Out Of Step: The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Lord Carver

by Michael Carver

Field-Marshal Carver has written an account of his life and as an insider at many recent world events, his memoirs provide us with a document of great historical importance. Included are revelations on World War II and Britain's post war governments.

448 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1989

About the author

Field Marshal Richard Michael Power Carver, Baron Carver GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC, was a senior British Army officer. Lord Carver served as the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, and then as the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces. He served in the Second World War and organized the administration of British forces deployed in response to the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya and later in his career provided advice to the British Government on the response to the early stages of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Reviews

[Liam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is going to be a difficult review to write. I found this book to be well-written, interesting and fairly enjoyable to read. I would actually have given it a better rating, at least one more star or maybe even two more, but for one issue. At one point early in the book, Carver describes himself and colleagues as having "worked like blacks". I thought his judgement was questionable for using that particular phrase, but making allowances for his age I would have been willing to overlook that relatively minor lapse. Unfortunately, later in the book he chose to employ the ridiculous old expression "n****r in the woodpile" not only once, but on two separate occasions. I am well aware of Carver's age- this is, after all, his memoir; however, by his own account he wrote this book during the early 1980s, and it was ultimately published at the end of that decade. I remember the 1980s quite well, and it was absolutely unacceptable even then to engage in the casual use of racial slurs in any context. Due to the particular circumstances of my life (which I will not go into here), I have an extremely low tolerance for bigotry in any form, and I am absolutely disgusted by Carver's use of these offensive expressions. At the very least, his choice of phrasing tends to unavoidably taint many of the observations he made during the course of the book. Carver was undoubtedly extremely fortunate that he ultimately did not have to take up the position of Resident Commissioner for Rhodesia given his extremely poor judgement in this regard.

[Ian Daniells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written autobiography of one of the great modern military commanders.