Dunkirk: from Disaster to Deliverance - - Hardcover

McKay, Sinclair

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781312931 ISBN 13: 9781781312933

Publisher: Aurum, 2014

Synopsis

When Churchill made one of the most inspiring speeches of the 20th century - 'we will fight them on the beaches' some thought that it was his way of preparing the public for the fall of France. Others heard it as a direct appeal to the Americans. The Prime Minister was speaking in the Commons in June 4 1940, giving thanks for the miracle of deliverance, the harrowing and breathless evacuation of over 338,000 troops - British and French and Belgian - from the beaches and harbour at Dunkirk in the teeth of nightmarish German onslaught. Churchill was determined it shouldn t be labelled a victory. He was already too late. Hours later, broadcaster JB Priestley was to call it an absurd English epic . 

The last of the boatloads had returned to Dover in the small hours of June 4th. And the mythologizing had already begun from euphoric American journalists to the thousands of women who lined up on railway platforms, crowding round exhausted soldiers as if they were movie stars. But was Churchill privately convinced that the Germans were about to successfully invade England?

Those days of Dunkirk, and the spirit, and the image of the indefatigable little ships, are still invoked now whenever the nation finds itself in any kind of crisis. But there is a wider story too that involves a very large number of civilians - from nurses to racing enthusiasts, trades union leaders to dance hall managers, novelists to seaside café owners.

And even wider yet, a story that starts in September 1939: of young civilian men being trained for a war that was already 25 years out of date; and the increasing suspense and occasional surrealism - of the Phoney War. The absurd epic of Dunkirk told here through fresh interviews with veterans, plus unseen letters and archival material is the story of how an old-fashioned island was brutally forced into the modernity of World War Two.

About this title

Review

‘McKay’s novel way of analysing the crisis makes for interesting reading. This is a worthy addition to the Dunkirk literature. Indeed, McKay’s approach may well play an influential role in how more conventional history books are written in future.’

(Hugh Sebag-Montefiore Daily Telegraph, 4 Stars)

'McKay has done an excellent job of educating. A thoroughly enjoyable, yet exhausting and tragic, read. Sitting on the beach will never be the same again.’

(History of War Magazine, 5*****)

‘Sinclair McKay has uncovered the spirit of the indefatigable little ships. A powerful story of a mass mood, human nature and, above all showing how the expression “Dunkirk spirit” came into the English language.’

(This England)

‘Enthralling book brings home the importance of Dunkirk to the British people.’

(Good Book Guide)

‘Moving testimonies of the last survivors.’

(Choice Magazine)

‘Features veteran interviews and letters, which bring the Dunkirk landings alive.’

(Britain Magazine)

About the Author

SINCLAIR MCKAY is the bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bletchley Park and The Secret Listeners. He lives in London.

 

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Aurum
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1781312931
• ISBN 13: 9781781312933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352