Danchev, Alex

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Danchev, Alex

PERSONAL: Male. Education: Holds a P.G.C.E. and a Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Office—The School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and educator. University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England, professor of international relations. Tate Museum, London, England, member of the Acquisition Committee of the Patrons of New Art.

AWARDS, HONORS: "Books of the Year" selection, Observer, 1993, for Oliver Franks: Founding Father; Whitbread Prize for Biography shortlist, for Alchemist of War: The Life of Basil Liddell Hart.

WRITINGS:

EDITOR

Establishing the Anglo-American Alliance: The Second World War Diaries of Brigadier Vivian Dykes, Brassey's Defence (London, England), 1990.

International Perspectives on the Falklands Conflict: A Matter of Life and Death, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Dan Keohane) International Perspectives on the Gulf Conflict, 1990–1991, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Fin de Siècle: The Meaning of the Twentieth Century, Tauris Academic Studies/St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Thomas Halverson) International Perspectives on the Yugoslav Conflict, Tauris Academic/St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Daniel Todman) Alan Brooke, War Diaries, 1939–1945: Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 2001.

(With John MacMillan) The Iraq War and Democratic Politics, Routledge (New York, NY), 2005.

NONFICTION

Very Special Relationship: Field-Marshall Sir John Dill and the Anglo-American Alliance, 1941–1944, Brassey's Defence (London, England), 1986.

The Franks Report: The Falkland Islands Review, 1992.

Oliver Franks: Founding Father, Clarendon Press (London, England), 1993.

On Specialness: Essays in Anglo-American Relations, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1998.

Alchemist of War: The Life of Basil Liddell Hart, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, England), 2000.

Georges Braque: A Life, Arcade (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including the Times Literary Supplement, Intelligence and National Security, Review of International Studies, Journal of Contemporary History, and International Affairs. Contributor to books, including the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; The Oxford Companion to Military History, 2001; Telling Lives, 2001; September 2001: War, Terror & Judgement, 2003; and Closeness and Asymmetry: The Anglo-American and Mexican-American 'Special Relationships,' 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Alex Danchev is a prolific author and editor who specializes in biography and international conflict. A professor of international relations, Danchev is an expert in his field. His biographies, however (at least according to a profile posted on the David Higham Associates agency Web site), are a labor of love. And, of his many works, Danchev's biographies have been the most widely reviewed and praised.

Oliver Franks: Founding Father is the biography of the influential British political figure Oliver Franks. Franks worked his way through British bureaucratic positions during and after World War II. Danchev's biography notes that Franks was highly influential in shaping England's post-war policies. Franks was also the key figure who influenced America to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Franks was a 'behind-the-scenes' political figure, noted New Statesman contributor John Campbell, and a "scholarly celebration of this paragon is therefore welcome." Campbell went on to note, however, that the book also "clearly demonstrate[s] why writing a biography of the boys in the backroom is so difficult." Dennis Ka-vanagh, writing in Parliamentary Affairs, was far more laudatory. He commented that Danchev's biography "provides a remarkable insight into policy making," and added that it is "an impressive piece of scholarship, written with style and sympathy."

Danchev also edited, with Daniel Todman, War Diaries, 1939–1945: Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke. Lord Alanbrooke, also known simply as Alan Brooke, was a general in the British Army during World Wars I and II. Over the course of the latter, he came into constant conflict with the then prime minister, Winston Churchill. Many of these conflicts are recorded within Alanbrooke's diaries. Reviewers noted that Danchev's edition is the first unabridged and unadulterated version of the journals. Because of this, a Biography contributor called the volume "compelling." Spectator critic Michael Howard commented that "enough of the diaries remained unpublished to make this new, complete edition well worthwhile." Howard concluded that the book is a "reliable source for all historians of the second world war."

Georges Braque: A Life is Danchev's most acclaimed biography to date. Although overshadowed by his contemporaries, including artist Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque was one of the founders of the cubist movement. The two artists were friends, and while their friendship is explored in the book, so too are Braque's other personal relationships. This is of note because Braque was quite reclusive and secretive about his personal life. Thus, this particular aspect of the biography caused a Publishers Weekly reviewer to observe that the volume contains some "intriguing revelations." Although Braque's achievements are significant, a Kirkus Reviews contributor felt that Danchev may place too much significance upon them. "Scholars are unlikely to agree that Braque's reputation will come to rest as high as Danchev insists," noted the contributor. Regardless, most reviewers praised the biography. The Publishers Weekly reviewer called Georges Braque a "meticulous contribution to the study of cubism." Booklist critic Donna Seaman added: "Danchev is fluent in facts and penetrating in his analysis."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Biography, fall, 2001, review of War Diaries, 1939–1945: Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, p. 985.

Booklist, November 1, 2005, Donna Seaman, review of Georges Braque: A Life, p. 17.

English Historical Review, April, 1996, R.K. Middlemas, review of Oliver Franks: Founding Father, p. 541.

History: Review of New Books, spring, 1997, Julian Delgaudio, review of Fin de Siècle: The Meaning of the Twentieth Century, p. 139.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2005, review of Georges Braque, p. 1169.

Middle Eastern Studies, October, 1997, Joseph Kostiner, review of International Perspectives on the Gulf Conflict, 1990–1991, p. 788.

New Statesman & Society, June 4, 1993, John Campbell, review of Oliver Franks, p. 32.

Observer (London, England), June 19, 2005, Peter Conrad, review of Georges Braque.

Parliamentary Affairs, January, 1994, Dennis Kavanagh, review of Oliver Franks, p. 146.

Publishers Weekly, November 21, 2005, review of Georges Braque, p. 44.

Spectator, June 2, 2001, Michael Howard, review of War Diaries, 1939–1945, p. 138; September 10, 2005, Richard Shone, review of Georges Braque, p. 44.

Sunday Times (London, England), June 19, 2005, Frank Whitford, review of Georges Braque.