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eileen9311's review against another edition
3.0
This was an extremely thorough account of the life of Christine Granville, a Polish Jew who became the first woman to work for the British SOE during World War II. Outfitted in the old wooden skies of yore, she skied over treacherous mountain terrain into occupied Poland, and was parachuted behind enemy lines in France. Amazing courage, indomitable physical endurance, and extremely quick wits all contributed to Christine’s brilliant wartime record. Intrepid determination combined with prevailing optimism, enabling her to power through seemingly hopeless situations. Christine was both beautiful and alluring, and had no intention of allowing her war time exploits to interfere with a colorful and varied love life. As well, she used her charms to great advantage where the enemy was concerned, distracting, flirting shamelessly, and blindsiding the unsuspecting. I must confess I found the foreign names confusing and difficult to keep straight, early on, and I did a bit of skimming. Hers is a story that had to be told and it is told well here. I feel compelled to try and appreciate immensity of the risks and sacrifices of such valiant forbearers. Along the same vein, Nancy Wake, by Peter Fitzsimons, is a riveting account of a similarly brave and beautiful Resistance fighter.
ewf's review against another edition
5.0
What a book! What a story!
It took me a while to get into the groove with this one, mostly because of Polish names that were unfamiliar and hard for me to keep track of as I read. I kept going and really could not put it down. Christine herself was fascinating, as were her effects on other people. What really made it special to me was discovering so much that I'd missed about the history of WWII itself, particularly in Poland and farther south. The author's hard work on research is evident. I may have to write her a thank you note.
It took me a while to get into the groove with this one, mostly because of Polish names that were unfamiliar and hard for me to keep track of as I read. I kept going and really could not put it down. Christine herself was fascinating, as were her effects on other people. What really made it special to me was discovering so much that I'd missed about the history of WWII itself, particularly in Poland and farther south. The author's hard work on research is evident. I may have to write her a thank you note.
libraryjunkie's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this biography, but it was dry, boring and monotonous to follow. It was not written very strongly, simply just a presentation of facts, without really getting to know Christine Granville.
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