Trying to Please

August 1, 2010
Born into the cream of English aristocracy, Norwich boasted a host of godparents that included practically every celebrated figure of the early twentieth century. Shipped off to America as a student to avoid the dangers and privations of WWII Britain, he gained inside access to Churchill, Roosevelt, and DeGaulle. Formally educated at Eaton and Oxford and skilled in both French and Russian languages, he embarked on a diplomatic career. Representing the Crown in the Balkans, he learned to appreciate the artistic achievements of the Ottoman Empire and its Byzantine predecessor. To the superficial reader, Norwichs recounting of his life offers a surfeit of name-dropping, but ultimately his intelligence and sound taste shine through. Additionally, more than a few of his well-crafted anecdotes about personalities and institutions he encountered may provoke outright laughter. These memoirs illuminate the history of the postwar era with insight into both politics and the arts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)