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Rating: 
Summary: History That Reads Like A Novel.
Review: "In The Shadows Of War" by Thomas Childers. Sub-titled: "An American Pilot's Odyssey Through Occupied France And The Camps Of Nazi Germany". Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2002.This book is so well written that it reads like a novel, with suspense building up as you turn each page.
Will the B-17 pilot, Roy Allen, escape from his badly damaged aircraft? Will he be captured by the Germans? Or be rescued by the French Resistance? The French get to him first and he is assigned to a hiding place in a small village. The young teacher, Colette Florin, hides him as they all await liberation by the Allied Armies coming from the Normandy Beaches. But the Allies are delayed by fierce fighting that Summer of 1944, and Roy Allen decides to leave the relative safety of Colette Florin's rooms above the girls' school. He wants to travel to occupied Paris to reach the Resistance pipeline to get him out of France. It was here that the "novel" aspects began to overwhelm me. I said to myself that I would not write it that way; it would be more realistic if the American flyer stayed with the French teacher in the so-called "Golden Cage" and wait for the Allied Armies. Then I saw the photo section (between pages 240 & 241), and I was reminded that Roy Allen actually existed! He was NOT a fictional character. Nor was Colette. They, along with Pierre Muslant, lived and struggled in wartime France. Pierre Muslant was a member of the French Resistance who was to help Roy escape via Paris. Along with Roy, Muslant was captured and died in Buchenwald, so there is only a sketch of him, not a photograph. The excellent writing along with the actual story of this adventure made it almost impossible to put this book down. Just remember, as you read the book, it is fact, not fiction.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've read in years
Review: "In the Shadows of War" is a triumph on numerous levels. First it's one helluva story. The true adventures of Roy Allen, the US pilot shot down over France in June 1944, are remarkable. Moreover, Childers is a skilled writer. The reader will feel transported to France and Germany in 1944-45. The experience of being an Allied pilot, of hiding from the enemy, fearing for one's life, suffering horrible depravations and barbarity are vividly presented. The bravery of the French resistantce fighters is inspiring as the cruelty of the SS and Gestapo is frightening. Concentration camps are not so much described as guided through. The forced march during a snowstorm from one POW camp to the next is similarly endured.
The central character, Roy Allen, is cast as a heroic figure, with an indominable will to survive, all the while doing the right thing. (How Childers tells Allen's story apparently without ever having met him is also a noteworthy acheivement). But it is also evident that there were many Roy Allens who served the Allies in WWII.
"In the Shadows of War " also has a strong supporting cast. Most especially, Colette Florin the school teacher who risked her life to hide Allen in her apartment. Childers wisely takes the time to fully introduces and present Florin and the rest of the "cast."
This book will not just have appeal to World War II buffs. Anyone who likes a cracking good story and appreciates good writing will be drawn into the "Shadows of War."
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting read
Review: A favorite author of veterans of the Eighth Air Force and, indeed, all those interested in World War Two history, has scored with another winning effort. We all remember Tom Childers popular "Wings of Morning" that told the sad history of the last B-24 shot down in Europe. This new and exciting and illuminating book brings to life what it was like to be "on the run" in Nazi Germany and later the difficulties of surviving life in the camps.
Your editor recalls the instructions his crew received on its way to assignment in India. We left St Mawes in Cornwall headed for Naples. The advice given us was to surrender to the Germans if we came down in occupied France and to avoid being captured by the Vichy Milice at all costs. The Germans would most likely ship you off to a POW camp. The Milice would just as likely rob and kill you.
The mists of history are closing over all those who took part in WW2 whether in uniform or out. It is therefore a pleasure to see Childers tell the story of the incredibly courageous young schoolteacher, Colette Florin, a member of the resistance since their earliest days who sheltered a fugitive Roy Allen, an airman from Philadelphia, in her tiny apartment when any of the other tenants might well have been Nazi collaborators.
Do you remember Pierre Laval, the French politico who headed the collaborationist puppet Vichy government? A bit about this traitor appears in the book. He was later executed on orders of the DeGaulle government. Remember that when the Nazis invaded France they were allies of the Communists who at that time held Russia. It is interesting to note that some believe that French Communists working in French aircraft factories sabotaged fighters being destined for the French Air Force and actually cost more casualties than did the Luftwaffe .
Read "In The Shadows of War". Those of you, and there are many in the AFHS, who experienced bail-outs over France will find Roy Allen's experiences particularly interesting as will all those who experienced the dubious hospitality of the German POW camps.
-- Jack Brennan
Rating:
Summary: An interesting read
Review: A favorite author of veterans of the Eighth Air Force and, indeed, all those interested in World War Two history, has scored with another winning effort. We all remember Tom Childers popular "Wings of Morning" that told the sad history of the last B-24 shot down in Europe. This new and exciting and illuminating book brings to life what it was like to be "on the run" in Nazi Germany and later the difficulties of surviving life in the camps.
Your editor recalls the instructions his crew received on its way to assignment in India. We left St Mawes in Cornwall headed for Naples. The advice given us was to surrender to the Germans if we came down in occupied France and to avoid being captured by the Vichy Milice at all costs. The Germans would most likely ship you off to a POW camp. The Milice would just as likely rob and kill you.
The mists of history are closing over all those who took part in WW2 whether in uniform or out. It is therefore a pleasure to see Childers tell the story of the incredibly courageous young schoolteacher, Colette Florin, a member of the resistance since their earliest days who sheltered a fugitive Roy Allen, an airman from Philadelphia, in her tiny apartment when any of the other tenants might well have been Nazi collaborators.
Do you remember Pierre Laval, the French politico who headed the collaborationist puppet Vichy government? A bit about this traitor appears in the book. He was later executed on orders of the DeGaulle government. Remember that when the Nazis invaded France they were allies of the Communists who at that time held Russia. It is interesting to note that some believe that French Communists working in French aircraft factories sabotaged fighters being destined for the French Air Force and actually cost more casualties than did the Luftwaffe .
Read "In The Shadows of War". Those of you, and there are many in the AFHS, who experienced bail-outs over France will find Roy Allen's experiences particularly interesting as will all those who experienced the dubious hospitality of the German POW camps.
-- Jack Brennan
Rating:
Summary: Excellant Book About French Resistance in WWII
Review: Following the three main characters through the French underground this story will show how ordinary people did extraordinary things during WWII. Following downed American airman Roy Allen from his shooting down, through his time with the French resistance, and through the Nazi concentration camps the book is hard to put down. I have never read much about the resistance before this book and I got a very good ideal of what these brave citizens went through to aid downed airman. If caught, they would either be shot or sent to labor camps to die. Along the way, you will be introduced to many in the resistance who you will never forget. Unfortunately, some of them never live to see the liberation of France or the end of the war. The part of the book about the concentration camps is sometimes hard to read but, it shows what the human spirit can overcome in the most evil places. My only grip about the book is the large number of characters to following. Many of them (British and French trained agents) change names from one chapter to another as they leave and reenter France. I would love to see a cast of characters page somewhere in the book. Other than that, this book will stay with me for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: GRIPPING ODYSSEY
Review: i must say i am not the most advid reader in the world but when i bought this book i could not put it down. this book has it all, great adventures rich with texture and amazing characters!
there are many subplots to this book which also help advance the story to a wonderful ending. what a great movie this book would make and the fact that it really happend makes it even more compelling. thomas childers is a wonderful rich story teller. thanks for a great read!
Rating:
Summary: searing account of life on the run and in Buchenwald
Review: I'd give this book 6 stars if the software permitted! Childers has created a searing account of an American airman's life on the run in occupied France, in the hands of the Gestapo, and in the stinking hell of Buchenwald concentration camp. As others have pointed out, the identity of the French resistants can be confusing, as their code names change with different missions, but all you need bear in mind are Colette the schoolteacher, Pierre the secret agent, and Roy Allen the American pilot--their are the "three lives" of the Amazon.com sub-title. Note that the sub-title of the published book is different, as is the photo of the Lysander on the dust jacket. -- Dan Ford
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping Account of Heroism and Tenacity
Review: Thomas Childers, a most distinguished professor of history and scholar, has written a gripping true account of an American aviator whose B17 was shot down over occupied France shortly after D-day in 1944. No work of fiction could approach the compelling story of Lt. Roy Allen who was rescued by members of the French resistance and was ultimately the victim of Nazi orchestrated treachery. Protected by a French schoolteacher, her family and friends, in a rural and forest region populated by patriots, his need to return to combat led to months of a hellish existence in the prisons and camps of France and Germany.
Professor Childers writes in a style that is very readable as was his earlier book "The Wings of Morning" and I found it very difficult to put "In The Shadows of War" down. It is definitely an outstanding read!
Rating:
Summary: Roy Allen, a personal friend of my family
Review: When I was growing up as a young child, Roy Allen and his wife May were very dear friends of my parents. I remember he and May would spend time with us on my parents boat. Roy was always a jokester and made everyone laugh. Now that I am grown, I was extremely excited to find out that there was a book writen about his story. I had no idea of the difficult experiences that he had. Knowing him with his great humor, who would have thought! I can't put this book down, reading each page makes me want to turn to the next so that I can learn to know Roy. I can't wait to see the movie on T.V. - Marie Hazzard Smith
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