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Books : Fortress Malta (CD): An Island Under Siege 1940-1943: An Island Under Siege, 1940-1943
Rating: 
- History telling at its very best
This is quite possibly the best history book I've read. It weaves personal accounts into the fabric of history, making for a rich tapestry. Three years after reading it I still find myself thinking about some of the characters. David Wanklyn, commander of the submarine Upholder, stands out, as does the skill and bravery of Adrian `Warby' Warburton, a reconnaissance pilot; Warby even led an enemy ship to the downed crew of another Allied plane. Warby forged a relationship with Christina Ratcliffe, a dancer. How this unravels is, for me, one of the most poignant moments of the book.
Holland strikes the correct balance between recounting history - the seige, the convoys, the blitz - and the personal accounts. I noticed one tiny error: Mtarfa is spelt phonetically (i.e Imtarfa) but it would have taken a lot more than this to persuade me to award this book anything less than 5 stars.
Rating: - fascinating and well written history
This is an excellent and very readable history of the Second World War siege of Malta. The author uses first hand accounts of the siege but includes these personal experiences within a fuller context of the overall history of the war in Malta (and in the rest of Europe). Consequently, it is a very full and involving account. Fighter pilots, submariners and other servicemen and residents of the island drop in and out of the story, as some leave, other new names arrive to take their place. What impressed me was how the reader ends up really caring about these people, and is keen to know what happens to them. Their backstories are also told, so you feel you "know" them by the time they arrive to take their place in history.
An excellent account that really added to my knowledge of the area, the war and how people on the island suffered. highly recommended.
Rating: - Genuinely a classic
This is it everything a history book should be, informative, accurate, descriptive and vivid.
What Holland does best is show each important moment of this conflict through a personal story so that dates and stats come alive and you find yourself caring about characters you've never met, just like great fiction only of course this all happened.
It is written in a highly readable way and is a real page turner- again a very odd thing to find in a history book. It is telling an epic story at a very human level an essential read for lovers of great fiction and non-fiction alike.
Rating: - Amazing
I bought this listening book for my grandad, he was himself involved in the Malta campaign. He said that listening to the tapes moved him greatly, and that the narrator's voice fitted perfectly in describing the emotional and courageous events which this part of the second world war involved. A must buy.
Rating: - Fascinating
I've just finished this book and I loved it - I'm going on holiday to Malta at the end of this month and I'm going to read it again when I arrive.
James Holland writes a non-fiction story which is almost too unbelievable to be true. But it is true and it is a well researched book with great insights not only into the soldiers, navy and pilots but also the civilian population that must have faced the hardest challenges.
Warby - most decorated Allied pilot of the 2nd world war and Beurling - highest scoring allied pilot of the war are just two of the characters in the cast of this story.
I hope this is made into a film and I hope James Holland is consulted during the making of it.
- History telling at its very bestThis is quite possibly the best history book I've read. It weaves personal accounts into the fabric of history, making for a rich tapestry. Three years after reading it I still find myself thinking about some of the characters. David Wanklyn, commander of the submarine Upholder, stands out, as does the skill and bravery of Adrian `Warby' Warburton, a reconnaissance pilot; Warby even led an enemy ship to the downed crew of another Allied plane. Warby forged a relationship with Christina Ratcliffe, a dancer. How this unravels is, for me, one of the most poignant moments of the book.
Holland strikes the correct balance between recounting history - the seige, the convoys, the blitz - and the personal accounts. I noticed one tiny error: Mtarfa is spelt phonetically (i.e Imtarfa) but it would have taken a lot more than this to persuade me to award this book anything less than 5 stars.
Rating:
- fascinating and well written historyThis is an excellent and very readable history of the Second World War siege of Malta. The author uses first hand accounts of the siege but includes these personal experiences within a fuller context of the overall history of the war in Malta (and in the rest of Europe). Consequently, it is a very full and involving account. Fighter pilots, submariners and other servicemen and residents of the island drop in and out of the story, as some leave, other new names arrive to take their place. What impressed me was how the reader ends up really caring about these people, and is keen to know what happens to them. Their backstories are also told, so you feel you "know" them by the time they arrive to take their place in history.
An excellent account that really added to my knowledge of the area, the war and how people on the island suffered. highly recommended.
Rating:
- Genuinely a classicThis is it everything a history book should be, informative, accurate, descriptive and vivid.
What Holland does best is show each important moment of this conflict through a personal story so that dates and stats come alive and you find yourself caring about characters you've never met, just like great fiction only of course this all happened.
It is written in a highly readable way and is a real page turner- again a very odd thing to find in a history book. It is telling an epic story at a very human level an essential read for lovers of great fiction and non-fiction alike.
Rating:
- AmazingI bought this listening book for my grandad, he was himself involved in the Malta campaign. He said that listening to the tapes moved him greatly, and that the narrator's voice fitted perfectly in describing the emotional and courageous events which this part of the second world war involved. A must buy.
Rating:
- FascinatingI've just finished this book and I loved it - I'm going on holiday to Malta at the end of this month and I'm going to read it again when I arrive.
James Holland writes a non-fiction story which is almost too unbelievable to be true. But it is true and it is a well researched book with great insights not only into the soldiers, navy and pilots but also the civilian population that must have faced the hardest challenges.
Warby - most decorated Allied pilot of the 2nd world war and Beurling - highest scoring allied pilot of the war are just two of the characters in the cast of this story.
I hope this is made into a film and I hope James Holland is consulted during the making of it.