Archives for WW2 - Page 3
Dominion by C.J. Sansom [Book Review]
Dominion by Sansom My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was recommended Dominion by a couple of friends after my review of the TV version of SS-GB. Dominion is a huge tome, it's 700 pages long, and my first thought was that it probably needed some more editing. However I found it an easy and compelling read. Sansom's style is more descriptive than others I've read, but the extra detail adds to the flavour of the story. The title has multiple interpretations. Britain is a Dominion of nazi Germany, the key protagonist works for the Colonial Office liaising with the Dominions. Dominion - the review Unsmiling, Chamberlain (left) and Hitler leave the Bad Godesberg meeting, 23 September 1938. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Dominion takes a far more believable point of departure for its alternate history than SS-GB does. In Dominion Lord…
SS-GB [review] BBC Adaptation of Len Deighton’s SS-GB
I watched the BBC Adaptation of Len Deighton's SS-GB last night. I read the book a long time ago, it was probably one of the first alternative histories that I ever read. I've also enjoyed Young Lions by Andrew Mackay which is also set post-German Invasion of Britain. SS-GB Review The bombed-out ruins of Buckingham Palace as depicted in SS-GB. Image © Sid Gentle Films Ltd. SS-GB has a lot of elements that I enjoy. It's an alternative history, it's a police procedural, it has espionage/intelligence aspects and it's set during WW2. It also has another element that fascinates me. When do you remain loyal and when should you change sides? I was always going to watch this programme. The story is set in 1941, fourteen months after a successful German Invasion of Britain. In the opening shots we are…
The Nazi Hunters by Damien Lewis [Book Review]
The Nazi Hunters by Damien Lewis My rating: 4 of 5 stars A very well researched account, with a lot of detail on the SAS operations in the Vosges. While it does cover the post-war war crimes investigations most of the book is actually about the period leading to the war crimes. This is very interesting, and shows how they were operating and why so many SAS soldiers ended up in enemy hands. It also sort of explains the personal nature of the SAS War Crimes Unit's all consuming involvement in hunting down the perpetrators. The Nazi Hunters The defendants at the Nuremberg War Crime Trial in Nuremberg, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Nazi Hunters is well researched, but it's wrapped in a little hyperbole about it being a previously untold and largely unknown story. During WW2 Hitler issued an…
Henley Fort WW2 Experience with Year 6
I went to Henley Fort with my son's Year 6 class earlier today. Year 6 at Furzefield Primary School are just finishing their WW2 history module, they've studied WW2 since September. So today was a WW2 experience for them all to get a practical feel for what it was like being a member of the Home Guard or an ARP Warden. Henley Fort do both, and we split into two groups and had an hour and a half taster of each one. About Henley Fort Henley Fort is one of the outer London defences built in the late 19th Century, similar to Reigate Fort. It's up the hill behind the city centre in Guildford. The Forts were originally built as mobilisation centres, and artillery batteries, if the UK was invaded. They saw a bit of a revamp during WW1 and…
Gestapo by Lucas Saul [Book Review]
Gestapo by Lucas Saul My rating: 2 of 5 stars Gestapo by Lucas Saul is a reasonable summary overview of the Gestapo, but didn't quite have enough detail for me. If you didn't know anything about the Gestapo before then it might be an OK place to start, although wikipedia would be cheaper. Gestapo by Lucas Saul Gestapo by Lucas Saul doesn't quite live up to the promise of the blurb. What I was hoping for was some analysis of how the Gestapo was formed, where its staff came from and why they joined up. Plaque on former gestapo and communist secret police building, Łódź 7 Anstadta Street (Photo credit: Wikipedia) What you get with this book is a rough chronological history of the Gestapo, and their involvement in the atrocities commited by the nazi state. You also get a series of dramatis…