Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts

Sunday 23 January 2022

Bookreview: LMF

What a fantastic book!



Summary


LMF is a work of historical fiction set against one of Britain’s most
controversial campaigns, the RAF night bomber offensive. Its central characters
are a pilot suffering combat fatigue and desperate to complete the last mission of his
tour so he can rest and recover, his navigator, a Quaker struggling to reconcile his
beliefs with the morality of his task, and an Australian engineer whose wife is dying
of cancer.The novel covers a 24 hour period in January 1944, exploring the events
of a mission through the eyes of a single crew of seven men.






My Review

What a fantastic book! I really enjoyed the books of Malcolm Havard due to
his writing style and the characters. I also liked the book cover. For this story,
the author did his research very well! And he had an eye for details! I wanted 
to know the end. 

I will recommend this book to all who like to read about historical stories and
especially about World War II.

I want to give with lots of pleasure a 5 star rating for this fantastic book!




The author



Malcolm started writing fiction around 10 years ago, self-publishing
three novels through Amazon including a mountaineering thriller,
The Last Mountain, which has had more than 10,000 downloads.
He also has two books published by a small publisher, including a
collection of WW1 stories which topped the Amazon anthology best-sellers
list at Christmas 2014.

His short stories have done well in a number of competitions, including
runner-up placings for those run by Henshaw Press and the
Mere Literary Festival.

Having written in several genres early in his career, Malcolm has now
settled into writing historical fiction.

This includes LMF, a WW2 novel set during the RAFs controversial
night bombing campaign, Leviathan, a novella about a young, frightened
pilot hunting Zeppelins in the night during WW1, The Neutral Zone,
a collection of short stories, and Eleven Days, a novel set around the
events of 'Bloody April'. 1917.


Booktasters


I really want to thank Booktasters and the author for providing me a free
copy in return of my honest review. Thank you for this fantastic reading 
chance!

Tuesday 18 August 2020

Wellington against Junot

The first French invasion of Portugal in 1807 - which was commanded by Junot, one of Napoleon's most experienced generals - was a key event in the long, brutal Peninsular War, and it was the first campaign fought in the Peninsular by Sir Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, yet it tends to be overshadowed by more famous episodes in the six-year conflict that followed. David Buttery, in this original and perceptive new study, sets the record straight - his tightly focused narrative covers the entire campaign in vivid detail.

Readers of my blogs: https://allaboutroyalfamilies.blogspot.com/ and 

https://mycrazylifefullwithbooks.blogspot.com/  already know that I'm interested in royal history and especially about Russia, Napoleon, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) and Queen Victoria. So, I was very happy that Kobo plus offers a series of books about General Wellington and the Portuguese invasion. This is a period during the reign of Napoleon which is less known for me. I read three books:

- Wellington against Junot



- Wellington against Soult


At the heart of David Butterys third book on the Peninsular War lies the comparison between two great commanders of enormous experience and reputation Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, and Jean de Dieu Soult. In Soult, Wellesley met one of his most formidable opponents and they confronted each other during one of the most remarkable, and neglected, of the Peninsular campaigns. Soults invasion of Portugal is rarely studied in great depth and, likewise, the offensive Wellesley launched, which defeated and expelled the French, has also received scant coverage. As well as giving a fresh insight into the contrasting characters of the two generals, the narrative offers a gripping and detailed, reconstruction of the organization and experience of a military campaign 200 years ago.



- Wellington against Massena


Wellington's clash with Massena was one of the most remarkable contests between two commanders in the Peninsular War. These two formidable generals carried on a campaign of maneuver, battle and attrition across Spain and Portugal in 1810 and 1811 which had a decisive impact on the outcome of the war. Wellington's reputation was enhanced, Massena's was ruined.David Buttery's close analysis of this extraordinary encounter offers a penetrating insight into the personalities of these two outstanding soldiers. Using a variety of sources, in particular eyewitness accounts from both sides, he reassesses the famous confrontations at Ciudad Rodrigo, Almeida, Busaco, the lines of Torres Vedras and the final bitterly fought battle at Fuentes de Ooro.He sheds new light on this pivotal episode in the Napoleonic Wars and his account corrects the one-sided view of the campaign that has survived to the present day. In particular he reconsiders the true cost of the scorched earth policy that was employed against the French


All the books are talking about the Invasion of Portugal in the Napoleonic Wars. They are published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd. 

Wellington shouldn't be introduced to the English readers of this blog and to the history lovers. But perhaps the Generals of Napoleon Bonaparte are less famous. Nevertheless these series are clearly written and very interesting to learn about the different invasions in Portugal. It is an excellent reading to know the people and even the spirit of the age. So it's very recommendable for royal history lovers. 


Source pictures: Book covers