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Summary: Some UK and US reviews of Finest Hour
Review: "Brings added depth and detail to their superb TV series...From fighter pilots risking their lives in the skies above England to squaddies stranded at Dunkirk to shoolgirls evacuated to Canada (the book is worth buying just for Bess Walder's account of horror and redemption aboard the City of Benares) this is riveting' The Sunday Express.'This brilliant book..' The Daily Mail. 'emotionally charged with first-hand reminiscence...the ressearch is sound, the photographs engaging...a fine and relevant work' Focus Magazine. 'The authors have a feel for uncertainty, for the unknowability of the outcome...A book in period clothes but wearing modern make up' The Guardian. 'a highly dramatic and engaging account...Clayton and Craig have uncovered much that is new and valuable about 1940 and their book is written with real verve and skill.' B.O.L. 'The authors'approach has a verve and immediacy about it which provides a clear but gripping view of Britain's darkest hour' Air Mail (Journal of the RAF Association). The authors succeed, in the anecdotal style of Stephen Ambrose's recent WW2 histories, in transforming the dramas of individual soldiers, sailors and civilians into an impressively researched and tightly woven history that reads like an exciting novel.' US Kirkus Review.
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Summary: Don't miss the point of this book!
Review: A number of the customer reviewers of this fine book have grumbled that the title is misleading, i.e. that it covers the Battle of Britain only superficially; the blame for this lies *entirely* with the US publishers, who have added a subtitle (and a cover photograph) which was not present on the UK edition. This is *not* another book on the Battle, but one which seeks to place that epic air conflict in the context of what was happening to the British people (from the leaders down to the civilians) throughout the whole of that momentous year 1940. Hence the accounts of ordinary soldiers, sailors, airmen, wives, mothers, sweethearts and kids, alongside the inside stories of Churchill's cabinet. As such, it is a resounding success - if accounts like Bess Walder's (of the sinking of the "City of Benares") don't move you to tears, you have no soul. The lady who thought it was too boring to get past the first chapter would do well to go back for another go - the course of history was turned decisively during those twelve months, and this book brings it all to life. Recommended.
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Summary: Behind the scenes of the battle
Review: First of all, I wish to state that this book is good reading. But, it's not really about "The Finest Hour" as one would expect. Rather, it is the story of several people up to and including the Battle of Britain. It interweaves the experiences of Churchill and his secrataries, Roosevelt, newspaper columnists from New York, a sailor, a few fighter pilots and the women plotters who plotted the courses of the planes. The book describes their collective experiences during the invasion of France; the evacuation from Dunkirk; the child evacuations from England and so forth. Their stories are told as a series of vignettes. (If you were watching this on television, you could see each story fade to black and then a new story developing). It does make for good reading. However, the book really does not cover the logistics, the aerial fighting during the Battle of Britain, or the tactics of battle. In that respect, I was disappointed. I think the book should have been called "Behind the Scenes of the Battle of Britain". Nevertheless, be prepared that you are not going to read about the history of the battle, but about a few peoples' experiences during the battle.
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Summary: Behind the scenes of the battle
Review: First of all, I wish to state that this book is good reading. But, it's not really about "The Finest Hour" as one would expect. Rather, it is the story of several people up to and including the Battle of Britain. It interweaves the experiences of Churchill and his secrataries, Roosevelt, newspaper columnists from New York, a sailor, a few fighter pilots and the women plotters who plotted the courses of the planes. The book describes their collective experiences during the invasion of France; the evacuation from Dunkirk; the child evacuations from England and so forth. Their stories are told as a series of vignettes. (If you were watching this on television, you could see each story fade to black and then a new story developing). It does make for good reading. However, the book really does not cover the logistics, the aerial fighting during the Battle of Britain, or the tactics of battle. In that respect, I was disappointed. I think the book should have been called "Behind the Scenes of the Battle of Britain". Nevertheless, be prepared that you are not going to read about the history of the battle, but about a few peoples' experiences during the battle.
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Summary: Eye Opening Account of the Battle of Britain
Review: Having read many other accounts of the Battle of Britain I was unsure if this book would be able to offer anything new to the current literature. Well I was wrong, this story, presented by many of the participants, civilians, sailors, soldiers and airmen, was excellent. The authors let the people who experienced this terrible and also great time in their history tell the story. The book starts in France at the commencement of the German invasion and follows a number of the characters through the fall of France, the start of the aerial fighting over England to the end of the Battle of Britain. The story is told from the English side with no accounts from any of the German participants but the title does say 'Finest Hour', which should give you an idea, what the book is about anyhow. I found two of the stories quite sad, one involving the German bombing of a school in London that resulted in numerous civilian casualties and how the authorities solved the dilemma of identify and processing the bodies. Another story detailed the sinking of the British liner 'City of Benares' which was carrying over 90 children being sent to Canada so as to be safe from the nighttime Blitz against London. I also found the story of the machinations between Churchill and Roosevelt over American aid to Britain during this period very interesting as was the account of the destruction of the French Fleet and their small victory later on against the British Fleet at Dakar. Overall this is an interesting account of this pivotal period in England's history during World War Two. I am sure that many readers will find the human stories interesting and I doubt that any student of World War Two will not find something new and interesting in this account.
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Summary: Compelling History and Characters
Review: I am not a prolific reader, the books I read have to go at a pace for me to stay the course. The huge disadvantage of this lack of staying power is that I very rarely finish a book and feel any sense of achievement. This book, and its sequel The End of The Beginning, have both proved to be rare examples where I have felt that I have learnt something while being thoroughly entertained. For me, this comes from the characters around which the history is recounted. Both these books cover events that have been the subject of TV and film dramatisation but these used characters created around Hollywood stars or English character actors. The people who provided so much of the material for the books were involved in the war in the ranks, at home and in command. The stories they told to the authors during the years of research bring a powerful reality to the fighting and the hardships the endured. There is a spitfire pilot who falls in love while struggling to match the victories of his fellow heroes. There is a soldier wounded while trying to hold back the German army in a French cemet factory, a family trapped by the blitz in the East-end of London and a naval rating dealing with the aftermath of surving the sinking of his ship at Dunkirk. The book brings their fears to life as well as their remarkable resolve to carry on their fight, to survive, to win. This book has not changed my view of WW2 but it has made me painfully aware of how much it dominated the lives of civilians and the Forces. I was greatly moved by parts of the book. This is a great book. I doubt anyone will start this book and not finish it - and they will be glad that they did.
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Summary: A reader from Australia writes:
Review: I bought this book expecting it to be a rather dry historical overview of the Battle of Britain concerned with numbers, dates and what Churchill said to whom. Instead I discovered an intensive social history of the ordinary men and women who were served in and were concerned with the Fall of France and the Battle of Britain. Soldiers catapulted from the lull of phony war to savegae combat in France and Belgium; RAF pilots who were overwhelmed in the skies of France; the sailors who assisted in the evacuation of Dunkirk; secretarial staf of Winston Churchill; American war correspondents observing the frist German bombing raids from the cliffs of Dover; again the brave and determined RAF flying and fighting over their native soil; WAAF radar plotters assisting the pilots; civilians whose lives were shattered by the bombing of London; child evacuees on an ill-fated trip to Canada, and Royal Navy personnel escorting the convoys to and from Beseiged Britain. All have their stories told here. The writing is urgent and immediate, it makes ome feel that the Battle of Britain occurred only a few years ago rather than sixty. I found this book so compelling I read it from cover to cover in two sittings within 24 hours.
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Summary: false advertising
Review: I bought this book under false pretences: not my own, but the title and description of the book. Fully half of it is taken up with what anyone knows was 'The Battle for France,' and concludes with the grim triumph of Dunkirk. Most of this information is related to us in the form of interviews with vets, lo these many years later. Then, the scene transfers to The Battle of Britain. But does it really deal with it? NO. Do we come away from this study better informed about how the B.E.F was re-equipped, after leaving all their equipment in France? Do we know how the firefighters, rescue workers, and air wardens dealt with night after night of the Blitz? How about the anti-aircraft measures of the British; the guns, searchlights, balloons, etc.? What about gas rationing, food rationing and other deprivations? What about the aircraft and munition factories having to go flat out to make vital equipment? And what about getting "...the beaches, the landing grounds, the fields, the streets and the hills..." ready to defend? (D'you know who I'm quoting?) None of this is dealt with here. This book leaves a lot to be desired, is padded with too much stuff about the battles in France, and really comes up short. I would really discourage you from buying it.
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Summary: Very moving wartime experience book
Review: I really liked this book. It takes the wartime experiences of different people, and tells their story. It is written not just about the actual people in the battles, it also has stories of childern being evacuated to Canada, one of Churchills secretaries, and others. It does of course concentrate about the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who fought the battle to save Britian from German invasion. No doubt about it, this is "soft" history, however it is powerfully written indeed. It talks about the politics in the British cabinet, Churchills attempt to get American help, and then about wartime life for the people of Britian. I really got into the story and started to understand what it must have been like to live through those times. The book does not overlook the horrors of war, and you really appreciate that the sacrifices that these people made for the ideals that they believed in. The book even ended up with short biographys of all the principle characters of the book. I really liked that touch, and it also told me that I really cared about the characters of the book. I would recommend that you read this book, I am very glad that I did.
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Summary: A superb example of history from below
Review: I think this will go down as one of the best books of history from the view of ordinary people. It is not a definitive version of the events or even close to it, but I think it does give a feeling of how people lived through a momentous time. I was touched and horrified by many of the stories. There was the story of the soldiers marching who were so tired they were asleep until they bumped into the person ahead or behind them. There are hundreds of these stories weaved into a superb narrative. Not a comprehensive history, but a great introduction to the art of history from the viewpoint of ordinary people.
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