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cornmaven's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing an ARC for this WWII book set to be published in May, 2021.
Garrett documents a previously little known story of Jewish refugees from various European countries being recruited by the British Army for several assignments in the push to defeat the Nazis. Their assignments were dangerous, sometimes strange, and resulted in lots of surrenders of German soldiers, with little resistance. The commandos had to relinquish their birth identities and take on a British one, complete with backstory. Their advantage in understanding the culture and speaking the language was invaluable.
I found it very fascinating, and while my ARC did not include photos, I was glad to see that the fully published version would have many. A what happened to... section is included at the end, and was of great interest to me - once you get to know the various people through the story, you want to know where they ended up, which was often just as interesting.
Where I feel the book fell short was Garrett's insistence on providing a level of military detail that would not interest most readers; naming a person exact group assignment by letter and number, each and every time slowed the tale down. Only WWII students doing academic research would like that. It affected the tension of some moments negatively, in my opinion. But overall, a good read.
Garrett documents a previously little known story of Jewish refugees from various European countries being recruited by the British Army for several assignments in the push to defeat the Nazis. Their assignments were dangerous, sometimes strange, and resulted in lots of surrenders of German soldiers, with little resistance. The commandos had to relinquish their birth identities and take on a British one, complete with backstory. Their advantage in understanding the culture and speaking the language was invaluable.
I found it very fascinating, and while my ARC did not include photos, I was glad to see that the fully published version would have many. A what happened to... section is included at the end, and was of great interest to me - once you get to know the various people through the story, you want to know where they ended up, which was often just as interesting.
Where I feel the book fell short was Garrett's insistence on providing a level of military detail that would not interest most readers; naming a person exact group assignment by letter and number, each and every time slowed the tale down. Only WWII students doing academic research would like that. It affected the tension of some moments negatively, in my opinion. But overall, a good read.
brichneyfloss's review
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Antisemitism
momreaderh's review against another edition
5.0
Very interesting and well written. Enough background that the story makes sense and not so much thy it’s boring.
yrc's review against another edition
4.0
I audiobooked this and it was really interesting!
We live in an era where there are so many historical fiction and non fiction books about WW2. This can lead many readers to think that everything already known.
However, this book depicts the lives before, during and after the war of German and Austrian Jewish refugees who barely escaped Hitler.
They were able to reach England after their families were mostly murdered.
There they were offered a once in a lifetime opportunity- to train and fight against the nazis assuming totally new and fake British identities. All of these soldiers played a significant role in fighting the nazis and denatzifying Europe.
I especially enjoyed hearing about the companionship between the men, and how while some situations required blunt force, other times they took hundreds of germans captive by persuasion. I also was horrified to learn about the camps these soldiers were sent to in Canada and Australia, as well as the treatment of them on British ships.
My main issue with the book was that the author portrayed the story of multiple commandos and assorted units they were connected with over the years and fronts across 2 continents.
In my opinion, it would have been clearer and easier to follow the book if she had focused on 3-4 soldiers stories.
That way it also would have been even more impactful. That being said, it's very evident that the author did tons of research and made a big effort to uncover and respect these soldiers and their remarkable story.
Now that this previously untold story is out, I hope that more documents will be available so we can know even more about this unit. Overall highly recommended!
We live in an era where there are so many historical fiction and non fiction books about WW2. This can lead many readers to think that everything already known.
However, this book depicts the lives before, during and after the war of German and Austrian Jewish refugees who barely escaped Hitler.
They were able to reach England after their families were mostly murdered.
There they were offered a once in a lifetime opportunity- to train and fight against the nazis assuming totally new and fake British identities. All of these soldiers played a significant role in fighting the nazis and denatzifying Europe.
I especially enjoyed hearing about the companionship between the men, and how while some situations required blunt force, other times they took hundreds of germans captive by persuasion. I also was horrified to learn about the camps these soldiers were sent to in Canada and Australia, as well as the treatment of them on British ships.
My main issue with the book was that the author portrayed the story of multiple commandos and assorted units they were connected with over the years and fronts across 2 continents.
In my opinion, it would have been clearer and easier to follow the book if she had focused on 3-4 soldiers stories.
That way it also would have been even more impactful. That being said, it's very evident that the author did tons of research and made a big effort to uncover and respect these soldiers and their remarkable story.
Now that this previously untold story is out, I hope that more documents will be available so we can know even more about this unit. Overall highly recommended!
cdcsmith's review against another edition
5.0
This was a fantastic book. The story of these men, is just amazing. What they put up with before, during, and after war... I've read a lot of World War 2 non-fiction and fiction (not as much as someone studying the subject, but more than my friends), but this is one of the best. Well written, fantastic stories inside.
khufu's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.5
Lots of technical language but the story is remarkable