Selected Product:
| The Sledge Patrol: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Victory
Paperback
Edition: 1st
Author: David Howarth
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Release Date: 2008-06-25
ISBN-10: 1599213222
ISBN-13: 9781599213224
List Price: $16.95
Average Customer Rating:
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Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Gripping true tale how of men who patrolled by dogsleds a stark 500-mile stretch of Greenland fought capture or death by outwitting and outlasting the Nazis.
Great story, good narration, shame about the cultural bias
| Customer Rating: | The story itself is interesting and exciting, and I enjoyed the accompanying insights into life and travel in the arctic. The author narrates well, but almost manages to spoil it with an intolerably smug, condescending attitude towards the "eskimos", which he probably mistakes for a kind of colonial "affection for the natives". He describes them as absurdly naïve, refers to them repeatedly as "somebody's eskimos" as if they are servants of a master race, and paints an image of Danes "teaching them Christianity" and introducing modernity to them while simultaneously protecting them from it as if coddling a baby. He paints careful character portraits of the Danish, Norwegian and German characters, while leaving the native Greenlanders faceless, spineless and mostly nameless. His deference to their expertise in the arctic nature does little to compensate for this.
A Christian religious slant appears intermittently, which appears to come from the author rather than any of the characters or the natives "whose whole morality was in the Sermon on the Mount". Characters are described approvingly as religious or being brought back to God by the beauty of the arctic. When the German commander was regaining his sense and began to think in a balanced way again, "he was able to pray". This may go over well with a devoutly religious reader; to the rest of us it seems silly and contrived, foreign to the subject matter.
I can recommend the book, but not unreservedly. If you can stomach the cultural bias, it makes a good read. |
Extreme survival
| Customer Rating: | | A truly inspiring story of survival against all odds - the elements and a determined human foe. An incredible story of irregular warfare in the extreme. An adventure that is beyond comprehension and seems too incredible for belief. It is difficult to read the story and not feel the chill and the terror in your own bones. A phenomenal story of heroism and survival against all odds. |
Bravery and Endurance in WWII
| Customer Rating: | | This is a story of bravery and endurance during World War II. I liked David Howarth's account of the Sledge Patrol and its mission to guard the coast of Greenland. Howarth did his research and what the reader gets is a down to earth factual description of the hardships the patrol faced while experiencing severe weather conditions. The sledge patrol alone in a vast wilderness of ice and snow had to survive on their own. This story is a tribute to them. It was interesting to see how the situation created enemies amongst those who might otherwise be friends. The lack of hostility in the Inuit demonstrated the great importance of culture. Howarth is a great author and this book is worth reading. |
Another side to the Big One
| Customer Rating: | | "The Sledge Patrol" is set in eastern Greenland during World War 2. Yes, that conflict even extended to the remote Danish colony. Greenland was strategic because weather patterns for Western Europe and surrounding waters form there. This was of obvious and vital interest to the American, British and German navies. Early in the War, the Danish colonial weather stations had broadcast reports "in the clear". Anyone, including the Germans could pick them up. Two critical events take place: Eske Brun, the Danish colonial head decides he had the power to resist German interest in his territory- and formed the Greenland Army with a force of 9 men. Then the Danish weather reports are sent in cipher so that the German navy can no longer eavesdrop. The Germans land a force to establish their own weather station. This the background to SP. What follows is almost as much a tale of personal honor and battling/surviving the Arctic elements than of military action. There is much dashing to and fro on sledges (dog sleds) to the point where this reader lost track of who was going where. The sides vie to avoid each other more than to engage in combat. And since there is minimal fighting and hence no real "bad guys", I found myself losing track of who was on which side. In fact, most of the men on both sides appear as nice, solid guys. The ending is almost academic. Readers will receive an excellent sense of the fierce and beautiful Greenland geography and Eskimo tradition. Mr.Howarth is an excellent writer and interest in his books appears to be going through a well-deserved revival. But one has to be cautious in recommending SP. It is simply too hard to keep track of the action. Furthermore, the maps are inadequate, adding to the confusion. A positive note: SP is well laid out in an eye pleasing typeface and paper stock. So many of us take such for granted but a tip of the hat to an anonymous graphics person is in order. Cautiously, I'm giving out 4 stars, but 3 may be more appropriate due to my frustrations with the maps. It really would have helped to know where these guys were rather than "somewhere in eastern Greenland". |
Quiet Heroism
| Customer Rating: | | Proving that truth is stranger than fiction, Sledge Patrol tells the story of ordinary men accomplishing unbelievable feats under extreme physical conditions and bizarre political circumstances during WWII. Living year-round in the Arctic desolation of eastern Greenland, nine men surreptitiously radioed crucial weather data to the Allies and patrolled the extensive coastline for a Nazi landing. When the Germans arrive, the conflict begins. The book is exciting and inspiring, with moments that are both touching and funny. One of the highlights of the book is how the unarmed and unaggressive band of Danes, Norwegians and Eskimos can outlast and outdistance the better provisioned Germans who aren't prepared for life, let alone combat, in the frozen north. Now reissued, Sledge Patrol was originally published in 1957. At that time, the author was able to get to know the parties involved, both Allied and German, adding dimension to the characters and realism to the story. I loved this book! |
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