JerseygirlA pretty amazing story. Political stupidity doesn't get much stupider than the stupidity stupidly practiced here by the British and the French. Oh; did I mention stupidity?
