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Rating: 
Summary: Tedious account...even for a Lord fan!
Review: As a big fan of both A NIGHT TO REMEMBER and DAY OF INFAMY, I was excited to read this one. But even as an enthusiast of WW2 History and this particular author, I found it pretty slow going. Plodding details without the candid, human elemnt Lord generally writes best. I finished the book feeling unenlightened and not particularly better informed about the events @ Dunkirk.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious account...even for a Lord fan!
Review: As a big fan of both A NIGHT TO REMEMBER and DAY OF INFAMY, I was excited to read this one. But even as an enthusiast of WW2 History and this particular author, I found it pretty slow going. Plodding details without the candid, human elemnt Lord generally writes best. I finished the book feeling unenlightened and not particularly better informed about the events @ Dunkirk.
Rating: 
Summary: Why isn't this book better known?
Review: I've read several histories of the Dunkirk campaign and evacuation, this one is by far the clearest and most interesting of them. Lord tells the story so that you can see what happened, in every part of the field, to all sorts of folks. There may be accounts by military historians that give more detail on troop movements, but for sheer readability this has them all beat. Read Lord's account first, then use academic accounts to fill out the fine print if you feel you need to.
Rating: 
Summary: Monotonous,but at times interesting.
Review: Much of the book tells how the British organised and executed one of the biggest rescue operation in history.Evacuation -remarkable achievment-of cornered Allied troops took a week and those seven days by far darkest days in the history of British Empire.Because trapped at Dunkirk were the cream of BEF.It included men like Brooke,Montgomery,Horrocks,Alexander who went on to command armies which retook the continent from the Nazis.But I must say author bored me with all those details regarding evacuation and it took considerable patience on my part to go through this text.Author,however,has furnished fresh insights on what is widely regarded as miracle of Dunkirk.I disagree with this notion.On May 23-24 the advance of Guderian's XIX armoured corps was abruptly halted along Aa canal.All sorts of arguments were advanced justifying the halt order.In Hitler's warped mind French armies holding out below the Somme river appeared more menacing than trapped BEF at Dunkirk.This was in consonance with German thinking France being mortal foe than Britain.By taking that line Nazi leader made Germany's defeat in World War II inevitable.This misperception regarding 'centre of gravity'of war caused Germans postpone the assault on Dunkirk.British shrewd enough to exploit reprieve and mounted biggest seaborne rescue operation.Here lies the truth and not as some British historians[Ellis,Fuller] make us understand than terrain around Dunkirk[marshy,slushy]would have impeded German attempts to seize the port.Circumstances conspired to deny the Germans ultimate truimph.
Rating:
Summary: The Great Escape!
Review: The book shows you not just the human courage of the evacuation itself but it also sets the scene admirably and explains why the British Army did what it did and how the Admiralty rose to the challenge that it was handed. The work of the Royal Navy (and indeed the civilian volunteers int he little ships) is absolutely astounding. Dunkirk was obviously a place of contrasts. Some units show an amazing level of discipline and initiative. Others appear to be a rabble, and the book captures this in a way that is very plausible and understandable. It paints a very good protriat of the BEF in May and June 1940. It also gives an interesting insight into the French High Command problems. The book is very readable and should appeal to the casual reader as well as the scholar, especially since the notes on sources are pretty comprehensive which is just what the academic is looking for, no matter how readable.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough, interesting account
Review: The evacuation of Dunkirk after the Nazi blitzkreig of 1940 has always amazed me. This is a period and event that don't figure too prominently into most textbooks, even though it was one of the most crucial times in World War II (just because Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed yet, after all, doesn't mean there wasn't a war on). I was quite pleased with the way Walter Lord was able to pull together all of the information about the evacuation and the events leading up to it. The story is complex. Columns of refugees heading to the coast, the British plan for evacuation, the Belgian surrender nearly dooming the effort, resistance to keep a pocket around Dunkirk and the beaches, weather conditions and how they affected air battles, the use of the mole...Lord has managed to fit it all in and more. The book is very good in presenting a general account of how events occurred. Lord has also managed to find several personal stories and tidbits, from the acts of officers in helping the evacuation to the unsuccessful attempt to use kites as barrage balloons at the harbor.
Rating:
Summary: I now understand my father's words
Review: This book has great insight to the Dunkirk evacuation. Well researched and well written. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. For WWII history buffs, this book is must reading.
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