Customer Reviews

Soe in France 1940-1944

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3 star:		(1)
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If you only buy one book on the history of SOE in france then this should be the one. The job was to set Europe ablaze in the words of Churchill and they were a thorn in Germany's side. The operations and agents who carried them out are described in great detail including the nightmare of capture by the Gestapo and death in the camps or by firing squad. I have had a copy for years and value it greatly.

This is the only book in my library where I have bought all three editions of the same work. I also compared the three versions and noted the changes that the author made.

The Special Operations Executive was Churchill's "Department of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Founded in 1940 with the idea of supporting resistance movements that arose in the wake of the German expansion. The SOE existed to supply agents who could coordinate guerrilla warfare activity and arrange for the supply of arms and equipment to the resistance groups. Owing to its strategic importance, population and opportunity for resistance activity France was to receive the most attention of the SOE in Western Europe.

M R D Foot was a decorated soldier soldier who served with the SAS in France in 1944. He was also an academic who was approached by the British government to write an official history of the Special Operations Executive. In the capacity he was given unprecedented access to the surviving records to the SOE. As someone who has study this subject for years I know from personal experience at the Public Records Office in London, even 55 years after the liberation of France not all of the records are yet in the public domain. The work is based upon records only, Prof. Foot was not given access to surviving agents but despite this he still manages to bring to life the actions in the SOE in helping to liberate France.

If you are interested in Asymmetrical Warfare, the French Resistance, the Special Operations Executive or the origins of the CIA then you can not do better than this book.

This book is carefully researched, clearly written and updated. It is THE book on the SOE in France (and I have read a few along the way). I ordered this all the way from the US of A and I am not disappointed. This is a serious read however, not a light paperback, so only get it if you are really interested / obsessed in the subject.

If you're looking for compelling narrative, look elsewhere--this book does not offer it. It's a good resource for those who are serious about the subject, but for others it will be rough going.

The author is working mainly from SOE's incomplete sources (the need for secrecy kept many things from being put on paper, plus the archives have been extensively culled over the years, as the author mentions), meaning that many operations have very little detail beyond "so-and-so was inserted on date X and worked in area Y". Also, the author seems very much infused with the thought that this book may be the only public recognition that many SOE operatives will ever recieve, and thus at times is given to many of these passing mentions of people being dropped in, etc, just for the sake of putting their name in print (even though it breaks up the continuity and is utterly tangential to the main account).

In all, if you're a serious WWII buff, it might be worth checking out. If you're looking for gripping tales of clandestine adventure, this book isn't for you.

I am delighted with this book, not only with its contents but with the seller. I am in Florida and the book arrived well ahead of advertised number of days in excellent condition. Thank you 5 stars.