Books

The Miracle of Dunkirk (Wordsworth Military Library)
Origins of the Fifth Amendment
Nazi Medicine and the Nuremberg Trials: From Medical Warcrimes to Informed Consent
Bygone Govan
Swords and Samurai
The History of the Thirty Years' War in Germany
Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East
The Blood of Our Sons
A Peakland Christmas: An Anthology of the Peak District in Winter
Churchill: A Biography [AUDIOBOOK]
Holy Fire
Myth of the Savages and the Beginnings of French Colonialism in the Americas
Naval Occurrences of the War of 1812: A Full and Correct Account of the Naval War Between Great Britain and the United States of America,1812-1815
Battlefields Annual Review
Sources and Methods in African History: Spoken, Written, Unearthed (Rochester Studies in African History & the Diaspora)
The History of the Revolt of The Netherlands
A Different Sky
The Tomb of Pharaoh Seti I
Atlantis in Spain (Mystic Traveller S.)
Everton: School of Science
Opium and the People: Opiate Use and Policy in 19th and Early 20th Century Britain
The Wars Against Saddam [AUDIOBOOK]
Renaissance Essays: Vol 1 (Library of the History of Ideas)
The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many (Real Story S.)
1970s: Decades of the 20th Century (The Hulton Getty Picture Collection)

The Miracle of Dunkirk (Wordsworth Collection)

Average customer rating:

Britain is saved from "the greatest military disaster in our long history"
Another hit from one of my favorite authors.
Thorough, interesting account
Tedious account...even for a Lord fan!
Monotonous,but at times interesting.

The Miracle of Dunkirk (Wordsworth Collection)
Walter Lord
Manufacturer: Combined Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

The Dawn's Early Light (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf)
A Time to Stand
Day of Infamy: Sixtieth-Anniversary Edition
The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II
Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man

ASIN: 185326685X

Customer Reviews:

Britain is saved from "the greatest military disaster in our long history".......2006-05-23

Walter Lord weaves an exciting tale as he relates the British 'evacuation' (i.e. retreat) of Dunkirk. The Brits were aided by several 'miracles' that are closely examined by Lord: Hitler's decision to stop his tanks from annihilating the escaping British (he was saving the tanks for France), 9 days of calm seas on the English Channel, and literally thousands of small private English boats that aided in the escape of some 338,000 troops - essentially the entire British Expeditionary Force and a sizeable force of French soldiers. Lord describes the Churchhill's efforts to keep the French happy as they were left alone on the Continent.

In his "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech of June 4, 1940, Churchhill acknowledged to the House of Commons, "We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations. But there was a victory inside this deliverance, which should be noted."

The escape from Belgium encouraged Churchill: "We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

Lord interviewed some 500 survivors of Dunkirk to write his book, which informs the telling with an immediacy and verite missing from more academic treatments.

Highly recommended for the general reader of history, especially WW II.

Another hit from one of my favorite authors........2005-03-05

There have been few books on this subject (at least those available in the U.S.), and this book describes this crisis well. Over 300,000 troops escaped envolopement from the Germans by evacuating from Dunkirk. Lord does his capable best in writing how the British and French were outflanked and almost destroyed, but the Germans turned a great victory into a minor one. Goring and his Luftwaffe did inflict terrible damage and caused much death, but the fact is the greater part of the British Expedionary Force was allowed to escape and fight again another day.
One thing I like about Lord's writings are his personalization of the conflicts. We hear from soldiers who actually fought and escaped through Dunkirk. His writings also tell the story through a description of what went on and the military strategy involved. Lord is one of my favored authors. He devoted much time (2 years) for each book he has written. It is a shame we no longer have him here to write great books.

Thorough, interesting account.......2004-01-20

The evacuation of Dunkirk after the Nazi blitzkreig of 1940 has always amazed me. This is a period and event that don't figure too prominently into most textbooks, even though it was one of the most crucial times in World War II (just because Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed yet, after all, doesn't mean there wasn't a war on).

I was quite pleased with the way Walter Lord was able to pull together all of the information about the evacuation and the events leading up to it. The story is complex. Columns of refugees heading to the coast, the British plan for evacuation, the Belgian surrender nearly dooming the effort, resistance to keep a pocket around Dunkirk and the beaches, weather conditions and how they affected air battles, the use of the mole...Lord has managed to fit it all in and more.

The book is very good in presenting a general account of how events occurred. Lord has also managed to find several personal stories and tidbits, from the acts of officers in helping the evacuation to the unsuccessful attempt to use kites as barrage balloons at the harbor.

Tedious account...even for a Lord fan!.......2002-12-06

As a big fan of both A NIGHT TO REMEMBER and DAY OF INFAMY, I was excited to read this one. But even as an enthusiast of WW2 History and this particular author, I found it pretty slow going. Plodding details without the candid, human elemnt Lord generally writes best. I finished the book feeling unenlightened and not particularly better informed about the events @ Dunkirk.

Monotonous,but at times interesting........2002-03-09

Much of the book tells how the British organised and executed one of the biggest rescue operation in history.Evacuation -remarkable achievment-of cornered Allied troops took a week and those seven days by far darkest days in the history of British Empire.Because trapped at Dunkirk were the cream of BEF.It included men like Brooke,Montgomery,Horrocks,Alexander who went on to command armies which retook the continent from the Nazis.But I must say author bored me with all those details regarding evacuation and it took considerable patience on my part to go through this text.Author,however,has furnished fresh insights on what is widely regarded as miracle of Dunkirk.I disagree with this notion.On May 23-24 the advance of Guderian's XIX armoured corps was abruptly halted along Aa canal.All sorts of arguments were advanced justifying the halt order.In Hitler's warped mind French armies holding out below the Somme river appeared more menacing than trapped BEF at Dunkirk.This was in consonance with German thinking France being mortal foe than Britain.By taking that line Nazi leader made Germany's defeat in World War II inevitable.This misperception regarding 'centre of gravity'of war caused Germans postpone the assault on Dunkirk.British shrewd enough to exploit reprieve and mounted biggest seaborne rescue operation.Here lies the truth and not as some British historians[Ellis,Fuller] make us understand than terrain around Dunkirk[marshy,slushy]would have impeded German attempts to seize the port.Circumstances conspired to deny the Germans ultimate truimph.

1.THE SUMMER OF DUNKIRK: 2. THE GREAT MIRACLE.

Average customer rating:

1.THE SUMMER OF DUNKIRK: 2. THE GREAT MIRACLE.
Arthur & Edward Shanks. Bryant
Manufacturer: The "Daily Graphic"
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O8DYOW

THE SUMMER OF DUNKIRK: EPIC OF THE LITTLE BOATS THAT SAVED THE WORLD: THE GREAT MIRACLE.

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THE SUMMER OF DUNKIRK: EPIC OF THE LITTLE BOATS THAT SAVED THE WORLD: THE GREAT MIRACLE.
Arthur. Arthur Shanks. Bryant
Manufacturer: The Daily Sketch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HJF7ES

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The Miracle of Dunkirk
Walter Lord
Manufacturer: Allen Lane, London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0713912111

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The Miracle of Dunkirk
Walter Lord
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OP3RJW

The Summer of Dunkirk and The Great Miracle

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The Summer of Dunkirk and The Great Miracle
Arthur and Shanks, Edward Bryant
Manufacturer: Withy Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JRA4B4

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The Miracle of Dunkirk
Walter Lord
Manufacturer: Combined Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MBZGMO

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