Customer Reviews

Finest Hour

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

In one of the darkest moments of modern history, the British people stood isolated and alone against the bulwark of the fabulously successfully forces of the Third Reich, who had just finished "blitkreiging" their way across Western Europe, forcing the desperate evacuation of the battered English army from the shores of Dunkirk to save them from certain slaughter at the hands of a rampaging Wehrmacht. In this absolutely riveting book, the authors describe the extraordinary effort of the Brits in fending off the vastly superior numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft soon invading the airspace over the English countryside. As Churchill said so memorably at the time, this attempt to beat back the Nazis might well become Britain's "finest hour".

It is a tale well told, one most Americans of a certain age are familiar with. But our mere familiarity should not deter us from enjoying this endlessly entertaining and well-narrated tale, which is both extremely approachable and understandable on the one hand for the first time student, and also immensely informative and detailed regarding Churchill's knack for popular leadership and the ways in which he bedeviled his countryman into rising to the their "finest hour". It may come as a surprise to some to discover that up to the moment of defeat in France, there were still efforts at appeasement of the Nazis being bandied about within the marbled halls of Parliament. Yet the British quickly rallied round the flagpole that Winston Churchill raised on high, and he urged them on provocatively and memorably time after time.

The book also excels at telling this story from the viewpoint of eye-witness participants, and the reader is whisked memorably along by machine-gun rapid-fire of personal eyewitness testimonies that succeed brilliantly in bringing the drama into bold relief and focus, breathing life into this otherwise `oft told tale'. It is hard for one to commit the most grievous crime of hyperbole when speaking of this particular event and time in history, when the Third Reich had quickly and massively crushed all opposition against it, and the Wehrmacht swept west all the way to the English Channel. In this moment of fear, terror and expectation, the world literally held its breath as the fateful and bloody contest began. The Brits stood alone, the only obstacle to Hitler's determination to end all opposition in the west so he could concentrate on his real objective, "living space" in the east in the breadbasket region of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine. And the British, having the undivided attention of the Luftwaffe, were indeed badly outnumbered.

The reader will soon find himself glued to his armchair, unable to resist continuing as the pages resound quickly past one with a myriad of colorful details and discussions about how the defense of the home island and all that involved. Whether it be a discussion of how the Americans participated, the German views and expectations, or the experiences of a British submariner telling his sobering story, this is a book one has to put to the top of his or her reading list. I spent the weekend reading it, and my brother immediately grabbed the book away for himself to pore through in the next several days. It is indeed a wonderful book offering the reader an expansive, entertaining, and ground level view of perhaps the most celebrated time of peril and derring-do in the history of the 20th century. Truly, this was their finest hour. Enjoy!

In both world wars, millions of men faced off in combat, with millions dying at the hands of those on the other side. However, the second was unlike the first in two ways. During the first, the number of civilian casualties was low, being a very small percentage of those in the military. This was reversed in the second, with the mass killing of civilians being "accepted" practice. So much so that most of the violent deaths in the war were civilian rather than military.
The second difference was that in the first, the placement of an additional thousand combatants of any skill level on any front would have been irrelevant. That is not true in the second. There is one point in the second world war where the actions of literally a few hundred fighting men quite likely altered the outcome. This collection of brave, talented and amazing men were the fighter pilots of the British Royal Air Force. This book not only chronicles their achievements, but also that of the British, who looked long odds in the eye and said, "we will not yield."
The incredibly swift defeat of the allied armies made the German war machine seem invincible. After the British managed to extract the bulk of their army from Dunkirk, the only two things preventing the Germans from launching an invasion of Britain was the Royal Air Force and Navy. However, as subsequent events clearly demonstrated, surface ships were little more than helpless against air attack. Had the Royal Navy been forced to make a stand to prevent a cross-channel invasion, it would have been chewed to pieces by the German Luftwaffe. Therefore, it all came down to a few hundred pilots, who prevented the Germans from achieving domination of the air, which would have led to a British surrender. Of course, since the other role of airplanes was to slaughter civilians by aerial bombardment, German air domination would have led to thousands of additional civilian deaths in London and other British cities.
This defeat would have led to the capitulation of Ireland, the Axis powers gaining control of other British possessions such as Gibraltar, Malta, Cypress, Palestine and Egypt with the Suez canal. It is hard to envision a scenario where an alliance with no base in Britain could have launched a successful invasion of either Europe or northern Africa. The additional resources that the Axis could have then brought against the Soviet Union may have been enough to tip the balance to their side.
One main theme throughout this book is how close Britain really was to defeat. The army that was extracted at Dunkirk was largely weaponless and incapable of fighting and much of the coast of Britain was patrolled by men with hunting shotguns and pitchforks. Reading stories of how people planned on putting broken bottles on the end of sticks to make weapons comes across as surreal. How those people ever expected to stand up against the tanks and machine guns of an invasion army is very difficult to fathom.
A secondary theme was the incredible political caution of Franklin Roosevelt, who while he despised the Germans and knew the dangers of a British defeat, was unwilling to take the slightest political risks to aid them. When he finally did act and made the trade of destroyers for navy bases, there was no great opposition. Once again, proving a point about the American presidency. No president has ever been defeated by acting decisively, it is the appearance of weakness and indecision that will get you voted out.
The second world war was won on the plains of eastern Europe, where the armies of the Axis and their allies where simply chewed into nonexistence. However, it could have been lost in the air over Britain and we all owe those who triumphed there a debt of gratitude for their courage against what were perceived to be terrible odds. This is a book about courage and what it can mean, today, tomorrow and in the future.

This is a great book. It is also a great history. Craig and Clayton have definitely done their homework, digging through both official archives and endless (and occasionally disturbing) eyewitness testimony. The result is the best book on the subject I've ever read.

The authors have wisely decided to focus on the essentials of this story. Instead of a numbing account of each raid, we get an overall summary of events for each period of time and a detailed description of a few representative events. When appropriate, we also go behind the scenes to hear what leaders on all sides of the conflict are thinking, although they don't overdo this.

The authors have challenged some cherished myths about the conflict (although perhaps not to the extent they claim). Most obviously, they cite examples of Allied atrocities, to counteract the myth that Britain fought completely nobly. However, they back up all their assertions scrupulously and never tear down the Allies just for the sake of it.

The result is one of the most readable and thoughtful books I have read on World War II.

Without a doubt, this is an excellent book. Therein, the reader will receive a view into the lives British fliers, sailors, soldiers, and civilians as well as "detached" observers, such as American journalists from the Battle of France through the Blitz.

What made this book special to me, was that I had the opportunity to learn more about the fellows of 17 Sqn. Some years ago, I had the privilege to correspond with one of the characters - Harold Arthur Cooper Bird-Wilson (known in the book as "Birdy" Bird-Wilson), DFC DSO; this book gave me a better insight to not only to his experiences, but also to those across the spectrum of British society during that time.

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.

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.

What is wonderful about this book is the way in which the larger part of the story is fully illustrated by the flowing anecdotes from those on the ground. A Ken Burn's style of history (be mindful if that turns you off), the book provides an interesting view of the conflict from a multitude of viewpoints: Churchill, figther pilots, plotters, soldiers and ordinary citizens all have their stories interwoven to complete a larger tapestry that shows the entire conflict.

The place where the book shines best is in dramatizing the steadily growing horror as Germany sweeps across France and traps the BEF at Dunkirk. The anecdotes make manifest in a visceral way that, as the evacuation from Dunkirk is taking place, sentiment everywhere (except perhaps within Churchill's inner circle) is that Germany is irresistable and that England will be next.

You are then able to understand why half of the Battle of Britain was won just by the simple fact of evacuating the BEF from Dunkirk because it re-instilled some confidence and fighting spirit among the British people and armed forces by the simple fact of not being a complete disaster.

After covering Dunkirk, the book makes clear how the sight of Spitfires and Hurricanes fighting over Dover, every day showing up to fight when many believed they would be swept aside quickly, grew that fighting spirit into a hardened resolve. Finally, the bombing of London added a desire for revenge into the mix (something Americans can identify with after September 11) and by the time the first raid on London ended, you understand that the Battle of Britain was already over because her people would never allow themselves to be conquered.

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.

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.