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morbhen's review against another edition
4.0
I was going to give it 3 stars but it's just so goddamn wholesome!
dyingst's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent read and an absolutely fascinating escapade. The men behind it are an enviable breed, and it shines through wonderfully.
warrenl's review
4.0
Between the immediacy of Moss's largely unreconstructed diary entries and frequent reference to Google Images, I was transported almost complete to wartime Crete, my own grandfather's WW2 stomping ground. By the time the book was done, I felt like I'd marched the trails with Moss and General Kreipe. This, I think, is the greatest praise I can offer this excellent true adventure story.
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
My travel book (in my bag for when I had to stand in lines or wait in waiting rooms) finally finished yesterday. It's based on the diary by W. Stanley Moss, confined to a commando operation by the British late in the war. The goal (which began half as a joke, according to Moss) was to capture the German commander, General Kreipe--who was, unfortunately, new to his position, the previous commander, Mueller, being a real nasty piece of work.
Because there was a great deal of travel at night and hiding up during the day, Moss and his companions (which includes Patrick Leigh Fermor) had lots of down time. When they ran out of books, they sang songs, talked, and Moss kept up the diary.
The operation itself was a snatch, involving dressing as German sentries to halt the general's vehicle on the way back from his HQ to the villa the German's had taken over for quarters. Patrick Leigh Fermor was to drive the General's car off and dump it, the chauffeur was entrusted to some Cretans (who most likely murdered him), and Moss and company, including sheep thieves and guerrillas, bundled the general up over the mountains, hiding from cordon searches, until they could be picked up by boat.
Strategically it was pretty much a useless gesture, even stupid--Kreipe was a plodder who followed orders, so his removal from the theatre of war did little for the war effort beside piss off the Germans even more. Then the Germans promptly burned whole villages in retaliation.
But the Germans were burning villages anyway, on the least excuse, so this generlnapping didn't alter the situation much either way. What's clear is how much the commandos enjoyed 'the game'--and it really seems to have been a game, with their lives at stake. There is a lot of sudden death in this book, which is told so engagingly, it feels like fiction. It left me quite curious about Moss, though, who, Fermor says in the epilogue, was apparently up there with Jason Bourne (or maybe Stalky) in his sabotage abilities.
Because there was a great deal of travel at night and hiding up during the day, Moss and his companions (which includes Patrick Leigh Fermor) had lots of down time. When they ran out of books, they sang songs, talked, and Moss kept up the diary.
The operation itself was a snatch, involving dressing as German sentries to halt the general's vehicle on the way back from his HQ to the villa the German's had taken over for quarters. Patrick Leigh Fermor was to drive the General's car off and dump it, the chauffeur was entrusted to some Cretans (who most likely murdered him), and Moss and company, including sheep thieves and guerrillas, bundled the general up over the mountains, hiding from cordon searches, until they could be picked up by boat.
Strategically it was pretty much a useless gesture, even stupid--Kreipe was a plodder who followed orders, so his removal from the theatre of war did little for the war effort beside piss off the Germans even more. Then the Germans promptly burned whole villages in retaliation.
But the Germans were burning villages anyway, on the least excuse, so this generlnapping didn't alter the situation much either way. What's clear is how much the commandos enjoyed 'the game'--and it really seems to have been a game, with their lives at stake. There is a lot of sudden death in this book, which is told so engagingly, it feels like fiction. It left me quite curious about Moss, though, who, Fermor says in the epilogue, was apparently up there with Jason Bourne (or maybe Stalky) in his sabotage abilities.
smemmott's review
4.0
The particular covert action was less compelling than I expected, but I very much enjoyed the author's voice and his look at life on occupied Crete, and the amazing support of the local civilians.