Stranded on the beach with the Nazis closing in, the British army managed one of the most unlikely maneuvers in modern military history
In May of 1940, the remnants of the French and British armies, broken by Hitler’s blitzkrieg, retreated to Dunkirk. Hemmed in by overwhelming Nazi strength, the 338,000 men who gathered on that beach were all that stood between Hitler and Western Europe. Crush … and Western Europe. Crush them, and the path to Paris and London was clear. And so, unable to retreat any farther, the Allied soldiers set up defense positions and prayed for deliverance.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered an evacuation on May 26th, expecting to save no more than a handful of his men. But Britain would not let its soldiers down. Hundreds of fishing boats, pleasure yachts, and commercial vessels streamed into the Channel to back up the Royal Navy, and in a week nearly the entire army was ferried safely back to England. Assembled from interviews with hundreds of survivors who witnessed the evacuation, The Miracle of Dunkirk is a striking history of a week when the fate of Britain hung in the balance.
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Walter Lord is a great writer. I happily devour any book he has written. They are beautifully researched and so informative..
Great read on history of Dunkirk.
Outstanding. Informative. Engaging. Strong presentation.
A great deal of official and personal info on the escape from Dunkirk and the events leading up to it..
Excellent recounting of what transpired at Dunkirk….. on the beach, in England, and in France. A must read before watching the most recent movie.
Walter Lord captures the miracle of Dunkirk in its essence, how the decisions made there saved the British Army and will to continue fighting. The successful evacuation made possible England’s ability to stay in the war, and eventually share in the triumph over Germany. Without Dunkirk, and the saving of the British Army, the English would not …
To me, made the horrors of war more visible thru reading than with TV or movie. also made more tangible the effort and gallantry that went into the rescue.
Boring
Full of historical information. Interesting but a little hard to read at times
Detailed, fact-filled account. Well worth a read before watching the movie.
Excellent read, scary to see how fragile the world was and how close came to defeat when the war was in its earliest stage. Thank God for Churchill.
I lived through the period in England. Of course we did not know the true facts just the bare minimum. This book tells it as it was, the chaos, brutality and valor. A great read
Extremely interesting
Gripping, fascinating … brings the people in this story to life with compelling descriptions of their personalities and appearance.
Excellent book about Dunkirk, written when most of the participants were still alive, so has a lot of first-person accounts. FAR better than the movie.
I started this book excited to learn the history. It was a disappointment. It was laborious and difficult to keep the storyline cruising. I became confused with characters and their geographic positioning. So many military men and decisions.
While I note many people enjoyed the book—-it was even made into a academy nominated movie (which was even …
Originally read this book in college… Any Walter Lord is worth revisiting and this book is no exception… It’s as exciting as it was the first time I read it… New readers will be drawn into the story, caught up in the action, and inspired by the bravery and humanity of the characters… Lord always provides a rich picture of History in all of …
Walter Lord provides the standard here for the Miracle at Dunkirk as with Day of Infamy for Pearl Harbor. This work establishes a high standard for the events leading up to, during and after the evacuation in a very readable and entertaining book. He does not go overboard with detail but offers an excellent mix of strategy and tactics to inform …
I looked forward to reading this book but this is one case of the movie being much better which is usually unheard of.
Incredible story – truth really is stranger than fiction! Very inspirational.