pjroeder's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
debbie13410's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
aminakara's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
jaxboiler's review
5.0
I listened to this one as a book on CD during my commute and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Just a fun easy story that at times makes you wonder if something like that could have happened or at least planned.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
The Eagle Has Landed (1975) by Jack Higgins presents the reader with the premise that on November 6, 1943 a group of German paratroopers land in Norfolk where the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is rumored to be headed for a weekend's relaxation at a country house near Studley Constable. The mission? To kidnap Churchill if at all possible and to kill him if it's not. The central story is framed with more recent events. Higgins inserts himself into the narrative and describes how he discovered the story while in a Studley Constable graveyard, looking for the grave of a sea captain by the name of Charles Gascigne. He uncovers a concealed grave containing thirteen German paratroopers. What on earth are those men doing in an English graveyard. The villagers won't talk to him--and are even quite menacing when they tell him to move along and not come back. But Higgins is used to asking awkward questions and following leads into dangerous territory when he catches the scent of a story. After a year's research, he puts together the tale described in the book.
When Hitler's men manage to free his ally Benito Mussolini and bring him to Germany, Hitler is inspired to demand that a similar operation be developed to kidnap his enemy Churchill. With Himmler's enthusiastic support of the plan, he orders Admiral Wilhelm Canaris to investigate the possibility and Canaris gives the task to Oberst Radl--asking him to make it look good (to keep the Fuhrer happy) but to be ready with good reasons why it won't work. The further Radl digs into the plan, the more convinced he becomes that it really could work. But when he submits his final study to Canaris, he's told to forget it--unless asked for it.
He's asked sooner than anticipated--by Himmler himself, who is delighted with the findings and gives Radl the power necessary to put together a team. He brings together Liam Devlin, an IRA radical who is willing to do just about anything in the cause against England, and the disgraced Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Steiner and his crack team of paratroopers to prepare to land in England. Meanwhile, in Studley Constable, a bitter woman by the name of Joanna Grey, an Afrikaner woman and longtime counter-intelligence agent, has been sending information about Churchill's schedule, the terrain for the landing, and other details that makes it seem that every little thing is working together to ensure success....
This is an action-packed book and it moves fairly quickly to the finish--especially when you consider how much of the book is spent on the build-up. We follow the plan from its inception through the gathering of Devlin and Steiner to the training and preparation of the paratrooper team and their landing in Norfolk. What keeps the story from dragging is the way that Higgins brings his characters to life. Despite the fact that we know we shouldn't be rooting for the Germans and those who are working for them, Higgins makes these men (and woman) very real and complex. Just as the villagers learn (once "The Eagle is Blown" and they know that Germans are among them), German men can be just as human as they are--they can make sacrifices and choose to do good even when in the midst of performing duties that make them the enemy. As one of the characters says of Steiner towards the end of the book: Whatever else may be said, he was a fine soldier and a brave man. And so he was. ★★★★ for a fine read. I would (if I were rating it) give the movie five stars--simply because the actors bring the characters even more fully to life.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks!
When Hitler's men manage to free his ally Benito Mussolini and bring him to Germany, Hitler is inspired to demand that a similar operation be developed to kidnap his enemy Churchill. With Himmler's enthusiastic support of the plan, he orders Admiral Wilhelm Canaris to investigate the possibility and Canaris gives the task to Oberst Radl--asking him to make it look good (to keep the Fuhrer happy) but to be ready with good reasons why it won't work. The further Radl digs into the plan, the more convinced he becomes that it really could work. But when he submits his final study to Canaris, he's told to forget it--unless asked for it.
He's asked sooner than anticipated--by Himmler himself, who is delighted with the findings and gives Radl the power necessary to put together a team. He brings together Liam Devlin, an IRA radical who is willing to do just about anything in the cause against England, and the disgraced Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Steiner and his crack team of paratroopers to prepare to land in England. Meanwhile, in Studley Constable, a bitter woman by the name of Joanna Grey, an Afrikaner woman and longtime counter-intelligence agent, has been sending information about Churchill's schedule, the terrain for the landing, and other details that makes it seem that every little thing is working together to ensure success....
This is an action-packed book and it moves fairly quickly to the finish--especially when you consider how much of the book is spent on the build-up. We follow the plan from its inception through the gathering of Devlin and Steiner to the training and preparation of the paratrooper team and their landing in Norfolk. What keeps the story from dragging is the way that Higgins brings his characters to life. Despite the fact that we know we shouldn't be rooting for the Germans and those who are working for them, Higgins makes these men (and woman) very real and complex. Just as the villagers learn (once "The Eagle is Blown" and they know that Germans are among them), German men can be just as human as they are--they can make sacrifices and choose to do good even when in the midst of performing duties that make them the enemy. As one of the characters says of Steiner towards the end of the book: Whatever else may be said, he was a fine soldier and a brave man. And so he was. ★★★★ for a fine read. I would (if I were rating it) give the movie five stars--simply because the actors bring the characters even more fully to life.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks!
lauraellis's review
3.0
Good spy thriller. It made you empathize with the German soldiers just doing their jobs, the good people everywhere—but you think think about the Holocaust going on. I never wanted them to succeed, but I did want them to survive.
agentk's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly good for a "random pickup" in a second-hand bookstore.
smellymelly40's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t believe I’ve not read this before. A modern classic.
An extraordinary story about an extraordinary point in history. Even read today it cracks through modern xenophobia but when you consider when it was published, when many of the characters were still alive it’s somehow all the more thrilling for that.
An extraordinary story about an extraordinary point in history. Even read today it cracks through modern xenophobia but when you consider when it was published, when many of the characters were still alive it’s somehow all the more thrilling for that.
vinayakmalik's review against another edition
Far fetched but just believable enough
teebark's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great WW II thriller, with a truly innovative twist. The Germans know they are losing the war, and even this stunt may not change things, but it's a fantastic PR opportunity. They're going to kidnap Winston Churchill.
They draft some interesting characters, including an Irish expatriate, Liam Devlin. Liam is a leader in the IRA, and a cold blooded killer. However, he gets himself in trouble almost immediately, by falling for a local beauty. He tries several times to resist the temptation, but he cannot make the final break.
In the meantime, Liam also helps set up the logistics for the kidnapping, and the Germans send in a group of paratroopers on the fatal evening before the kidnapping is supposed to take place.
Liam is quite a character, mixing a sharp wit with a devious mind, that doesn't miss a trick. He's able to keep everyone off balance. But, uncharacteristic of the fiend the world knows him as, he makes some surprising decisions, usually concerning Bonnie, the girl he has fallen for, But not always--there are a few surprises for you.
You can probably guess the conclusion, but the ending is every bit as ingenious as the book's plot. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.
They draft some interesting characters, including an Irish expatriate, Liam Devlin. Liam is a leader in the IRA, and a cold blooded killer. However, he gets himself in trouble almost immediately, by falling for a local beauty. He tries several times to resist the temptation, but he cannot make the final break.
In the meantime, Liam also helps set up the logistics for the kidnapping, and the Germans send in a group of paratroopers on the fatal evening before the kidnapping is supposed to take place.
Liam is quite a character, mixing a sharp wit with a devious mind, that doesn't miss a trick. He's able to keep everyone off balance. But, uncharacteristic of the fiend the world knows him as, he makes some surprising decisions, usually concerning Bonnie, the girl he has fallen for, But not always--there are a few surprises for you.
You can probably guess the conclusion, but the ending is every bit as ingenious as the book's plot. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.