franksbooks reviewed Castles of Steel by Robert K. Massie
Review of 'Castles of Steel' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
One thing about Massie is that while he's focused on the important, he makes sure that you are aware of the context. Dreadnought earned a five star review for not just telling a great story, but also making the motivations of the primary actors clear throughout.
Castles of Steel, while an excellent story, falls down by giving too much context from the British side of the ditch with only fleeting glances into the motivations of the German players. I imagine a book on the Churchill and Fisher balance and Beatty/Jellicoe could easily have been written simply from the content in these pages.
Not so for der Kaiser, Bethman, Scheer etc etc.
The Jutland chapters are phenomenal in reminding us that the naval based Armageddon predicted in Dreadnought never occurred, and yet aside from underlying hints there's little in the book dealing with that failure of German policy. In contrast there's …
One thing about Massie is that while he's focused on the important, he makes sure that you are aware of the context. Dreadnought earned a five star review for not just telling a great story, but also making the motivations of the primary actors clear throughout.
Castles of Steel, while an excellent story, falls down by giving too much context from the British side of the ditch with only fleeting glances into the motivations of the German players. I imagine a book on the Churchill and Fisher balance and Beatty/Jellicoe could easily have been written simply from the content in these pages.
Not so for der Kaiser, Bethman, Scheer etc etc.
The Jutland chapters are phenomenal in reminding us that the naval based Armageddon predicted in Dreadnought never occurred, and yet aside from underlying hints there's little in the book dealing with that failure of German policy. In contrast there's plenty on the submarine campaigns, which he firmly believes to be the main reason why the Germans lost the war.
Much of the more exciting parts of the book are the period up to the end of 1914. The race across the Pacific up to the Falklands is especially good. The next four years, aside from Gallipolli and Jutland are raced through in quick time.
A reflection of the blockade, no doubt, but just showing how little the Castles of Steel participated - despite the previous 20 years.
Despite all of the above, a fascinating book, highly recommended, but just a little in the shadow of its magnificent prequel.
