Where the Eagle Landed: The Mystery of the German Invasion of Britain, 1940 [Hardcover]

Peter Haining (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

In the summer of 1941 when the likelihood of an invasion was a daily threat to the people of England, one of the most intriguing and persistent legends of the Second World War was born—that German troops landed on the coast of East Anglia in a prelude to the invasion that was then only weeks, perhaps even days away. It is a legend that has inspired writers such as Graham Greene, the filmmaker Alberto Cavalcanti, and of course, Jack Higgins, whose 1975 novel The Eagle Had Landed was an international bestseller and became a hugely popular film. But all of these stories are fiction. Using recently declassified documents, eyewitness accounts, contemporary reports, and newspaper and magazines features, Peter Haining's investigates the story and ultimately provides the solution to an enduring mystery, while at the same time illuminating a particularly fraught period of Britain's wartime history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Haining is a former newspaper reporter, magazine editor and publishing executive who now writes extensively on British history. He is the author of the successful Robson books 'The Flying Bomb War" (1861055811), 'Sweeny Todd' (1861055870) and the forthcoming 'The Jail That Went To Sea' (186105727X). He lives in Boxford, Suffolk.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Anova Books (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861057504
• ISBN-13: 978-1861057501
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,208,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Trash is too good a definition, August 28, 2008

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Paul Schulze "Historian" (Spencerville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Where the Eagle Landed: The Mystery of the German Invasion of Britain, 1940 (World War II Stories) (Paperback)

The historical accuracy and capabilities of the writer are summed up in his (page 108) statement "in the early days of the War of Independence in 1812"

When I began reading, I found that the author was bouncing all over the place-going back to the 1500's then to the 1900's then to the 1800's, then...

In addition, when I looked for the footnotes that should relate a wide variety of quoted material to their sources that would be reflected in the "source notes" or in an extensive bibliography, what I found was nothing I should expect in a well researched historial document.

We have numerous quotes, from a variety of English & American (sensationalist) newspapers, books written in the late 1930's, 1940's and a few in the 1950's and 1960's, long before more accurate historically denoted books were written after the Official Secret's Act was no longer applied.

None of the quoted material is set off in the required manner (although it is indented) and none of it is cited by a link to the bibliography.

When I finished reading this "book", I found that there was not a single corroborated fact present. All was 60, 50, 40 year old hearsay. In addition, the author undermines his own thesis by some text that indicates that the "bodies" he mentions were actually the result of RAF bombing/straffing of German training exercises preparatory to the invasion under SeaLion.