The Asquiths

Clifford likes the Asquiths, and desperately wants to portray them in a good light. He writes in very great detail of their personal life with only infrequent references to outside events. If you don't already know the event, institution, or issues involved, you will NOT find out about them in this book, nor, sadly, why the Asquiths reacted as they did. Rest assured Margot will act daringly, if not indiscreetly, whatever the event, such as swapping hats during a ship-launching ceremony on a windy day. Furthermore, Clifford jumps back and forth in time, adding considerably to the confusion.From reading this book, I just wanted to slap some sense into these people. They had EVERYTHING and threw it away! I also wanted to slap Clifford for his spirited defense of Haig at the book's end, while discretely ignoring the disasters (two pages on the battle of the Somme) which most of the Great War's soldiers and history places at Haig's doorstep.There just has to be a better book about the Asquiths. These whining bunch of losers portrayed here couldn't have been elected dog-catcher, let alone the Prime Minister.

"An extraordinary political family in times of triumph and catastrophe, wonderfully and painfully delineated. I was engrossed" wrote Antonia Fraser. I also was engrossed. This is a real 'What happens next?' pageturner. The mistakes now seen to have been made in the prosecution of The Great War now seem the clearest of danger signals warning of the mistakes that would be made in 'negotiating' (without including the beaten enemy in the negotiations) the Treaty of Versailles. The glimpses of the incipient genius of Winston Churchill are particularly illuminating. World War Two,the holocaust and even our current problems in Mesopotamia are present like horrors waiting in the wings as this fascinating true story is unfolded.The vivid WW1 trench warfare descriptions made me realise once more the tremendous debt that we, the living, owe to these who sacrificed everything for us.

Thank you Colin Clifford for your exceptional, sensitive book. I just finished reading it and I wanted more! I got so used to being in the presence of the Asquith family members and their friends, so skillfully and patiently described. Your book gave me a real taste of those times. The characters are so real, so honestly shown, with such understanding and insight. I was laughing and crying with them and sometimes was irritated by them. A very needed book, giving a balanced and compassionate view not only on the Asquiths, but on many other aspects of our history, and maybe serving as a warning... One cannot avoid certain analogies that come to mind about the management of the war exposed in the book and the same problem in our contemporary times.