Trapped in a cupboard with a nubile blonde nymphomaniac; crossing the Waal under a hail of fire with the US paratroops of 82nd airborne; rattling in a jeep through the Dutch countryside with the men of 1st Airborne Recce Squadron; trying to take out a self-propelled gun with a ruddy useless PIAT. It's all in a day's work for Lt Dick Coward and Sgt Tom Price on their second published adventure. After the horrors of D-Day, they find themselves plunged into even greater chaos and mayhem as they land in the deceptively tranquil countryside around Arnhem, Holland, as part of Operation Market Garden. What should be a pushover - the ingenious scheme that everyone thinks will end the war by Christmas - turns into Britain's biggest military disaster of the Second World War. But if it's a cock-up, by golly is it a glorious one. Rarely if ever have Allied soldiers acquitted themselves better than the British, Americans and Poles, as they fought against the might of the SS, in their bid to capture 'The Bridge Too Far." As usual Coward and Price are in the thick of it. They have to be. If Coward doesn't get a VC this time, he'll be booted off the family estate for good, and stand no chance of winning the heart of the fickle, dangerously beguiling Gina. Will he get the medal? Will he get the girl? Will Price be driven so mad by his master's Bertie Wooster-like stupidity that he ends up throttling him first?
Coward at the Bridge (Dick Coward 2)
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About the Author
James Delingpole is a journalist, broadcaster and author of six books including How To Be Right, Thinly Disguised Autobiography, and the Dick Coward series. He writes for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Mail On Sunday, the Sunday Times, The Times, the Independent On Sunday on everything from rock to culture to politics and gardening. He is married with children and lives in South London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Tweedy
Format:Hardcover
James Delingpole has really delivered here. At a time where there are a few WW2 books about (James Holland and Michael Asher etc) this one really stands out, perhaps it's only weakness being an insipid cover.
The author really tugs the emotions here, spreading wit and pathos in equal measure with some very entertaining characterisation.
This is a real romp from start to finish and highly recommended.
The author really tugs the emotions here, spreading wit and pathos in equal measure with some very entertaining characterisation.
This is a real romp from start to finish and highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Hereward
Format:Paperback
COWARD AT THE BRIDGE is the second in the series of Dick Coward adventures and sees that worthy caught up in Operation Market Garden. Taking his cues from Flashman he manages to appear at pretty much every major event, wandering from one unholy mess to another. The increased stakes (survival looks pretty dicey), the darker humour and the consignment of his rather boring sidekick Price to the backseat makes this more enjoyable than its predecessor and quite a fun adventure in its own right.
As before the deal is that Coward needs to win the VC to prevent his ghastly brother inheriting the family home (the result of a slightly ludicrous competition dreamt up by his father). What's more he needs the medal to win the heart of the dishy Gina. After all, what's the point of surviving if there is nothing worth living for in the peace?
At heart this is a wham-blam sort of adventure novel, albeit a very well-researched one. And it works jolly well with plenty of action, humour and twists. There are also a number of interesting historical details that not only ground the story but educate the reader. So thorough is Coward's movement throughout the battle that you could probably read this rather instead of a history book and still be able to appear knowledgeable. An enjoyable and developing series that will no doubt continue to get even better.
As before the deal is that Coward needs to win the VC to prevent his ghastly brother inheriting the family home (the result of a slightly ludicrous competition dreamt up by his father). What's more he needs the medal to win the heart of the dishy Gina. After all, what's the point of surviving if there is nothing worth living for in the peace?
At heart this is a wham-blam sort of adventure novel, albeit a very well-researched one. And it works jolly well with plenty of action, humour and twists. There are also a number of interesting historical details that not only ground the story but educate the reader. So thorough is Coward's movement throughout the battle that you could probably read this rather instead of a history book and still be able to appear knowledgeable. An enjoyable and developing series that will no doubt continue to get even better.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By J. Jackson
Format:Hardcover
"Coward at the Bridge" is the second novel in James Delingpole's Dick Coward Adventure Series. It's set amid the mayhem of Operation Market Garden with Dick Coward and Price, as usual, in the thick of the action. And if you're after a brilliantly authentic war novel - or just a brilliant read generally - you can't do better than buy yourself a copy. It is enthralling, pacy, pitch-perfect in its historical realism and written in the elegant, vigorous prose style of a master: fact and fiction, drama and adventure are all superbly balanced. It is also extremely funny (I laughed aloud sufficiently often over this book that it was necessary to sit in a room on my own to read it) and frequently moving.
Because the market is saturated with books about the Second World War, most indistinguishable from the next, Coward at the Bridge should come with a warning: nothing else in the genre is close to being this good. As a storyteller and craftsman, James Delingpole is in a league of his own. He keeps you glued to the very last page when, exhausted and elated, you can at last put the book down and get yourself some sleep.
Because the market is saturated with books about the Second World War, most indistinguishable from the next, Coward at the Bridge should come with a warning: nothing else in the genre is close to being this good. As a storyteller and craftsman, James Delingpole is in a league of his own. He keeps you glued to the very last page when, exhausted and elated, you can at last put the book down and get yourself some sleep.
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3.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Would you like some stereotype with your cliche sir?" "Very good...
I can see what Delingpole was trying to do with the Coward series. I too was pretty put out when George MacDonald Frasier died and I realized there would be no more Flashman... Read more
Published 22 days ago by MACLUSKY
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good fun
Very enjoyable. One got a real sense of both the horror and excitement of battle and also of the sort of extremes that take place during war.
Published 6 months ago by ward
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even better than the first
I won't say too much as I got carried away reviewing the first book.I liked this one even more and think the author has very quickly got into his stride. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Dr. D. R. Purchase
5.0 out of 5 stars
a rip roaring improvement on the first Coward
Oh I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.
This had me grabbed from page 1 - the first couple of lines are hilarious and I'm glad to say it continues right the... Read more
This had me grabbed from page 1 - the first couple of lines are hilarious and I'm glad to say it continues right the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by An avid reader
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bawd and Bullets
I enjoyed this, but it is a very hard book to categorise. There is a bit of Tom Sharpe in here, along with Leslie Thomas, maybe a bit of Jeeves and Wooster too! Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2010 by N. Brett
3.0 out of 5 stars
Close but no cigar
Coward at the Bridge is a romp, bawdy in parts and with some well written battlefield sequences. My concern is that Dalingpole's writing is something of a blunt instrument. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2010 by niallandubh
4.0 out of 5 stars
A wink too far...
This is the second volume of Delingpole's Dick Coward adventures - it opens with him trapped in a cupboard with beautiful nymphomaniac, closes with him entwined with a pair of... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2010 by John Middleton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delingpole's getting better!
I read the first Coward book, Coward on the Beach, when it was published and, while I enjoyed it, would not have given it 4 stars. This book is much better! Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2010 by drifter542
5.0 out of 5 stars
The second installment of what is proving to be an awesome series!
Read back to back with Coward on the Bridge, neither books disappointed. An awful lot of research has gone into compiling this novel which shines through throughout the... Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by C Hyde
4.0 out of 5 stars
In the end a fine tribute to all in Market Garden
I came to this book slightly warily, having read all the reviews on this site. Like some other readers I foiund it took its time to get going. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2009 by Tim62
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