Nancy Wake Biography [Paperback]

Peter Fitzsimons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2001

Appalled by what she'd seen of the Nazis in Berlin and Vienna, Nancy joined a resistance group in Marseilles helping to smuggle out escaped British prisoners. By 1943, Nancy had become the No 1 target on the Gestapo's most wanted list, and there was a five million-franc price on her head.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd (May 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0732269199
• ISBN-13: 978-0732274566
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,342,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Biography, October 13, 2002

By 

Paul Clappison (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nancy Wake Biography (Paperback)

I have read previous books on this remarkable lady; these books were a biography by Russell Braddon published in 1957 and
Nancy's autobiography "The White Mouse" published in 1985.
This latest book is something special.
This is a fascinating story of an Australian who in the 1930's travelled to Europe, obtained work as a journalist and saw
(sometimes at first hand) the horrors of Nazi Germany.
Soon after the war began she married a French businessman in Marseille. After France was defeated and divided she, at considerable risk, helped allied serviceman to escape to Britain via neutral Spain. When the Gestapo started to close in she herself escaped to Britain.
She volunteered to join the Special Operations Executive and was
trained in the use of weapons and explosives and in parachute
jumping. She and a British officer parachuted into France to
rendevous with a group of Maquis (French resistance).
A radio operator, who had travelled to France separately, joined

them and they set about assessing the competence and needs of
various groups then arranging drops of weapons and supplies and
training the Maquis in their use. She joined the groups in many
attacks on the Germans notably on the Gestapo HQ in Montlucon. Her joy at the end of the war was muted when she found
that her husband had been betrayed to the Gestapo and killed.
After the war she married an RAF officer and they made their home in Sydney, Australia. She was often interviewed by the media
and expressed her opinions very forcefully.
On the downside the author while telling Nancy's story in fine
style is a bit careless in setting it in the wider background
of World War 2.
One example: on p126 he states that the allied troops who landed in French North Africa on 8 November 1942 were commanded by General Montgomery!
Regardless it is a fascinating book and a good read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She made waves in her wake, February 28, 2009

By 

Malcolm Gorman (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nancy Wake: The Inspiring Story of One of the War's Greatest Heroines (Paperback)

Nancy Wake seemed to be waving goodbye at critical points in her life. Her father left the family and his favourite Nancy without the opportunity of a goodbye. Just left. She left her stifling home in Sydney to work as a nurse. Then saved up to go overseas as soon as she could. With a copy of Anne of Green Gables as an inspirational female role model. She left England to go to France without a very probable chance of coming back alive. Her two farewells from her beloved french husband Henri were heartrending. And her final goodbye to the life of an amazing fighter for freedom against tyranny and downright evil (read the paragraph on the pregnant mother and her child) with the tremendous and well-deserved respect from her fellow french freedom fighters.

I didn't count the months, but it seemed like about two years of absolutely intense and dangerous living in which Nancy Wake made a material contribution toward the success of the D-Day landings by seriously harassing the German troops racing to fend off the Allies, and then limiting their avenues of retreat once the game was up.

Once the book reached the early days of her helping Allied prisoners of war and Jewish refugees escape to England, it was compulsive reading.

The ending is a mixture of triumph and sadness. Triumph that she came through it all still alive (and still is alive in 2009). For crying out loud, she and several handpicked underground fighters lobbed hand grenades into the meeting rooms at a Gestapo headquarters! The sadness is the let-down of post-heroic life. The author could have stopped at the peak of the glory days. But the reality is that her life was relatively boring (for her) when the war was over. She had to work at making it more interesting without the high danger of wartime. She tried a political career, nearly winning three election bids. Then with her new husband seems to have discovered that day to day living with great food and a fun companion and friends is the life.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Story - Poor Storytelling, August 7, 2008

By 

Anthony Bates "Tony & Julia" (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nancy Wake Biography (Paperback)

I recently became involved in the move to have the New Zealand Government recognise Nancy Wake's extraordinary actions and bravery during WWII - this is a long overdue recognition especially since Ms Wake was born in New Zealand and has never surrendered her New Zealand citizenship. What's more, is the unknown number of New Zealand air crew who she directly or indirectly saved by her actions on the O'Leary Line.

In a twist of irony, the New Zealand Parliament recently passed a law that allowed females to serve on the front lines and yet the current government has continuously refused to bestow even a modest degree of recognition on Ms Wake (arguably our greatest front-line female soldier!)

But all that aside, why only two stars for Mr Fitzsimons telling of Nancy's tale? Well as outlined above, Ms Wake is an extraordinary person, displaying amazing courage and devotion to her cause. Yet Fitzsimons dumbs this all down with his inability to actually convey this in his story-telling. The book is loaded with appalling clichés and overloaded with "Aussie" idioms that at points makes the text very hard to read.

Given some of the actions that Ms Wake had to perform (i.e. knifing a German guard) this should not be a tale for the faint-hearted, but Fitzsimons style makes for a light-hearted romp through the rural backblocks of France knocking a few of the nasty huns off for good measure. Without knowing her personally, perhaps Ms Wake does exude a irreverent, yet hard-ass personality, but any attempt by Fitzsimons to convey the seriousness of the situation falls completely flat.

A small, but extremely annoying aspect of this book is Fitzsimons insistence and repetition ad nauseum that all of the troops that Ms Wake's resistance fighters encountered were "elite". Whereas in fact, a quick check revels that until June - August 1944, the majority of German divisions in central France were "Sicherungs" or Security divisions: essentially B-grade divisions that in no way were capable of front-line service.

I guess ultimately a lot can be said for the natural strength of the story that I kept reading to the end hoping that Fitzsimons talents would eventually shine through...alas I remained disappointed until the very last page. I'm hoping that Nancy's own biography will give me a deeper understanding of this remarkable woman.

Nancy gets a double-thumbs up and five stars; but sadly Fitzsimons gets only two stars (mostly for trying, rather than anything else).