Customer Reviews

Four Stars Of Hell

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This book is nearly unique as it is was written very recently after the war by a participant. While there are many recent books by veterans recalling these same events, in this books the events often LEAP off the page. It is apparent that the events are still fresh in the mind of the writer. The author spent a couple years after the war to research the historical record around the events he participated in, then set to work writing. The energy and chaos is apparent.

I would compare this book favorably to Donald Burgett's series of books (starting with Currahee!). The difference here is that Critchell writes a bit more briefly, and it is not simply a first-hand account as Critchell describes things that other soldiers experienced as well. In fact, the book is written in the 3rd-person and occasionally Critchell himself is one of the individuals described in the book (though he never gives away which person he was -- though the experience of a certain individual in a crashed glider in Holland will seem a little too realistic).

Other points:

-- Critchell rode to earth in a glider. There is very little written about this aspect of the airborne invasions. If you've only read about paratroopers you are missing out.

-- This books contains the best narratives about Howard "Jumpy" Johnson. What a personality! Critchell provides fantastic insight into the man and how he was regarded by his troops. I can't say enough about this aspect. Wow.

-- this was written LONG before Band of Brothers and before the lore of WWII Airborne operations became a somewhat frequent topic for popular non-fiction. One could fairly describe this as a seminal book in a genre of history, yet somehow most of the events Critchell describes have been skipped over by more recent histories. It is incredible how much "new" info is in this book if you've only read things published in the last 20 years.

-- this book will leave you wanting more. And you will probably read a dozen other books on similar topics, but never quite experience another book like this. It doesn't get any better than this.