Alistair Horne
Encyclopedia
Sir Alistair Allan Horne (born November 9, 1925) is a British
historian
of modern
France
. He is the son of Sir
James Horne and Lady
Auriol Horne (formerly Auriol Hay).
As a boy during World War II
, he was sent to live in the United States
. He attended Millbrook School
, where he befriended William F. Buckley, Jr.
, who remained a lifelong friend until Buckley's death on February 27, 2008. Horne served in the RAF
in 1943–44 and with the Coldstream Guards
from 1944–1947. He worked as a foreign correspondent
for The Daily Telegraph
from 1952–1955. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford.
Horne is the biographer of Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan
, a work originally published in two volumes. In early June 2008 he finished a soon-to-be-published authorised biography of Henry Kissinger
(author's statement, Paris, June 13, 2008).
As a result of the Iraq War, his 1977 book A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 has recently been of interest to American military officers. It was also recommended to U.S. President George W. Bush
by former United States Secretary of State
, Henry Kissinger. In October, 2006 the book was republished and in January 2007, by phone from his home in England, Alistair Horne was part of an Iraq War discussion panel on the Charlie Rose Show on PBS.
article.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of modern
Modern Age
Modern Age is an American conservative academic quarterly journal, founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk in close collaboration with Henry Regnery...
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He is the son of Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
James Horne and Lady
Lady
The word lady is a polite term for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to, or spouse of, a lord or gentleman, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman...
Auriol Horne (formerly Auriol Hay).
As a boy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was sent to live in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He attended Millbrook School
Millbrook School
Millbrook School is a private, coeducational preparatory school located in Duchess County, New York, USA. It is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees, and is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and the Board of Regents of the State University of New York...
, where he befriended William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
, who remained a lifelong friend until Buckley's death on February 27, 2008. Horne served in the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1943–44 and with the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
from 1944–1947. He worked as a foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
from 1952–1955. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford.
Horne is the biographer of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
, a work originally published in two volumes. In early June 2008 he finished a soon-to-be-published authorised biography of Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
(author's statement, Paris, June 13, 2008).
As a result of the Iraq War, his 1977 book A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 has recently been of interest to American military officers. It was also recommended to U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
by former United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, Henry Kissinger. In October, 2006 the book was republished and in January 2007, by phone from his home in England, Alistair Horne was part of an Iraq War discussion panel on the Charlie Rose Show on PBS.
Summoned to the Bush White House
According to the July 2, 2007 edition of the Washington Post, Horne reportedly met with President Bush sometime in mid-2007 at the administration's request. Staff writer Peter Baker reported that they discussed philosophy and history. He also quoted Horne to have said that, "You think about prime ministers and presidents being surrounded by cabinet officials and aides and so forth, but at the end of the day, they're alone. They're lonely. And that's what occurred to me as I was at the White House. It must be quite difficult for him [George W. Bush] to get out and about." He described his visit in a Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
article.
Work
- Return to Power: A Report on the New Germany. New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: Praeger, 1956. - The Land is Bright. 1958.
- Canada and the Canadians. TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
: MacmillanMacmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
, 1961. - The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916. New York: St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
, 1962. - The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune, 1870-1. LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: Macmillan, 1965. - To Lose a Battle: France 1940. London, Macmillan, 1969.
- Death of a Generation Neuve Chapelle to Verdun and the Somme 1970
- The Terrible Year: The Paris CommuneParis CommuneThe Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
, 1871. London, Macmillan, 1971. - Small Earthquake in Chile: A Visit to AllendeSalvador AllendeSalvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
's South America. London: Macmillan, 1972. - A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962. London: Macmillan, 1977.
- NapoleonNapoleon I of FranceNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, Master of Europe 1805-1807. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979. - The French ArmyFrench ArmyThe French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
and PoliticsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, 1870-1970. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1984. - Harold MacmillanHarold MacmillanMaurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
. New York: Viking PressViking PressViking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
, 1988. - A Bundle from BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. - Montgomery, David (co-author). Monty: The Lonely Leader, 1944-1945. New York: HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, 1994. - How Far from AusterlitzAusterlitz- People :* Austerlitz * Fred Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz* Robert Austerlitz , linguist, specialist in the Proto-Finno-Ugric language- Places :...
?: Napoleon, 1805-1815. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. - Horne, A. (ed.EditingEditing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
).Telling Lives: From W.B. YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
to Bruce ChatwinBruce ChatwinCharles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
. London: Papermac, 2000. - Seven Ages of Paris. London: Macmillan, 2002.
- The Age of Napoleon. New York: Modern Library, 2004.
- La Belle France: A Short HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
, 2005. - The French Revolution, Carlton Books, 2008
- Kissinger: 1973, The Crucial Year, Simon & Schuster, June 2009.
Quotes
- (speaking of aerial combat in World War I) "Never since the Middle Ages and the invention of the longbow had the battlefields of Europe seen this kind of single combat. When the champions of either side met to fight spectacular duels in and out of the clouds, the rest of the war seemed forgotten; even the man in the trenches paused to watch, as the hosts of Greece and Troy stood by when Hector and Achilles fought."
- From The Price of Glory.
- "On the whole, my sympathies have instinctively been with Israel."
- The Daily Telegraph, August 4, 2006.
- "Bush, an honourable man, might have made a good President - without Iraq. His fault was to heed too often the voices of the Zionist lobby in Washington. Never before has the Israeli tail wagged the American dog quite so vigorously; the results threaten to prove as disastrous for Israel as for the Western alliance."
- The Daily Telegraph, July 15, 2007.
External links
- Soviet Moscow on the Potomac
- Bush's favorite historian, interview by Gary Kamiya in Salon, 8 May 2007.