Bernard Law Montgomery, Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887–1976)

Found this gem at Brattle Bookstore in Boston. Monty's train of consciousness on leadership. Written in 1961, there is some very good stuff here. There are also some things that sound really bizarre in 2015 although I mostly agree with his underlying sentiments. When he gets into world leaders of the day (1961), he really stumbles with Mao whom Monty thinks is a good guy doing good things for his country. This was written before the horrors of the Cultural Revolution (1966). when Mao proved he was in the same league with Stalin on the "kill em by the millions for their own good", scale.

Overall, Monty is so convinced he is 100% correct he can say anything at all about anyone. It is very charming and unexpectedly enjoyable. The epilogue is amazing.… (more)

Very interesting, highly personal memoirs of Montgomery, starting with his youth as son of the Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, his early education (distinguished more for sports than academics), training at Sandhurst, service in India (viewed rather negatively -- British officers seen as valuing hard drinking more than professionalism) , service in World War I (passed over rather briefly), interwar political issues (radical failure in his view to prepare for the next war), service in France before Dunkirk, command in Egypt with victories from el Alamein to Tunis, service in Sicily (hampered in his view by poor strategy), service in Normandy (ditto). service as British commander in the occupied zone in Germany, service as Chief of the Imperial General Staff and active negotiations for the creation of NAO as well as tour of Commonwealth countries, very negative view of Zionist terrorism in Palestine before partition, etc. Always outspoken, though sometimes visibly trying to downplay earlier controversies, notably with Eisenhower over the "broad front" approach to advancing through France to Germany. He is less sensitive in the main text of the book to the controversy over the condition of the British Army in Egypt at the time he took over, which he [portrays as very bad, though there is an added note at the beginning saying he accepts that Auchinleck had plans for moving to the offensive once the front had stabilized.… (more)