Book Review -- Lost in Shangri-La

Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hangover rating: 3
Source:  Library copy
Genre:  Non-fiction; WWII
Objectionable material: None

 

 

 

Add this to one of the MANY survivor tales of WWII. 

I can't get enough of WWII fiction and non-fiction.

 

A harrowing tale of 3 lone plane crash survivors in the jungles of New Guinea and their quest for survival.

The first part and the last part of the book were engrossing...nail biting almost. The middle was a drudgery.

That being said -- another testament to the greatest generation of Americans. Who are now all gone.

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Book Review -- Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Source:  Nook (#1 reason I hate my Nook -- I can't pass this off to someone and say, "READ IT!")

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction

Objectionable material:  Graphic language and torture

Espionage. Covert military maneuvers. Torture. Nazi resistance. And a friendship that is truly gift.

There is little more to say than Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein, has been my favorite book to read this year (so far!).

I’m a junkie for WWII fiction/non-fiction – and this story about Maddie (a transport pilot for the RAF) and her friend, “Verity,” a SOE (a British Special Operations Executive) operative, was unlike anything I’ve read recently.

As told from the perspective of “Verity” after she’s been captured by the Gestapo in occupied France, she tells us about her capture, her suffering, her background and training. But she also tells us about Maddie – and those with whom she trained in Britain.

It is fretful from the first page to the last. I even audibly GASPED during “Verity’s” graphic narrative.

Be patient in the beginning. It’s not an easy book to read, and the 1st person/3rd person narration is a bit tricky – but it is well worth it.

Wow.

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