Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #235291 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
'A well written account providing a satisfying mix of strategy and individual experience...[an] excellent book'. --Everyone's War

BBC History Magazine
`Bailey has made skilful use of letters, interviews and diaries...a scholarly and readable story almost worthy of Buchan himself'

Daily Mail
`This powerful story.. good to see these courageous British agents given another life in the pages of this work.'

Customer Reviews

Brilliant Historical Adventure
This excellent and gripping book is a must buy for anyone serious about understanding the Second World War and its aftermath, as well as for anyone serious about cracking good reads. On almost every page there is a fascinating fact - not least legendary British actor Anthony Quayle's involvement in SOE - and they are all woven into a skillful whole that will by the end give the reader a new perspective on Europe and the perils of messing about in other people's countries. By turns breathtaking, funny, tragic and sometimes horrifying, the book is an indictment of the human spirit and what it is capable of: courage, determination, betrayal and dreadful violence. The best kind of modern history writing.

Beautifully written and extremely well researched
Roderick Bailey paints a detailed and extremely well researched picture of a hardly known episode of WWII when British soldiers fought with the partisans in occupied Albania. It is full of historical data based on many primary sources including declassified official documents, oral reports, diaries etc. There is not only plenty of historical insight, but a beautifully written, readable story which should appeal not only to historians, but also to the interested general reader. This book thoroughly deserves five stars.

rob s review
a little heavy-going. although MI6 were rarely mentioned, the idea that many of them were in league with the nazis wasn t far from my mind throughout. interesting how one SOE officer experimented with cannabis and acid in the sixties came as a surprise - and i found anthony quayle's involvement interesting too. no surprise that albania was no better off under communism than under the nazis.