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The full Monty. volume I: Montgomery of Alamein, 1887-1942. . - Reviews - book review
Contemporary Review, Dec, 2001
The Full Monty. Volume I: Montgomery of Alamein, 1887-1942. Nigel Hamilton. Allen Lane: The Penguin Press. [pounds sterling]25.00. 902 pages. ISBN 0-713-99334-0. Readers might well be confused by the appearance of this book, the first in a two-volume biography of the Second World War general. Have they not seen all this before? Indeed they have, in part.
Professor Hamilton published a mammoth, three volume biography of Montgomery, Monty, in the 1980s. The author argues that in the last twenty years new material has become available. He has discovered that Viscount Montgomery was a suppressed homosexual. He also argues that as a biographer he has something of a moral duty to promote tolerance of 'gays' in the military. A more cynical view is that he wishes to capitalise on our age's prurient obsession about sex, glorious sex. Whether this new information and this moral obligation will justify what will presumably be an 1800 page re-telling of the story is a decision for readers. The author also admits that he is afraid someone who is not the 'official biographer' will tell the story (and earn the royalties). Whether this revamped biography will add substantially to our understanding and knowledge of this great and controversial general is a moot point. (One should note that bishops are referred to as the Rt Rev Henry Montgomery, not Rt Rev Montgomery while clergymen are referred to as the Rev Henry Montgomery, not Rev Montgomery.)
COPYRIGHT 2001 Contemporary Review Company Ltd.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group
