152 The Twentieth Century (1914-1945}

are reviewed in a book which suffers from the methods of
American political science and has too little understanding of
the actual realities.962 Ehrman's comparative study of practice
in the two wars, on the other hand, is illuminating and could
be wished longer.963 There have been several studies of the
civil service, at present a hot subject. Gladden, writing from
inside, thinks it necessary to defend every stage of the service's
history over the last hundred years.964 Fry, on the other hand,
espouses the popular charge of the day that 'generalists* are
nothing but amateurs; a solidly based historical study (which
also has useful things to say about recruitment), his book is
burdened with somewhat naive proposals for reform.965 Less
controversially, Kensall applies methods learned from the
sociologists to the higher reaches of the service, at one time
the chief pride of the nation and now one of its common aunt
sallies.966 Despite various ephemeral analyses of parties, their
structure and power problems, the only book to establish
itself-possibly a little too quickly-is still McKenzie's.967
Using his own experience, which does not quite make up for
the absence of a scholar's training, Herbert Morrison, one of
labour's Big Three in 1945 - 51, attempts to make plain the
necessary relations between any sort of government and the
parliamentary party supporting it.968

m Franklyn A. Johnson, Defence by Committee: the British committee of

imperial defence 1885-1959. L: OUP: 1960. Pp. ix, 416. Rev:

EHR 77, 58of.
m John P. W. Ehrman, Cabinet Government and War. CUP: 1958. Pp.

xi, 138, Rev: EHR 77, 339^
m E. N. Gladden, Civil Services in the United Kingdom, 1855 -1970.

L: Cass: 1967. Pp. xxv, 289.
**s Geoffrey K. Fry, Statesmen in Disguise: the changing role of the

administrative class of the British Home Civil Service, 1853 -1966. L:

Macmillan: 1969. Pp. 479.
Mf R. K. Kelsall, Higher Civil Servants in Britain from 1870 to the Present

Day. L: Routledge: 1955. Pp. xvi, 533.
»«7 Robert T. McKenzie, British Political Parties. L: Heinemann:

1963 (2nd ed). Pp. xv, 694.
m Herbert Morrison, Government and Parliament: a survey from inside.

L: OUP: 1954. Pp. xiii, 363,