Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Miracle of Dunkirk
The Miracle of Dunkirk | Walter Lord
7 posts | 8 read | 11 to read
Stranded on the beach with the Nazis closing in, the British army managed one of the most unlikely maneuvers in modern military historyIn May of 1940, the remnants of the French and British armies, broken by Hitlers blitzkrieg, retreated to Dunkirk. Hemmed in by overwhelming Nazi strength, the 338,000 men who gathered on that beach were all that stood between Hitler and Western Europe. Crush them, and the path to Paris and London was clear. And so, unable to retreat any farther, the Allied soldiers set up defense positions and prayed for deliverance. Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered an evacuation on May 26th, expecting to save no more than a handful of his men. But Britain would not let its soldiers down. Hundreds of fishing boats, pleasure yachts, and commercial vessels streamed into the Channel to back up the Royal Navy, and in a week nearly the entire army was ferried safely back to England. Assembled from interviews with hundreds of survivors who witnessed the evacuation, The Miracle of Dunkirk is a striking history of a week when the fate of Britain hung in the balance.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
Eggs
post image

Walter Lord (1917 – 2002) was an American lawyer, ad man, author and popular historian, best known for his 1955 account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, A Night to Remember. Based on interviews with hundreds of survivors, The Miracle of Dunkirk is a striking history of a week when the outcome of World War II hung in the balance.
#dunkirk #remembernovember @Klou

Klou 👌❤ 4y
Eggs Thanks 😊 @Klou 4y
61 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
EadieB
post image

Day 2 - #Dunkirk #RememberNovember

This looks like an excellent movie! I love true stories about history!

Klou It is, from what I remember of the time I watched it. Same! 4y
35 likes1 comment
review
K.Wielechowski
post image
Pickpick

This was a very interesting examination of the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk during WWII under the British Operation: Dynamo. Lord does a great job of telling the story from many different angles, including: soldiers, sailers, civilians, and politicians from British, French, even German witnesses. It may have been a loss and a massive retreat, but it showed just how far people would go to rescue over 300,000 troops.

review
GondorGirl
post image
Pickpick

My grandfather and I used to read and discuss a lot of WW2 nonfiction... this gave me a lot of nostalgia for those times. It also opened my mind to one of the craziest mass rescues/evacuations in British military history. While the first part of the book was a bit of boring setup, once the action started it was a series of non-stop events, terror, and luck. I would highly recommend this for any history buff, or anyone who likes military action.

GondorGirl Oh! And there's my 'M' for the #LitsyAtoZ challenge and my January #Nonfiction2018 book. 6y
Mollyanna I have similar memories with my grandfather. It's wonderful that as read in the future it will prompt those great memories. 6y
72 likes3 stack adds2 comments
blurb
GondorGirl

Apparently, during WW2 a man by the name of Jack Churchill fought against the Nazis using a Scottish broad sword, a long bow, and bagpipes.

He was mentioned briefly in the tagged book, but I'd really like to know more about him. Do any of my librarians or history buffs have any suggestions on books that talk more about him? Because he was killing Nazis with a long bow. 😍

WarpedSweetness If you find anything out let me know! I definitely want to hear more about this guy! 6y
GondorGirl @WarpedSweetness Right?! Apparently at one point he charged out of a carrier playing his bagpipe, then started lobbing grenades at the Germans. 6y
WarpedSweetness @GondorGirl Seriously?!? I need to know more about this man! He sounds like a f*kn badass! 6y
See All 9 Comments
GondorGirl Thanks for the links @Andrew65 ! I wonder if I can track that book down... 6y
WarpedSweetness @Andrew65 Great links! Thanks! @GondorGirl I'm so excited to explore these links once the baby goes to bed. I'm sure the book can be tracked down somehow. 6y
55 likes9 comments
review
Bookboss
post image
Pickpick

I saw Christopher Nolan's film Dunkirk, read Lord's book on the subject, then saw the film again. The film is a masterpiece. The book collects the stories of hundreds of participants - sailors, soldiers, and civilians- and arranges them in an excellent narrative of history. I knew the bare outline of the evacuation of Dunkirk. This book filled it in with the voices of the people who experienced it.

blurb
Theresa
post image

Last night I saw the movie Dunkirk (highly recommend!) and afterward I told my friends I want to read more about the battle. This morning I found this in the Amazon daily deals. I think Jeff Bezos has been reading my mind! 😝

vivastory I loved it. I found it to be remarkable how Nolan was able to get the audience to genuinely care about the characters & their fate, yet there wasn't really any character development. Also, he is a master at maintaining tension throughout an entire movie. 7y
heikemarie That's why he's the richest man in the world@😜 7y
Theresa @vivastory I could not agree more! There's only 1 character whose name I remember & there was relatively little dialog, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time & would love to see it again. 7y
Theresa @inwhichHeikereadsharder So that's how he did it!! 😂 7y
45 likes1 stack add4 comments