I only picked up the book because it was on sale. I love history and the study of geopolitics but I had never read anything on the Suez crisis before, in fact, I know absolutely nothing about it or the Hungarian revolution for that matter. As such, I was enthralled for the 4-5 days it took me to finish Blood and Sand.
Tunzelmann has done an invaluable service here in recounting those events and writing it in a an exciting format and style that recounts the events day by day and things escalated almost to WW3. It's an exciting page turner that is part diplomatic, part war on the ground as events switch from Washington to London, to Moscow, to Hungary, to Tel Aviv to Cairo. What I really got the most out of though was a deeper look behind the closed doors of government. Be it British, American, French or Russian, there are many things that go on which they'd rather not get out to the public. It allowed me to reflect more on current times by wondering what it is we're not being told, and won't fully come out until many decades in the future when classified file are released. The full facts of the conspiracy between France, Britain, and Isreal didn't fully come out until quite recently, though nearly the whole world 'knew', the details were not clear about the depth of the conspiracy.
This book, I believe, should be on the reading list of anyone who wishes to understand the recent history and current events of the middle-east. The 1956 war is often heavily overshadowed by the 6-day war but it was a vital chapter in shaping the state of Isreal and setting the scene for later events whose legacy still lives to this day. Anyone interested in the rise and fall of great powers or understanding the dynamics of great power competition will also gain a lot from this as it presents a fascinating image of what happens when a former great power carries on as though it still was one and meets with the unpleasant realization that the golden years are past. In this case, the British Empire. the crisis destroyed whatever influence and credibility Britain still had in the middle-east and demonstrated that, in future, if they wanted anything done, they would need the support and approval of the U.S.
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Top reviews from other countries
John
Informative, exciting and well written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2018
Akshay
"Desperate Times Idiotic Measures"! The author fantastically opens up that page ...
Reviewed in India on December 4, 2016Daniel Ostrowski
Good but more focused on Suez than might be expected
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2021
Atul Rawat
but detail oriented folks will enjoy. Lacking in anecdotes
Reviewed in India on October 23, 2017M. Martin
Engaging, fascinating, excellent detail
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2018