Behind the Lines: The Oral History of Special Operations in World War II by Russell Miller |
by Sarah Helm
|
by Shrabani Basu
|
Agent Zigzag: The True Wartime Story of Eddie Chapman: Lover, Traitor, Hero, Spy by Ben Macintyre |
by M.R.D. Foot
|
See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.
|
Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links(What is this?) |
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Published to coincide with the accompanying BBC television series, this is the fascinating, hair-raising, sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic account of the brave men and women who went behind the lines in Nazi-occupied territory, with a mission to, in Churchill's words, "set Europe ablaze". The scale of their operations was always limited by lack of funds, military hardware, and, most unbelievably of all, by the continual sniping that the SOE suffered from jealous rival special forces, and the sneering suits in Whitehall. Despite such difficulties, however, their range of operations was impressive: from Gorgopotamos in Greece to Bergen in Norway they did indeed do their very best to set Europe ablaze, with what few resources they had, and faced certain torture and death if they were caught. Their greatest impact was in the Balkans, supporting Tito and his partisans against the Germans, but here, as ever in the Balkans, things were always complicated by ethnic rivalries and atrocious massacres of civilians. In the end, though, the greatest value of the SOE was to boost public morale back home, and it did that superbly. David Stafford's account is excellent, the only reservation being that it leaves one wanting more detail and more characterisation about specific missions. One doesn't often get a sense of being there on the front line but, as an introduction to the subject, this is very satisfactory. --Christopher Hart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Alan Judd's Book of the Year, The Spectator
It is as good an introduction to this thrilling and moving subject as we are likely to get.
See all Product Description
Published to coincide with the accompanying BBC television series, this is the fascinating, hair-raising, sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic account of the brave men and women who went behind the lines in Nazi-occupied territory, with a mission to, in Churchill's words, "set Europe ablaze". The scale of their operations was always limited by lack of funds, military hardware, and, most unbelievably of all, by the continual sniping that the SOE suffered from jealous rival special forces, and the sneering suits in Whitehall. Despite such difficulties, however, their range of operations was impressive: from Gorgopotamos in Greece to Bergen in Norway they did indeed do their very best to set Europe ablaze, with what few resources they had, and faced certain torture and death if they were caught. Their greatest impact was in the Balkans, supporting Tito and his partisans against the Germans, but here, as ever in the Balkans, things were always complicated by ethnic rivalries and atrocious massacres of civilians. In the end, though, the greatest value of the SOE was to boost public morale back home, and it did that superbly. David Stafford's account is excellent, the only reservation being that it leaves one wanting more detail and more characterisation about specific missions. One doesn't often get a sense of being there on the front line but, as an introduction to the subject, this is very satisfactory. --Christopher Hart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Alan Judd's Book of the Year, The Spectator
It is as good an introduction to this thrilling and moving subject as we are likely to get.
See all Product Description
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
69% buy the item featured on this page: Secret Agent: The True Story of the Special Operations Executive |
 |
10% buy SOE Agent: Churchill's Secret Warriors (Warrior) £9.09 |
 |
8% buy SOE: An Outline History of the Special Operations Executive £9.09 |
 |
8% buy Behind the Lines: The Oral History of Special Operations in World War II £14.44 |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > War & Espionage > Espionage
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland
- Books > History > Military History > Armed Forces > Special & Elite Forces
- Books > History > Military History > Wars, Battles & Campaigns
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Battles & Campaigns
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Countries > Britain
- Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Origins
- Books > Home & Garden > Animal Care & Pets
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
The Body Shop |
More From David Stafford
Ten Days to D-Day: Countdown to the... 'meticulously reconstructed and carefully interwoven...it is a double...
Read more
|
Up to 50% off Dental Care |
Treat Someone
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). |
|||||||
| |||||
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
Amazon Home | |
| International Sites: United States | Germany | France | Japan | Canada | China | |
| Business Programs: Sell on Amazon | Fulfilment by Amazon | Join Associates | Join Advantage | |
| Customer Service | Help | View Basket | Your Account | |
| About Amazon.co.uk | Careers at Amazon | |
| Conditions of Use & Sale | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates |