I picked up this book in a charity shop drawn by the subject rather than its link to the recent film, which I haven't seen. As an insight into the experiences of some of the participants and some background to the general muddling through that, despite everything, succeeded in saving a large number of the soldiers and enabling the fight against Hitler's Germany to continue, it is interesting. However I did find the interview with the director at the start and the continual references to the film and director (the author was historical advisor on the film) rather distracting and unnecessary and seemed a bit of a 'puff' for the film.

There was also a chapter at the end about the film and I think all the film 'stuff' could have been relegated there so that it could be ignored if the reader wished. I didn't find it that interesting although I have in the past read 'Making of' books about various films and TV programmes. I also found it odd that the photograph section was continually switching between photos of the real events and colour pictures from the film. So with all that in mind I would rate this at 3 stars. ( )

This book spends a lot of time talking about the movie and connecting the movie with the event. Ah, not my kind of book. ( )

While at work I heard two people discussing the movie and ripping on it because of how historically inaccurate it was. They were talking about bad leaders and quick to surrender French and other typical armchair General stuff. If they had read this book, they probably would change their tune.

The entire situation was a giant clusterfck. Communications were sporadic if even available. Panic was at a high. The bravery of the BEF and French soldiers that held back the German advance can not be overlooked.
The book uses many first hand accounts of what was going on during the two weeks or so leading up to and during the evacuation which brings a nice personal touch instead of just listing large numbers. Also gives a sense of frustration that many of the soldiers must have felt when you read about someone who has lived through a week of pure hell only to have their ship bombed a mile off the coast.

I haven't seen the movie so I can't compare the two of them.

( )

I hadn't seen the movie ('heard it bombed) but I didn't at all mind the descriptions of the filming challenges. There are several important aspects to cover here, and as a result there's redundancy and a non-chronological flow to this book. The event is less that 10 days and the story (eg, the beach over the 10 days, the small boats over the 10 days, the RAF over the ten days, etc.) sometimes impedes the narrative story line. The story itself saves the day. ( )

We saw the movie, and as I've always carried a soft spot for this moment in history — it was a time that my grandfather spoke of as something quite special to him — I then felt like I needed even more information about this time. Certainly it came right on the heels of a series of disastrous defeats for the Allied forces (British, French, Belgians) in France, but when all was said and done, the British were most of the mindset that they had pulled together and created a huge success, an incredible evacuation of hundreds of thousands of troops trapped on a beach almost within sight of the British coast. Even the troops were surprised when the British population saw them as heroes, instead of failures. There was a hope that renewed the spirit of the nation.
The book supplied so much of the history and facts behind what I thought was an excellent example of film as a piece of art. This isn't to say that I won't be reading more on this time period. The power of hope in England at this time feels like something I would like to experience more of in my present orange-Cheetos-funk. ( )