ellamarieedel's review against another edition
4.0
[3.5] Audiobook
This was so fascinating. I had no idea there was a British espionage ring in the US during WWII! All the major figures in this book were super interesting – Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, and Charles Marsh, among others. If you love WWII espionage stuff, I recommend this one.
This was so fascinating. I had no idea there was a British espionage ring in the US during WWII! All the major figures in this book were super interesting – Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, and Charles Marsh, among others. If you love WWII espionage stuff, I recommend this one.
wshier's review against another edition
2.0
This was not as good as the author's other books. It had more "curb appeal" (I knew Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming had to make for a good story, whereas I had no idea who Alfred Loomis of Tuxedo Park was), but I just don't think there was enough there for a book.
isthiswitty's review against another edition
Quit, not because it was bad, not by any means, but because it was overdue and I'm a forgetful person.
sarahcastic's review
3.0
I picked this up because I'm a big fan of Roald Dahl, and I found his part of the book really interesting. There was also a focus on some other people in this spy ring, like David Ogilvy- who knew? The problem I had with this book is it went on way too many tangents about way too many people. It definitely could have used an edit for cohesiveness. Great material presented in a pretty dry, heavy way. But worth slogging through if you're a Dahl fan or a WW2 history buff.
cmbohn's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoy Roald Dahl as an author, so I was looking forward to The Irregulars. I had no idea that Britain was working so hard to sway American policy toward World War II and get Americans involved. This should have been an interesting book. But I got lost in all the names, and if anything interesting happened, I missed it. Two stars is being generous, but I did enjoy the biographical parts about Dahl's family life and early writing career.
hnnh16's review
3.0
As someone who loves YA lit and finds it hard to find a non-fiction book that's appealing, I really liked finding out more about WW2 in America through the lens of Dahl's experiences. My major complaint, and the one I've seen repeated most, is the endless acronyms and name-dropping, that make keeping track of the action hard. So many Henrys. But it's a fascinating look at a fascinating person and any book that contains the phrase "epistolary circle jerk" ultimately redeems itself no matter what.
sonshinelibrarian's review
2.75
First, I did learn quite a bit from reading this. I had never really thought about what was going on in Washington at this time in history.
Second, somehow, all of the spy stuff is basically paperwork, sleeping around, going to parties, and office politics, which really doesn't make for the most riveting reading.
There are also really long rabbit holes that Conant goes down, giving lengthy descriptions of minor "characters" that really weren't important to the larger focus of the book, which often left me wondering why they required so much attention.
I also felt like sometimes Conant lost sight of the forest for the trees. Since Dahl and his counterparts were basically trying to push the United States into entering the war, I found it strange to think back on the book and realize I don't know where in the narrative that actually happened.
Overall, I just wasn't a huge fan of the writing style and I think that affected my enjoyment of the larger narrative.
Second, somehow, all of the spy stuff is basically paperwork, sleeping around, going to parties, and office politics, which really doesn't make for the most riveting reading.
There are also really long rabbit holes that Conant goes down, giving lengthy descriptions of minor "characters" that really weren't important to the larger focus of the book, which often left me wondering why they required so much attention.
I also felt like sometimes Conant lost sight of the forest for the trees. Since Dahl and his counterparts were basically trying to push the United States into entering the war, I found it strange to think back on the book and realize I don't know where in the narrative that actually happened.
Overall, I just wasn't a huge fan of the writing style and I think that affected my enjoyment of the larger narrative.
akmargie's review against another edition
4.0
UPDATE 5/4/10: Currently finshing this in the car, again. More intrested in the women Dahl knew and did he ever. Know them that is. Bibically. Known.
It was super interesting but I just didn't have time to finish it. I might try reading the end instead of the audio.
It was super interesting but I just didn't have time to finish it. I might try reading the end instead of the audio.
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun story to listen to though I suspect it would have been annoying to read. It jumped around a bit and it went into depth on a lot of things that weren't strictly connected to the Irregulars.
However, it was a really interesting book and a great look into the spy work a fantastic children's author did.
However, it was a really interesting book and a great look into the spy work a fantastic children's author did.