History at War

Frankland is the junior coauthor of the four-volume official British history, The Bombing Offensive against Germany, which controversially argues that the RAF bombing campaign was largely ineffective until the last year of the war--a rare departure from the self-congratulatory norm of official military histories. He has gone on to resurrect the decaying Imperial War Museum, turning it into a sparkling showcase and extending its purview to include a warship/museum and an airfield providing air shows, while also serving as historical adviser to British television on an acclaimed 26-part series on WWII. The motivations and struggles involved in this professional retrospective are clearly important--without widespread, accurate appreciation of history, democracy is severely imperiled in facing the future. Yet the significant points of Frankland's account, which could easily fit into a magazine article, get lost in the clutter of minor details. Weighty matters of principle, intellectual motivation and historical judgment are explained only enough to make a wearying succession of bureaucratic battles intelligible. His last chapter, ""History Through Biography,"" seeks to justify the unique historical perspectives afforded by biography, but his own biographies of Prince Arthur (son of Victoria) and Prince Henry (son of George V) both concern men with little effect on history. 8 pages b&w photos. (Jan.)