Welcome to REID'S READER, a site renewed weekly and devoted to the appreciation and discussion of books old and new by bibliophile, critic and reviewer Nicholas Reid. Each week REID'S READER offers Something New, Something Old and Something Thoughtful to readers and browsers. REID'S READER will sometimes feature guest reviewers and will sometimes offer general book news, but it does not run publishers' publicity material. Monday, November 5, 2012 Something Thoughtful Nicholas Reid reflects in essay form on general matters and ideas related to literature, history, popular culture and the arts. You are free to agree or disagree with him. AN ENCOUNTER WITH BLACK PROPAGANDA One of the best loved ditties of British soldiers and schoolkids in the mid-twentieth century was the one about the testicular deficiencies of the Nazi leadership. (" Hitler has only got one ball... ." etc.) It was sung cheerfully on parade-grounds and playgrounds to the tune of the Colonel Bogey march. Squaddies and kiddies alike had the happy sensation that they were singing something rude and subversive, but nevertheless broadly aligned to their nation's interests. It has now been almost certainly confirmed that the first version of this rude  ditty was actually written by Toby O'Brien early in the war, when he was employed by the British Council. It was deliberately popularised in pubs and barracks by Britain's propaganda apparatus. Un-broadcast-able at the time, of course, it was a massive hit nevertheless, allowing its millions of singers to imagine that they and their mates had