The Bitter Sea: The Struggle for Mastery in the Mediterranean 1935-1949 - Softcover

Ball, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007280378 ISBN 13: 9780007280377

Publisher: HarperPress, 2009

Synopsis

A gripping history of the Mediterranean campaigns from the first rumblings of conflict through the Second World War and into the uneasy peace of the late 1940s.

In the 1930s the British commanded the Mediterranean as the world's great thoroughfare, from Gibraltar in the west to the Suez Canal in the east. To the Americans, it represented the answer to anti-imperialism and to Mussolini it encapsulated his violent vision of conquest - his ‘Mare Nostrum’. In the ensuing war that raged, the blue waters of the Mediterranean and the surrounding nations witnessed an epic and brutal conflict between enemies and allies alike.

Based on the most up-to-date research, including newly-released intelligence dossiers, ‘The Bitter Sea’ uncovers the implications of a multitude of plans, dominated by the war's most illustrious decision makers. This was total war – long drawn-out battles on land, sea and air, from the Italian air force's role in the Spanish Civil War, the siege of Malta, the menace of the U-boat and insurgency in Palestine and Cairo, to Allied victory in El Alamein and the terrifying desert campaigns of North Africa. As the author demonstrates in this fascinating narrative history, the Mediterranean was indeed 'the Bitter Sea'

About this title

Review:

Praise for ‘The Guardsmen’:

‘Through skilfull stitching of threads from personal and official papers, Ball has woven a superb panoramic tapestry of 20th-century Conservative politics...Compelling.’ Sunday Times

‘“The Guardsmen” is an accomplished work. Simon Ball has command of his subject matter and demonstrates an assured touch with primary material that has not appeared in previous biographies and memoirs.’ Literary Review

‘“The Guardsmen” is good reading because political warfare is at its centre, and Ball skilfully evokes that inter-war world...A stylish book.’ Daily Telegraph

From the Back Cover:

With incisive strategic and political analysis, Simon Ball demonstrates in this dramatic narrative how the Mediterranean Sea lay at the heart of recent world history.
The British conceived the Mediterranean as the world's great thoroughfare, from Gibraltar in the west to the Suez Canal in the east. For Mussolini, the Mediterranean was 'Mare Nostrum', the stage for his violent vision of conquest. The French commanded an impressive navy and key ports. The Nazis found willing allies in the lands that encircled the sea. The Americans imagined a new kind of empire in the Mediterranean.
The blue waters of the Mediterranean, and its 'golden pavement' of surrounding nations, witnessed a brutal conflict of unlikely foes and opportunistic alliances. Spaniard fought Spaniard, German fought Italian, American confronted Arab and Briton killed Frenchman. The Mediterranean struggle was a modern, high intensity war - fought on land, sea and air. Its titanic battles stretched from Malaga to Beirut, from El Alamein to Anzio. It was also a war of propaganda, deception, insurgency and terrorism, where the lines of battle were not clearly defined. As the author demonstrates in sparkling prose, the Mediterranean was indeed the 'bitter sea'.
Based on the most up-to-date research, including newly-released intelligence dossiers, Simon Ball's compelling account untangles the plans and actions of the war's most powerful decision makers, famous and forgotten. The result is exceptionally readable and original.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperPress
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0007280378
• ISBN 13: 9780007280377
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416