The Last Veterans of World War II: Portraits and Memories
10.0
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Chronicling the many faces of the WWII effort, these contemporary black-and-white portraits of the...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The War Pianist in Books
Feb 19, 2023
The story is told from the perspectives of the two pianists ... Marnie in London and Connie in Amsterdam. Marnie and Connie are exceptionally strong characters and the author transported me into their worlds amongst the bombs of the blitz and the invasion of the Nazi's where trust can be a dangerous thing.
With oodles of tension, the fear palpable and the bravery and courage of those working against the Nazi war machine excellently portrayed, the War Pianist is a gripping story and whilst this is a work of fiction, it felt authentic and was totally riveting.
Many thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The War Pianist.
The Enemy's Wife (Survivors of War)
Book
A poignant story of the impossible choices we make in the shadow of war, for fans of Daisy Wood and...
Historical Fiction WWII Shanghai
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated No One is Here Except All of Us in Books
Jan 15, 2018
This book tells the story of Lena, a your Romanian Jewish girl living in an all but forgotten village in rural Romania as WWII rages around them. The town decides to reinvent the world in hopes of keeping the war at bay. It works for a time, until a newly forbidden radio is discovered under the floor boards of a barn turned temple. Once the radio is again brought to life, the war crashes in around them. Lena's husband is kidnapped & the people who are left behind struggle to make sense of what is going on.
Lena take matters into her own hands & decides to set out with her 2 young sons to escape the war. They walk & walk losing more than they gain along the way. The help they find turns out to be unexpected. They take from Lena, but also in the end give her much in return.
It is amazing that they were in the middle of the war yet were able to avoid much of what other Jews were not so lucky to miss. Lena's life is not without great loss however, its just not the kind I expected to experience when I picked up this book.
The thing that sticks out most to me is that despite the horrors & loss Lena went through, she was able to come out on the other side better. This is not to say that you will get a fairy tale ending with this story though. Lena is not exactly happy as the book closes, but she is hopeful. And to her that is all she can ask.
Murder on the Home Front
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Disrespect, disdain - and dead bodies! It's all in a day's work for WPC Billie Harkness, a...
Erika (17789 KP) rated The Locksmith's Daughter in Books
Jan 21, 2019
I really liked the main character, Mallory, made some dumb decisions, like everyone, but it was nice to see that she legitimately learned from her mistakes.
After Mallory ruined her reputation, her father seeks out the Spymaster of Elizabethan England, Sir Francis Walsingham, to give her a job. She becomes a spy, seeking out Catholics. Again, I was thankful that the Queen only appeared in person once.
Harper Collins totally got me on this one, and I was glad to read it.
My Pacific Star
Book
An enthusiastic recruit, Harry Dean joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force at a turbulent point in...
Encyclopedia of Film Noir
Geoff Mayer and Brian McDonnell
Book
When viewers think of film noir, they often picture actors like Humphrey Bogart playing characters...
When Football Was Football: Chelsea: A Nostalgic Look at a Century of the Club: 2015
Book
Now in paperback, this is a fascinating collection of photographs of Chelsea Football Club dating...
The Southpaw, the Diva & the Diggers: A Story of Australia's Forgotten Heroes: Vic Patrick, Flight and World War II Diggers
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During WWII, Australia's sports lovers were denied access to national and international sport,...