The Persian Version

Robert Graves poem about the other side's perceptions comes in handy when it comes to World War I, whose centenary we are "celebrating" this year. I'm trudging through Christopher Clark's The Sleepwalkers, a handy guide for the dishonesty of the British Foreign Office under the tutelage of Earl Grey and the duplicity of the French as well.

I'm also reading the horrendous propaganda of The Literary Digest history, a massive 10 volume collection of aspersions against the Germans and the "imbecile" Austro-Hungarians [a sample of Francis Whiting Halsey's objectivity.

I first broached the Literary Digest version over 60 years ago, when I first learned to read. It was a gift from my Grandma Mangan, who always badgered me to be a doctor.