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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet Heroism, August 7, 2001
This review is from: The Sledge Patrol: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Victory (Paperback)
Proving that truth is stranger than fiction, Sledge Patrol tells the story of ordinary men accomplishing unbelievable feats under extreme physical conditions and bizarre political circumstances during WWII. Living year-round in the Arctic desolation of eastern Greenland, nine men surreptitiously radioed crucial weather data to the Allies and patrolled the extensive coastline for a Nazi landing. When the Germans arrive, the conflict begins. The book is exciting and inspiring, with moments that are both touching and funny. One of the highlights of the book is how the unarmed and unaggressive band of Danes, Norwegians and Eskimos can outlast and outdistance the better provisioned Germans who aren't prepared for life, let alone combat, in the frozen north. Now reissued, Sledge Patrol was originally published in 1957. At that time, the author was able to get to know the parties involved, both Allied and German, adding dimension to the characters and realism to the story. I loved this book!
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A forgotten classic, May 22, 2001
This review is from: The Sledge Patrol: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Victory (Paperback)
Recently, books such as INTO THIN AIR, THE PERFECT STORM, and ISAAC'S STORM have captured the imagination of armchair adventurers everywhere. Long before these books went to press, however, David Howarth penned THE SLEDGE PATROL, a remarkable story of survival and adventure. Written only a few years after the war, THE SLEDGE PATROL tells the story of seven Danish and Norwegian hunters and adventurers (and many Eskimos) who patrolled the entire east coast of Greenland during World War II on their own. Hundreds of miles of raw, icy coastline, thousands of square miles of nearly uninhabitable land, mountains, crevasses, driving blizzards, polar bears -- you ask, Why would anyone bother to protect that? The answer, as Howarth tells us so skillfully, is that the weather for the North Atlantic begins in Greeland, and accurate reports from just south of the north pole were vital to the survival of Allied convoys and the success of Axis U-boat patrols. Seven men patrolled, by dogsled, the dangerous yet beautiful coast of Greenland, sending out weather forecasts to the British while sledding along the shore to report sightings of Germans in the vicinity. These men, who could hardly believe the Germans would or could venture this far north, one day find a strange footprint in the snow -- not theirs, not an Eskimo's. What begins is a 200-page race across the Arctic to evade the Nazis and end transmission of their weather reports back to Germany. Howard writes of the beautiful danger of the Arctic, of hearty men who lived in harmony in the far north and who could not fathom evil in their midst. A great read.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet Heroism, August 7, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Sledge Patrol: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Victory (Paperback)
Proving that truth is stranger than fiction, Sledge Patrol tells the story of ordinary men accomplishing unbelievable feats under extreme physical conditions and bizarre political circumstances during WWII. Living year-round in the Arctic desolation of eastern Greenland, nine men surreptitiously radioed crucial weather data to the Allies and patrolled the extensive coastline for a Nazi landing. When the Germans arrive, the conflict begins. The book is exciting and inspiring, with moments that are both touching and funny. One of the highlights of the book is how the unarmed and unaggressive band of Danes, Norwegians and Eskimos can outlast and outdistance the better provisioned Germans who aren't prepared for life, let alone combat, in the frozen north. Now reissued, Sledge Patrol was originally published in 1957. At that time, the author was able to get to know the parties involved, both Allied and German, adding dimension to the characters and realism to the story. I loved this book!
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