Lord Haw-Haw: The Full Story of William Joyce

Rating:
Summary: Balanced study of chic rebel
Review: This is a full and well-balanced biography of the life and times of William Joyce, the American-Irish-English-German adventurer and fascist.

Joyce is sometimes called "Lord Haw-Haw," a nickname he acquired early in the Second World War when he began to broadcast witty taunts on behalf of the German propaganda ministry. He reminded listeners of the original Lord Haw-Haw, an English traitor of the 1914-1918 War.

Perhaps the best-known treatment of Joyce's story is the essay Rebecca West wrote about him in The New Yorker in 1946, and later published as The Meaning of Treason. West's Joyce was a contemptible cartoon, a strutting, diminutive loser. Cole shows a more appealing soul--a scholarly fellow with wit and personal charm.