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Title: Crete: The Battle and the Resistance (History and Warfare) by Antony Beevor ISBN: 0-8133-2080-1 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: March, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (6 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: dissappointing
Comment: After reading this book, I felt that I understood what happened on Crete from 1941-45 and why, but I also wondered how in the world the British ever thought they were going to win a war if they fought it like they did on Crete. Beevor chronicles the arrogance, frivolousness, ignorance, stupidity, wilfulness, and lack of attention to detail of the British officer class unsparingly. Unfortunately, being of that class himself, he often unconsciously shares that arrogant English schoolboy attitude, which is the major flaw of the book.
Beevor does justice to the bravery and endurance of the German paratroopers, the Commonwealth troops, and the Cretan people and Resistance fighters. He is a skillful narrator, and he brings the people to life, all of which compensates somewhat for the flippant tone. He has eliminated that tone from his subsequent books on Stalingrad and Berlin, with great improvement in the power of his writing. Would that he had done so in describing the campaign on Crete, which was every bit as serious as Stalingrad and Berlin, especially to the participants.
Rating: 3
Summary: Uneven, dry, almost monodimensional...
Comment: As important or pivotal the battle of Crete was, one thing that Anthony Beevor seems to have not grasped in his book is the very special part the Cretan character played in this battle.
The Cretans are a very particular "tribe", think of how special we consider the Sicilians or the Corsicans so an analogy is set (even though it wouldn't be accurate still).
The author becomes almost exhausting in his effort to provide a detailed account of dates, names, locations etc etc..Most of the time i caught myself confused about the locations he was was describing and i'm Greek and have travelled to Crete many times!! In all this complex descriptive network of data he gives us, the essence is really lost and you have the feeling that the book was written with "accountant logic". Shame because on that merit it's actually not bad, but the paradox is that you emerge not really being sure you've understood why this battle was so important.
Another thing that contributes to the uneveness of the book is in my opinion the fact that more weight is placed on the British army that there should have. Other historical accounts of the battle of Crete show that the local population was a deciding factor in the German failures there...
I was actually attracted to this book by another book of Beevor's: "The battle of Stalingrad" which happens to be a stunning book that lacks all the flaws that this one has. It could of course be that this is an author that has matured as he progressed along...
Rating: 4
Summary: A solid piece of work from a great historian.
Comment: The great Anthony Beevor does it again with his detailed account of the seldom examined battle of Crete. Although it reads like a somewhat dry history book, the narrative tends to flow fairly well.
Beevor gives context to the story by discussing the strategic importance of the battle and giving a decent overview of the battles in the Balkans and Greece, as well as some idea of events in north Africa and elsewhere in the Mediterranean theater. From the broad strategic scope he "zooms in" to focus on several key sectors on the island itself as the battle unfolds: Maleme, Suda Bay, and Rethymno. He also adds a personal flavor to it by following the exploits of several individual officers and soldiers. Also, he provides an objective analysis of some critical tactical decisions which cost the British the battle.
To sum it all up, this book is a valuable addition to the library of anyone who fancies himself a student of WW2. No historian's perspective on the war would be complete without understanding what happened at Crete and why. Beevor's book offers a fine opportunity to get familiar with the subject on a reasonably detailed level.
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Title: The Spanish Civil War by Antony Beevor ISBN: 0141001488 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 03 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942-1943 by Antony Beevor ISBN: 0140284583 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: May, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Fall of Berlin 1945 by Antony Beevor ISBN: 0142002801 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Cretan Runner: The Story of the German Occupation by George Psychoundakis, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Xan Fielding ISBN: 0140273220 Publisher: Penguin Uk Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Ten Days to Destiny: The Battle for Crete, 1941 by George Kiriakopoulos ISBN: 0917653491 Publisher: Hellenic College Press Pub. Date: June, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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