Man Overboard [Hardcover]

Tim Binding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Tim Binding is perhaps our finest chronicler of British 20th century history through the medium of fiction. With "Man Overboard", he has written the extraordinary and unlikely story of a real-life English war hero. Lionel 'Buster' Crabb became renowned during the Second World War for his amazing feats of underwater daring. After the war, he was celebrated for embodying a particular English ideal - a love for King and Country - that seemed to be dying out. Then, in 1956, during a visit to Britain by Nikita Khrushchev, who had arrived by ship, Commander Crabb disappeared. Some thought he had perished while attempting to inspect the Soviet vessel; others that he had been kidnapped and forced to work for the USSR. The truth remains unknown to this day, and out of this mystery Tim Binding has spun a wondrous piece of fiction - a deeply imaginative, gently funny and profoundly stirring exploration of the idea of Englishness. It is the story of a man who has made deep personal sacrifices for the sake of higher ideals and who must, towards the end of his days, measure their meaning and their worth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tim Binding was born in Germany in 1947. He is the author of In the Kingdom of Air, A Perfect Execution, Island Madness, On Ilkley Moor and Anthem. He lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan UK (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330487477
• ISBN-13: 978-0330487474
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,059,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Dead frog in the Pond", June 22, 2007

By 

Joseph R. Calamia (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Man Overboard (Paperback)

"MAN OVERBOARD" by Tim Binding is a rather interesting novel based on the 1956 mysterious disapearance of Britain's Naval Commander,Lionel Crabb, aka: "Buster Crabb." Several months after the Commander's disapearance, a "headless" and "handless" body was found in a frogman's wet suit floating just off the English channel...like a dead frog in the pond.
It was assumed that the body was that of Commander Crabb however, to my knowledge, that could never be proven. Updated DNA testing of those body remains (if they still exist), would be worthy of a book in itself.

Author, Tim Binding weaves a tale worthy of any James Bond adventure!
It makes the reader wonder if, "the frog really did die in the pond."
I thought the story line,and caricature development were extremely well done, as was the author's descriptive writting technique.

For some reason, the more I read of Crabb's dialogue, the more familiar it sounded. Suddenly, I realized that "Crabb" sounded a great deal like the persona of "Charlie Allnut" played by the actor, Humphrey Bogart in the 1951(?) movie, "African Queen" also staring Katharine Hepburn.

The book is a good read and I salute the author for his on-going interest in such a mysterious topic that has always pulled at me as well.
The author is of course, "very British" and many of the terms used in the book are not as quickly understood at first glance (if your not from Britain that is).

Like many writers, Mr. Binding skips from one time sequence to another very quickly. The reader gets used to this style but, had the author added "time-line" notes at the start of each change, it would have made the read smoother for the average reader.

All in all...a good book, a good read, and a great subject from which to spin a tale. Perhaps, Mr. Binding has more insight into that "frog in the pond" than we really know.