Customer Reviews:
Mesmerizing.......2006-11-17
A thoughroughly enjoyable, mesmerizing, collection of a soldier's WWI remembrances. Somehow manages to be more than the sum of its plainly told, shy, politically incorrect, wars is hell but you get used to it parts. It ends up assembling and describing bit by bit the remarkable character of the author.
Also notable to me for how it reaches across 70 years to contrast how we've changed as a people. For example, I don't think this book would be published as written today. The editor would have probably added more polish, removed some of the namecalling and stereotyping and would have thus diminished the book.
Best book on the subject.......2006-09-26
Having read a lot of WWI books and books on sniping this one takes the cake. It's written in the autobiographical tradition of Teddy Roosevelt and will impress the old and young alike with its vivid imagery and colorful prose. Great read.
Straight talking.......2006-02-27
As a rifle shooter with a historical interest i bought this book. If your looking for an overly dramatic or gruesome account of life in the first world war trenches dont by this book. From what i can tell it is a written collection of memories by the author. These memories are written in a matter of fact, straight talking way which does not hide the authors zealous approach to his task of being a soldier.
Although at times slightly rambling i found this an interesting read and at times amuzing. A good reference if you are interested in rifle shooting or battle history.
Excellent Book.......2005-03-30
It might not be written in perfect English, and it's not always politically correct, but it's definitely always enjoyable.
You get the whole WWI experience from the author's point of view, including enough "war stories" to satisfy any reader.
McBride includes technical details, anecdotes, and just good old story telling, in this tale of a machine gunner / rifleman in the Great War.
Current in todays wars.......2004-12-19
I took a copy of this book and passed it out to the sharp shooters in my unit in desert storm. I know several USMC snipers that had read it. It is as valuable today as it was in WWI. A no holds barred book about killing.
Book Description
In his controversial and award-winning 2003 book Fields of Fire, Terry Copp offered a stunning reversal of accepted military history, challenging the conventional view that the Canadian contribution to the Battle of Normandy was a failure. Cinderella Army continues the story of the operations carried out by the First Canadian Army in the last nine months of the war, and extends the argument developed in Fields of Fire that “the achievement of the Allied and especially the Canadian armies… has been greatly underrated while the effectiveness of the German army has been greatly exaggerated.” Copp supports this argument with research conducted on numerous trips to the battlefields of France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. His detailed knowledge of the battlefield terrain, along with contemporary maps and air photos, allows Copp to explore the defensive positions that Canadian soldiers were required to overcome, and to illustrate how impressive their achievements truly were.
Except for a brief period during the Rhineland battle, the First Canadian Army was the smallest to serve under EisenhowerÂ's command. The Canadian component of that Army never totalled more that 185,000 of the four million Allied troops serving in Northwest Europe. It is, however, evident that the divisions of 2nd Canadian Corps played a role disproportionate to their numbers. Their contribution to operations designed to secure the Channel Ports and open the approaches to Antwerp together with the battles in the Rhineland place them among the most heavily committed and sorely tried divisions in the Allied armies. By the end of 1944 3rd Canadian Division had suffered the highest number of casualties in 21 Army Group with 2nd Canadian Division ranking a close second. Among armoured divisions, 4th Canadian was at the top of the list as was 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade among the independent tank brigades. Overall Canadian casualties were twenty percent higher than in comparable British formations. This was a direct result of the much greater number of days that Canadian units were involved in close combat.
As passionately written and compellingly argued as its precursor, Cinderella Army is both an important bookend to CoppÂ's earlier work, and stands on its own as a significant contribution to Canadian military history.
Customer Reviews:
Solid historiography brings the brave Canadians Army of WWII to the masses .......2007-08-29
"Cinderella Army: The Canadians in Northwest Europe, 1944-1945" by Terry Copp is a solid piece of historiography that covers does considerable justice to the Canadian men who fought with the Allied forces in the ETO. While certainly not a majority in numbers of men relative to other Allied nations, the Canadian's fought a disproportionate number of 'lousy' less 'appealing' engagements with little chance for popular press kudos between their entrance into the ETO and V-E Day. Given these facts it should maybe not be surprising that the combat and command actions of the Canadian Army have received little attention in the popular Second World War literature. The general lack of literature dedicated to the gallant Canadians has not been limited to historian/authors outside Canada; even with the great northern neighbor of the US only limited pieces have been produced that cover broadly the Canadians in the ETO outside the official histories (e.g., Stacey's "The Victory Campaign"). One historian/author who has keep the fire burning and brought proper attention to the heroism and sacrifices of his fellow countrymen in WWII - Terry Copp.
In collaboration with Robert Vogel, Copp generated a series of books, the Maple Leaf Route series, during the 1980's dedicated to various actions (based on temporal and spatial divisions) of the Canadian Army in the ETO. Each of these soundly researched and written entries provided considerable new material for students to ruminate on beyond that provided in the 'official histories'. However, one would have to read them all (5 volumes in total: 1-Caen; 2-Falaise; 3-Antwerp; 4-Scheldt; and 5-Victory), which given their relatively small printing numbers means first tracking each down, to get a thorough picture. Copp is able to pull together these previous works into effectively two volumes with the production of "Cinderella Army" and its previously published companion piece "Fields of Fire" (2004). However one should not therefore assume that Copp has merely rewritten his previous books, rather he has taken that previous work and woven in considerable new research material to produce a coherent single document (296 pp., plus 94 pp. of Appendices, notes and references) that covers the period from the Normandy breakout to V-E Day ("Fields of Fire covering actions of the Canadian Army up to the Normandy breakout). "Cinderella Army" should adorn the bookshelf of serious students who want a broader perspective of ETO actions.
Not only is "Cinderella Army" an outstanding piece of research but Copp is a talented and engaging writer. Readers, whether specifically interested in the Canadian Army or not, will not be bored with "Cinderella Army". Fortunately for readers Copp does not fall into a parochial category authors who present history with a national bias. All in all Copp's prose is extremely fair, presenting both positives and negatives, is fairly critical of the Canadian leaders and the interactions (not always positive) between these men and the 21 Army Group HQ (and SHAEF to a lesser extent). Readers will walk away from this read with a much deeper appreciation for how the bloody battles (often produced the highest sustained per unit casualty rates in the ETO) to capture the Channel Ports and clear the Scheldt Estuary, while protecting British Second Army units as they pursued more 'lofty' and headline garnering targets. If there was a black-sheep sibling in Montgomery's 21st Army Group who got all the crap details it was clearly the First Canadian Army!
Pick up "Cinderella Army"; it's a solid 5 star read, both from historical research and writing perspectives.
A Welcome Addition to World War II Literature.......2006-11-27
The authors two volume work (The first volume is: 'Fields of Fire,' this is the second.) establishes two views of World War II that I think are absolutely correct, and long overdue.
The first view is that the Canadian Army in France and Northern Europe was a failure, or if not exactly a failure, then a minor matter. Neglecting Dieppe, where the Canadians left a lot of good men on the beach, the Canadians went into Juno Beach on D-Day. Everybody knows about 'Bloody Omaha.' The allies had to go into Omaha to have a continuous beach head. And the Americans were assigned the job. The Americans went in and suffered 7% casualties, making it the bloodiest of the beaches. The Canadians went into Juno and suffered more than 6% casualties. That's just about as bloody. Furthermore, the Canadians were the only invasion unit to reach their D-Day objectives. But this is the subject of the first volume.
The second 'myth' is how much better the German soldiers were than the Allied, especially the Canadians. In truth, the Canadians were assigned to the left flank of the Allied Army. They went up the coast of France to the approached to Antwerp. This meant that the German units left to guard the coast were on their flank. Then they were assigned to clear the approaches to Antwerp. Furthermore, Montgomery, perhaps in the quest for more personal glory neglected the approaches and refused to give the Canadians adequate support or supplies in favor of Market-Garden which of course failed.
Yes, the Germans had good soldiers, but so did the Canadians. And at the end of the battle, the Canadians were at least the equivalent of any of the forces in the field. This is a splendid and welcome pair of books on a neglected area.
Book Description
Fields of Fire offers a stunning reversal of accepted military history. Terry Copp challenges and refutes the conventional view that the Canadian contribution to the Battle of Normandy was a 'failure': that the allies won only through the use of 'brute force,' and that the Canadian soldiers and commanding officers were essentially incompetent. His detailed and impeccably researched analysis of what actually happened on the battlefield portrays a flexible, innovative army that made a major, and successful, contribution to the defeat of the German forces in just seventy-six days.
Challenging both existing interpretations of the campaign and current approaches to military history, Copp examines the Battle of Normandy, tracking the soldiers over the battlefield terrain and providing an account of each operation carried out by the Canadian army to illustrate the valour, skill, and commitment of the Allied citizen-soldier in the face of a well-entrenched and well-equipped enemy army. Using signal message logs, war diaries, operational research reports, and interviews, Copp re-examines often overlooked battles such as the advance inland on D-Day and the defence of the bridgehead, as well as the frequently analyzed struggle for Verrières ridge and the operations to reach Falaise, placing each operation within the context of overall Allied strategy. He demonstrates that previous accounts exaggerated the prowess of the German army and that while Allied air power and numerical strength were important, the Canadian and other Allied citizen armies won the war on the battlefield by employing an effective doctrine. The Canadian contribution to the Battle of Normandy, Copp argues, was an extraordinary achievement, well out of proportion to the number of troops engaged in battle, and the army was far more successful than previous historians have claimed. Passionately written and compellingly argued, Fields of Fire will make an irrefutable and controversial mark on Canadian military history.
Customer Reviews:
No one could have done better than the Canadians in Normandy.......2007-04-01
At last, a Canadian with pride in his country's achievements.
If Americans are blustering braggarts, Canadians are cautious colonials. It's one thing to take pride in a rebuilt Louisbourg, once the most expensive fortress in North America noted mainly for its easy surrenders that made British rule possible. It's much more relevant to recognize and honour the real courage of Canada's World War II armed forces.
During the 1960s, I spent many an evening in the Royal Canadian Legion hall in Orillia, listening to war stories. My wife's relatives were in Normandy. This book, with typical Canadian obsession to scholarly detail, is a start in recognizing and honouring their valour. Copp plodded through every scrap he could find about the campaign. Nonetheless, the smell of combat is missing. He doesn't understand the flavour and feel of a Punch Imlach who once described hockey as "war"; he fails to understand Canadians went to war like a bunch of hockey players on a power play.
It should be read in conjunction with 'The 12th SS' by Hubert Meyer; as one reviewer of Meyer's book states, the 12th SS were trained as rigorously as US Marines. The SS had Tigers; Canadians had US Shermans. As one veteran told me, their constant drill was bailing out fast, because like the 'Ronson' lighter the Sherman lit up every time when hit by an 88mm shell. The 88 was mythic, as was the MG 42; but, Canadians never faltered. In literature, the equivalent story is the immortal legend of Beowulf facing Grendl. In reality, the Canadian weakness was the lingering colonial tendency of senior officers to listen too often to the British or Yanks. Instead, Canada needs to nurture a bard who understands Beowulf.
Had the Canadians faltered, the invasion would have collapsed. The Caen to Falaise campaign was the "hinge" of the German defence; once broken, it collapsed. It's why the 12th SS was at Caen, not at St. Lo.
Almost every other country produces novels, films, memorials and great histories about its wars. Only Canada finds fault in its victories. Instead of 'The Longest Day' with a blowhard John Wayne, or 'Saving Private Ryan' as multiplex mayhem and madness, a Canadian feature film should be 'Hockey in a Bloody Rink'. This book is a start, even though it's as thrilling as an accountant's report and as daring as a professor's essay in a historical review. Now, someone needs to hoist a few beers in a few Legion Halls to understand the spirit and mood and courage of the enlisted men.
There's a joke about a Canadian who won a Olympic Gold Medal and was so proud he had it bronzed. It's doubtful any medal won in Normandy was "bronzed". In Canada, pride is in the deed and not in the boast. The Canadians in Normandy beat the best of the Germans, and ever since endured the "Yes, but we could have done better . . . ." syndrome of armchair critics. The attitude still exists, as seen in the 'Globe and Mail' almost every day. In Canada, even a world class achievement "could have done better".
Well, no one could have done better than the Canadians in Normandy. This book honours a long neglected area of Canadian pride. If anyone wants another good example, may I suggest J. B. Lamb's 'The Corvette Navy'. He wrote about an earlier almost unknown but highly significent Canadian battle to stop the "happy days" of the U-boats. However, how many memorials in Canada feature a corvette? How many books other than Lamb?
This book is a start. Maybe deference is still typically Canadian. It could be better. It does rise brilliantly above all American, British and German accounts. It is the one book to read if any book is read about the Normandy campaign. But, it could be better (how more Canadian could anyone be?!?!)
A remarkable book.......2007-02-14
Up until this release of this book I had searched in vain for a definiive account of the Canadian contribution to the battle of Normandy. I had read all the tired old books continuing the myth of the so-called lack of agression and achievement by Canadian and British troops. Many of these books were simply re-hashing the work of other authors, none of whom had been to Normandy, none of whom tried to look at the subject afresh.
Well Terry Copp has masterfully looked at the whole battle from D-Day to the closing of the Falaise gap, and explains the real history for us all. It's quite heavy-going and Fields of Fire certainly isn't written for 5 year olds. It requires your full attention and you'll need to keep the maps to hand to concentrate and follow the ebb and flow of the battle. The rewards however will be well worth the time you spend here. There is simply no better book about the Canadians in Normandy. Copp knows Normandy well, his little comments about what the terrain looks like could only have been written by someone who knows the lay of the land. I say this as someone who has to know the land myself as a tour guide in the region.
EXCELLENT
hard to put down.......2003-12-14
Once you start reading this book, it's pretty hard to actualy stop. Kopp manages to make each sentence important and worthwhile, which makes for a book that is both "short" and intense. At long last a book in which the commonwealth is not regarded as 2nd rate player behind the US forces. An amazing story of courage with the right ammount of technical details and historical accuracy for it to be used in serious research.
Ranks with Keegan, surpasses D'Este.......2003-09-28
The much vaunted and overly glamorized 12th SS were systematically destroyed in the fields of Normandy in three short months. And who did it? Primarly, a bunch of civilians from Canada - clerks and farmers, mailmen and college students, athletes and fathers. I know what you're thinking, surely that's because they had all that artillery and air power, sheer mass against those few brave tactical geniuses Liddell Hart admired so much. True, the western allies did have advantages, most obvious in the air (but tactical air power was hardly a deciding factor on the battlefield,) but they were the ones storming across open fields into well entrenched positions manned with automatic weapons, mortars, assault guns and heavy tanks including the Tiger. If you think Wittmann was brave charging into Villers Bocage in a 57 ton behemoth, how much braver did you have to be in a Sherman without the armor protection or deadly 88mm?
If you're interested in having your eyes opened to what the fighting in Normandy was really like, read this book. No, the Canadians weren't supermen, but they weren't inept either. They, like their German counterparts, fought long and hard against difficult odds. This book goes a long way to provide some much needed balance to the story of Normandy. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division came ashore on the 6th of June and did themselves, their country and the cause of freedom proud. Don't believe me? Read the book. Terry Copp is among the finest military historians writing today. Check out his sources, no Stephen Ambrose here, this guy does real research.
Very informative.......2003-09-27
Mr Copp's book is a must for any serious student on Normandy, and the Canadian contribution. While it helps to have an understanding of the Commonwealth campaign in Normandy, it is not required. I enjoyed Mr. Copp's unique "Canadian" look at much facts and criticisms leveled at the Canadian Forces. I feel that Mr. Copp brilliantly dispelled many of the facts that have seen as truths of the campaign. A great read for a student of Normandy, Canada, and the War.
Book Description
In July 1942, Farley Mowat was an eager young infantryman bound for Europe and impatient for combat. This powerful, true account of the action he saw, fighting desperately to push the Nazis out of Italy, evokes the terrible reality of war with an honesty and clarity fiction can only imitate. In scene after unforgettable scene, he describes the agony and antic humor of the soldier's existence: the tedium of camp life, the savagery of the front, and the camaraderie shared by those who have been bloodied in battle.
Customer Reviews:
Outstandingly honest.......2006-12-03
Outstanding and emotionally wrenching memoir of the Sicilian and early part of the Italian campaigns. The book start off with hijinks and comedy, but progressively descends into despair and terror. Highly recommended.
Mowat has timeless brilliance.......2005-12-30
Farley Mowat impressed me with his writing years ago. Even more impressive is the fact he is still prolific and as sharp as ever. I thought I'd re-visit this book before starting one of his new ones. I enjoyed it as much as the first read, for so often I find things I missed. He has a journalistic style when he writes that isn't dried-out like some of the non-fiction I read. Farley has the talent to write about real events while retaining the entertainment flavor fiction readers love. I believe this is why so many readers who like a variety of genres say they turn to Mowat when they need to appease their appetites for great nonfiction story-telling. I highly recommend Farley Mowat's books.
Chrissy K. McVay - author
Careful and accurate reporting.......2005-08-05
Mowat developed into a fine writer, and you can see that he was destined to record his generation's fight with the Germans. He's that classic "writer guy" immortalized in so many books and movies.
Unlike most of those, he is utterly real, and thus, believable. The result is that the non-battle portions of the book are just as gripping as the battle scenes, and there are plenty of fine examples of both.
When his unit is sent to scale the cliffs behind the Germans, it is fabulous reading. I had never heard of the assault on Assoro, so following Mowat as he leads the men climbing up the cliff, I had no idea how it would come out.
It's better than fiction - as it should be. I'm now going on to read more Mowat!
EXCELLENT FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF WAR.......2005-06-10
This is a much overlooked classic now days. Mr. Mowat has given us a vivid first hand account of his expierences during WWII and this book ranks at the top of such works. Not only do we get a first hand view of the actual fighting (found in many/most accounts), but we also see the other side of the war. The horrible loneliness and boredom. Mr. Mowat is an acute observer of human nature, something he uses with a cutting edge in this book. For this amature historian of this period, and those just passingly interested, this is a good read and I highly recommend it.
Book Description
At D-Day's end, the Canadians, who had landed on Juno Beach, were six miles inland — the deepest penetration achieved by Allied forces on this infamous day. But every soldier on this front line knew worse was yet to come. For in the darkness the Germans were massing, intent on throwing them back to sea. With dramatic intensity, Holding Juno re-creates the ensuing battle and ultimate Canadian triumph and includes fascinating first-person soldier accounts as well as photos and maps.
Customer Reviews:
Still reading it, but I love it.......2006-11-10
On par with Mark Z's other books, particularly Juno. A very, very important addition to any WWII history collection, especially since this subject is overlooked in so many ways. Very refreshing.
An Important Contribution to D-Day Literature.......2006-01-11
It is well known that the invasion at Omaha beach was the worst. What isn't nearly as well known or perhaps appreciated is that the Canadians going ashore at Juno suffered almost as high a percentage of casualties as did the Americans at Omaha (relatively speaking Sword, Gold, and Utah) were pretty mild. Further, the Canadians even reached their assigned targets for D-day in some places (the only ones to do so). The story of the Canadians landing at Juno is told in Mr. Zuehlke's 'Juno Beach' (still available).
'Holding Juno' picks up at midnight, the morning of June 7th where the Germans are massing for an attack to throw the invaders back into the sea, and the Canadians are fighting to work further inland and to consolidate the invasion beaches (at midnight there was still a gap between Juno and Sword).
This book ends on June 12. By then neither the Canadians or any of the other divisions that assaulted the beaches on June 6th were capable of more than holding actions. But by then 326,547 men had landed and the battle to hold the beaches was done.
This book is an important contribution to the story of D-Day.
Book Description
In one furious week of fighting in December 1943, the First Canadian Infantry Division took Ortona, Italy, from elite German paratroopers ordered to hold the medieval port at all costs. When the battle was over, the Canadians emerged victorious despite heavy losses. Over 2,500 Canadians died or were wounded there. Military historian Mark Zuehlke blends reminiscences of the Canadians, Germans, and Italians who were there together with a blow-by-blow account of the fighting to create a harrowing, ultimately hopeful rendering of one of World War II's defining moments.
Customer Reviews:
My Dad Would Have Loved It.......2007-09-10
When I saw this in a bookstore in Toronto a few summers ago, one of my sons knew it would be the perfect birthday gift, as my dad [and, of course, his grandfather] fought with the Canadian Army throughout the battles of Sicily and Italy.
Dad was a sergeant with an anti-tank battery with the 1st Anti-Tank Regiment, and while he was reluctant to discuss the war in any detail, there were times - especially with a few beers under his belt - when he would open up. Even then, however, the horrific battles at the Moro River and Ortona were off usually limits.
Then, in the early days of his brief battle with Alzheimer's, he spoke of those days in the halting, limited vocabulary that is the bane of the disease's sufferers. And I remember him telling how his AT battery would be called in to blast away the top floors of some high buildings in the town and open up gaps in the rubble for the Shermans.
He also spoke of the spooky German withdrawal, saying one day they moved into position only to find them "all gone ... all gone."
How thrilling it was to see these events covered in Mr. Zuehlke's book. Thank you, sir, for the one of the best volumes on the Canadian effort in that theatre of the war. It takes a Canadian author to recognize and credit the actions of the Canadian Army without referring to them as "British forces."
Ortona Italy - Canada's Epic WW II Battle.......2007-07-15
I met Mark Zuehlke at my uncle's funeral (2006) in Victoria BC. My uncle was a WWII vet of the battle in Ortona. At the funeral, Mark presented his interview with my uncle that he used in this book. I was amazed at Mark's energy and passion. He truly wants to present and record Canada's contribution to the war effort through the eyes of those people who were there.
I had to have the book and read about this battle. The book descibes in detail each battle and extraordinary effort and bravery our soldiers gave. Several of the combat battles like fighting from house to house in Ortona, or the battle at the Gully would make good topics for movies.
This book made me feel proud to be a Canadian.
Great account of an interesting battle.......2007-05-12
This is really a great read. Zuehlke does a good job of focusing on small unit actions and tying them into an overall account. A great resource for wargamers also as most of the actions are desrcibed down to the platoon level.
See my review on Liri Valley.......2005-06-24
The first in the series that end with the Gothic Line.
A strange place and time in World War II Italy.......2004-01-17
Mark Zuehlke's "Ortona" is a detailed account of the 1st Canadian Divisions attempt to achieve what Montgomery called "A Colossal Crack" against the German 10th army defencive lines along the Adriatic.
History shows us it was a naive, almost impulsive and possibly vain attempt by Montgomery to achieve a breakthrough along the eastern coast of Italy allowing the 8th Army to spearhead an assault against Rome before winter weather shut down the allies armoured support.
That being said "Ortona" is
Book Description
This book is an operational history of the Canadian Corps in the battles of the final 100 days of World War I, beginning with the battle of Amiens, August 8, 1918, and culminating in the retaking of Mons on November 11, 1918, only hours before the war ended. During the late summer and autumn of 1918, the Canadian Corps, under Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur Currie, played a crucial role in the defeat of the German Army on the Western Front. This work examines the operational, organizational, and tactical innovations developed by the Corps during this campaign and their subsequent effect on military thought. Six battles are examined for their planning, conduct, and lessons: the Battle of Amiens, the breaking of the Drocourt-Queant line, the Canal du Nord and Cambrai, the pursuit to Valenciennes, the storming of Mount Huoy, and the return to Mons.
Average customer rating:
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Suck A Rock
Daniel Collier Houston
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1553693752
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Product Description
The experiences of a boy becoming a man while serving with the Canadian, British and US Armies in World War II.
Book Description
Leaving London to grow food for the war effort, Gwen discovers a mysterious lost garden and the story of a love that becomes her own.
This word-perfect, heartbreaking novel is set in early 1941 in Britain when the war seems endless and, perhaps, hopeless. London is on fire from the Blitz, and a young woman gardener named Gwen Davis flees from the burning city for the Devon countryside. She has volunteered for the Land Army, and is to be in charge of a group of young girls who will be trained to plant food crops on an old country estate where the gardens have fallen into ruin. Also on the estate, waiting to be posted, is a regiment of Canadian soldiers. For three months, the young women and men will form attachments, living in a temporary rural escape. No one will be more changed by the stay than Gwen. She will inspire the girls to restore the estate gardens, fall in love with a soldier, find her first deep friendship, and bring a lost garden, created for a great love, back to life. While doing so, she will finally come to know herself and a life worth living.
Customer Reviews:
A quick interesting read - I recommend it .......2007-02-02
I enjoyed the story. I little peek into a time a past.
Gardens and Life.......2006-07-26
This is the story of a shy horticulturist in England during W.W. II, who leaves her labortory to direct a team of Land Girls, who grow vegetables for the war effort. Her personal growth is perceived and entwined with her relationship with garden plants. A pleasure to read for anyone who loves plants. Suzanne Love Harris
Strangely wonderful.......2005-01-17
This is a nice quick read, but it isn't pointless. The book opened my eyes to a lot of things that, even though the book takes place in the 1940s, still pretain to now. The end was sad, but it left me content in a akward way. I would say that if you have the time read the book because it is very well written, with a good story to back it.
Beautiful language, but leaves you wanting.......2004-04-26
This is a quick read and is full of beautiful language and imagery. The characters are interesting and the discovery of the garden keeps the reader engaged. The intersection of real books is an interesting technique, gardeners and readers of Woolf won't be disappointed. The end comes rather suddenly, and leaves you wanting more. The garden's function in the end and the narrator's relationship to it is rather disappointing
Courageous and poetic story of Longing, Loss and Faith........2004-01-24
It is the summer of 1941. WWII makes London a more dangerous place to live every day as bombs destroy sections of the city. The main character is Gwen, a lonely 35-year-old woman living in London and working in a laboratory. Her occupation as horticulturist provides her the opportunity to volunteer to lead a Land Woman's Group - several young girls who will plant gardens for the good of the war effort on a beautiful estate somewhere in the English countryside. A group of young Canadian men live nearby on the estate as they await orders to be sent into combat.
Gwen discovers a secret garden that was created in honor of longing, loss and faith. She becomes friends with Jane who is waiting for news of her soldier fiancé reported missing. And she has an attraction to Raley, the CO of the Canadian men.
The language is poetic and often quite lovely. The story is pretty good, but not great. There are a few flaws in the novel. The voices of Gwen, Jane and Raley are too similar. I thought the novel started off a bit pretentious, but as it continued, I found myself admiring the turn of a phrase or a clever metaphor. The author seems to bear her soul in this novel and I found it refreshing and courageous. This book was short, but so full of sadness. This book will linger in my memory.
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- The Vanishing Rouble: Barter Networks and Non-Monetary Transactions in Post-Soviet Societies
- Skill Balancing: How to Enjoy Work!
- Strategy: Process, Content, Context--An International Perspective
The Emma Gees
SNIPING IN FRANCE 1914-18: With Notes on the Scientific Training of Scouts, Observers, and Snipers (Helion Library of the Great War)
Fireworks
To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth
Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knight's Cross
