I picked up THE TWILIGHT OF COURAGE as I was slightly familiar with the authors, Bodie and Brock Thoene, both historians and both extremely talented as writers. The book details the start of the Second World War from the fall of Warsaw, Poland in 1939 to the extraordinary exodus at Dunkirk, France, when hundreds of English boats of all types crossed the Channel continuously to rescue both English (the BEF – British Expeditionary Force) and French Military. When one reads of the amazing Blitzkrieg as executed by the German Military (Wehrmacht), one wonders how Germany really lost the war. In the space of 30 days in 1940, the German army invaded and conquered Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Northern France continually to Paris.
Much credit is given to the Panzer Division, partially under control of Rommel who swept across the Ardennes from Germany to France, and to the aged French Generals in command who could not believe that the Maginot Line could not stop these tanks. This was an unbelievable feat that was not possible.
The book is extremely well written; very easy to read; and very difficult to put down. When you reach the portion of the book that describes the rescue of the soldiers, and learn of the unstoppable English sailors as they made run after run across the Channel while being bombed and strafed by German pilots, you know WHY the Allies with the aid of America won the War. This rescue took 9 days to complete, but has earned its place in history as the greatest rescue operation in history. For me, this was almost new information; I’d studied the history of World War II in school, but the early portion of this War was almost omitted. I’m very happy I read the book, despite its size, which almost appears daunting.
On a much lighter note are the books written by Mary Higgins Clark; I’d succumbed to one of them as I’d seen earlier how very popular her books are. Entitled I’LL WALK ALONE, which is a title that does not appear in the story, ( I searched), the book details the disappearance of a child and the mother who attempts to render heaven and earth to find. The book ends with the reappearance of the young boy after a loss of two years and the startling denouement of the characters in the plot. I’d not read Mary Higgins Clark earlier; I found her as an author one who writes almost as a reporter; in short, easy to read sentences. Interesting author; one I may try again as very light reading.
Just a quickie: we have an unbelievable array of books for purchase at our Library, both hard cover and soft cover, all types of fiction and even nonfiction. Come see us before you take your trip! And we welcome all you visitors to our Library, we may be small but we have a lot of good books and DVDs! Just takes a Library card!
And remember: Our Library is open on Monday & Tuesday from 9-1 & 2-6; on Wednesday, we open at 1:00 p.m. till 6:00 p.m.; Thursday from 12:00 Noon till 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m.
“When an old person dies, a Library burns down”
Karin Gillespie
Everyone Loves a Library!
Please help us to make a new library in Port O’Connor no longer a dream, but a reality! Join Friends of Port O’Connor Library in this important project. Thanks!
Friends of Port O’Connor Library
PO Box 424, Port O’Connor, TX 77982
