Some good books that haven't been mentioned are: The Purple Plain by H.E. Bates, which is about crashed RAF aircrew in Burma trying to walk home (Gregory Peck was in the film): Robert Radcliffe's second novel, Upon Dark Waters, about an Anglo-Uruguayan in the RN in the Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Ulysses by Alastair MacLean, about a cruiser in the Arctic Convoys: Piece of Cake by Derek Robinson, about an RAF fighter squadron in the Battles of France & Britain: &, last but best, The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Montserrat, about two RN corvettes in the Battle of the Atlantic. There's a new series of novels about RAF fighter pilots in WWII by Frank Barnard, which look interesting, but I've not yet read one; I've seen the second one in Waterstones 3 for 2 offers. I've also seen, but not read, Coward on the Beach by James Delingpole, which is meant to be the first in a series of reminisecences by a WWII British commando. He's described as being a bit like Flashman, in that he improbably appears absolutely everywhere, but differs in that he is a genuine hero. Coward is his name, not a description of his conduct.
Adam SEMPER's REVENGE A novel by Ron Goldstein Prologue 0430 hrs. Wednesday May 2nd. 1945 The dank grey mist hung low at ground level over the Italian field on this bleak May morning in 1945. It swirled over the hard ground, eddied by the biting cold wind coming from the Urals in the North and as it filtered through the small olive grove it hit a large immovable object that stopped its progress for one brief moment. The object, some nine feet high and twenty feet long was a Sherman Mark IIa tank and the mist, impelled relentlessly forward by the wind, climbed up the side of the tank as if to measure and identify the object in its path. As the hazy damp cloud reached the turret it spread sideways until it reached the extremities of the cupola shaped turret and then rolled on, to drop over the other side of the hull and continue its progress. Whatever was touched by the mist became damp and this included the olive green wooden box strapped to the side of the metal ammunition container at the rear of the turret. The box had German army markings on it, the most prominent of which was a stylised black eagle and various numbers and letters had been stencilled on the lid to indicate that the contents of the box were, or should have been, ammunition for a Spandau machine gun. It was not all that unusual for a British army tank to be carrying German equipment at this stage of the war, most army vehicles seemed to have accumulated a large variety of items that by no stretch of imagination could have been described as Army Issue, British. What was different about this particular wooden Wermacht container was its present contents, namely, 60,000 US Dollars, all neatly packed with typical German efficiency into green waterproof packets and then stacked with loving care into the box's interior. Well you've got me intrigued Ron. What's with all those dollars? Where had they come from and where were they going? Had they been stolen or were they part of some kind of bribe? Perhaps the germans had paid them to 'look the other way'. Hmmmmmm, the possibilities are endless. Please tell us more. cheers marcus
Adam The Young Lions movie had all the 'cool' actors in 1958 - Brando, Montgomery Clift and - yep! - Dean Martin. Very good film as I recall. Another Nicholas Monsarrat classic was 'HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour'. I remember well the radio play, broadcast several times in the 50s and 60s. Sits well alongside 'The Cruel Sea' and well worth reading (dunno if the radio play is available anywhere) Jim
This is great, I think I'm leaning towards the 'classics' and salving some of that background guilt at not having read certain famous books... (They're also very cheap & easily available in secondhand shops ). Good to have a written list building up (mind like a sieve). I've enjoyed H.E. Bates before so that's definitely going on the list, 'piece of cake' rings a real bell... (worrying how a few hundred pages can be completely forgotten until someone mentions the name :mellow. The Montserrat ones are going right to the top of the list too, people always rave about 'em & like the Pacific, the Naval stuff's a part of the war I could do with learning more about.
You're right, I'd forgotteen I read The Kappillan of Malta by Monsarrat when I was there in '94. It added to the enjoyment of the book by reading it in the place it was set. The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monsarrat
Marcus 1. Get to my Blog Profile: Blogger: User Profile: Ron Goldstein 2. Pick up my e-mail address. 3. Send me an e-mail so I have your address. 4. I will then send you chapter 2
I read somewhere that the fighter pilot, Paul Richey hated 'Piece of Cake' by Derek Robinson. I think he said it soiled the name of pilots who were there in France. I don't know why he said that as I've never read the book but I have seen the film (or TV drama).
I read somewhere that the fighter pilot, Paul Richey hated 'Piece of Cake' by Derek Robinson. I think he said it soiled the name of pilots who were there in France. I don't know why he said that as I've never read the book but I have seen the film (or TV drama). iuve got it lined up there to rad next but one....
I remember reading a book abuot 20 years ago that took place on one of the Channel Islands, Guernsey, I think. It was good. Do any of you have any idea of the book I am thinking about or am I just being loopy?
I read somewhere that the fighter pilot, Paul Richey hated 'Piece of Cake' by Derek Robinson. I think he said it soiled the name of pilots who were there in France. I don't know why he said that as I've never read the book but I have seen the film (or TV drama). I can certainly see why a veteran would have been upset by one incident in the book, which seemed very far fetched to me. I'll not say what it was since Kfz is about to start reading the book. Overall, I thought it was a good book but it is fiction & I doubt if a couple of incidents have any factual basis.
I'm currently reading Ron's novel. I think he based one character on Adam. Bob Bianchi was a tankophile, a lover of tanks, Shermans in particular. His love affair, he realised, as he warmed to his subject, had started the very first day he was allowed to climb into a tank, at Bovington, in 1940.
I haven't read Rons novel yet. Got it in my emails at home but haven't been able to get access to the puter. Hence I've only been logging on here at work. While I should be working. Hmmmm. As soon as I've read it, I'll PM Ron and post my thoughts here.
"Goodbye , Darkness a memoir of the Pacific war" , William Manchester Ah but this publication was William Manchester's true account of his ordeal in the Pacific.Not the Sven Hassel rubbish.I would put William Manchester's account of his war in the same category as Russell Braddon's account of his capture and ordeal after the fall of Sinapore.Braddon's references to the "icecream man" and the humour of his fellow POWs in adversity cannot be excelled by fiction.The dialogue and exchanges from that time are still evident in the present era of soldiering. From my view if you reqiure to gain an understanding of history,then stay clear of the fiction.It it is fiction, then an author ought to clearly state that. Having said that one of the best narratives wrapped in fact is Paul Carell's "Hitler moves East", the first volume of "Hitlers War on Russia", an account of Operation Bararossa.Carell served Hitler in another capacity and under another name but was so close to the facts and centre of power that he could incorporate them into his narrative. I have seen a criticism of Carell that he uses his publications to move Germany's postion into better light than historians would concede.Still a good account of the era when the German war machine thought it was invicible.
Perhaps some of you know the pain of spotting a book, going ohhh it's set in the Battle of Britain (or some such) and then realizing it's just a romance novel in disguise. The only historical fiction I have ever adored was the "Regeneration" trilogy by Pat Barker, which is of course about the WWI poets, W.H.R. Rivers, shellshock, etc. What gobsmacks me is that Barker is a middle aged woman and I buy her impressions of warfare. Which may not say might, since I'm a 23 year old woman, but I feel like she sells it. So, recommendations? Or, does some of the fiction make you uncomfortable? It does me occasionally, like when I was reading about an author writing what seemed to be a YA novel about Anne Frank and Peter, where there's a sex scene. Which seems really crass, even as I definitely once wrote my own impression of Charles Lightoller getting PTSD in the bath a year after the Titanic. So, what place does fiction have in war? And can people like me ever fake it (yes, always fake, of course) well enough? I spent a year writing a 90 page tale of a woman war correspondent, (supposed to be very Martha Gellhorn/Mary Marvin Breckenridge/Margaret Bourke-White) who had a very Murrow-esq boss. I indulged my every WWII interest, she went through the Blitz, the night Saint Paul's stayed standing, the Battle of Britain, she just missed interviewing Douglas Bader, she DID interview Charles Lightoller, she was at Buchenwald and Nuremberg. I namedropped Glenn Miller and Robert Capa and the Andrews Sisters. I was such a pleasure to write. To be the kid again who played some very morbid, historical-tinged games because she wanted to understand something she was very lucky not to understand. And at the end, the story was of course trash. It's false, it's a ransom note of interesting bits of the 40s and 50s. I started it at a time when I knew nothing what-so-ever about the Korean war, yet that's supposed to be current time... Sorry to have such a ramble, and please move this if it's in the wrong spot, but as some of you are even veterans, most of you know a heck of a lot more about the war than I ever will, I am curious, fiction and WWII? What of it? And as I said, please recommend some good books if there are any.
I can highly recommend my new book, unfortunately its at least a year off. Those of you the have read any of my threads will know that mynovel is loosely base on my Grandfathers exploits with HQ Coy 2Para from 41 to 45. The book is call 'In the Company of friends'. It will follow him to Algiers and Tunis, then Sicily and Italy culminating in Arnhem and I hoping to have it published by late 2011. There is a second book also planned all about how the main character and his friend got back across the Rhine after escaping Arnhem. The members of this forum have been extremely helpful and will get full credit in both books. Regards Dave
A lot of people didn't like this but for me it's one of my all time fiction faves. Robert Harris - Enigma Enigma: Amazon.co.uk: Robert Harris: Books I also loved Robert Radcliffe's - Under An English Heaven Under an English Heaven: Amazon.co.uk: Robert Radcliffe: Books David Fiddimore - Tueday's War Tuesday's War: Amazon.co.uk: David Fiddimore: Books
Also try this - excellent. Bomber (BBC Radio Collection): Amazon.co.uk: Tom Baker, Frank Windsor, Samuel West, Emma Chambers, Jack Shepherd: Books
