Good Reads - Fiction

World War II Fiction

F/AARON
Aaron, David - Crossing by Night - 1993, 363p.
A spy tale that tells the story of a heroine who is so intriguing that Ian Fleming used her as a model for one of his characters. It's the beginning of World War II, and American Elizabeth Pack is selected by the British Secret Service to steal the German coding machine Enigma, needed desperately by the Allies. Follow Elizabeth on her missions made even more suspenseful because it is a true story.

F/ALLINGTON
Allington, Maynard - The Fox in the Field - 1994, 214p.
Based on real events, this is the story of four people linked by a German operation known as "China Blue." It is the story of an Indian nationalist who raised an army in an attempt to gain India's independence; an Anglo-Indian woman who became an activist for Indian independence; a German intelligence officer; and a gambler and gun-runner who is blackmailed into becoming a spy for the British. A riveting tale of espionage and suspense.

F/DARRELL
Darrell, Elizabeth - Concerto - 1993, 499p.
In 1941 Hong Kong an Australian doctor, a gifted pianist and a troublemaker find each other in the small island society. All too soon their lives are changed by the invasion of the Japanese as they fight to survive the war. This novel is reminiscent of those wonderful old war movies such Mrs. Miniver and White Cliffs of Dover.

F/DEIGHTON
Deighton, Len - City of Gold - 1992, 375p.
In 1942 Cairo, the city of gold, the British await Rommel's attack. Capt. Bert Cutler has been brought in to find the spy leaking information to the Germans, so the Allies will have any kind of chance to defend themselves. With a cast of fascinating characters and several plot lines, the story moves very quickly to the climax in the desert as Rommel attacks an armored caravan. Similar in feel to Casablanca, this is one of Deighton's best.

F/GIFFORD
Gifford, Thomas - Praetorian - 1993, 495p.
The story revolves around three characters: Max Hood who rode with Lawrence of Arabia; American correspondent Rodger Godwin; and British screen star Priscilla DewBrittain whom they both love. Churchill assigns a raid, code-named Praetorian, that will send a team to assassinate Rommel. When the plan is sabotaged, Godwin is obsessed with finding and destroying the traitor.

F/HIGGINS
Higgins, Jack - Thunder Point - 1993, 320p.
In 1945 Martin Bormann carries a briefcase containing documents that will place the Duke of Windsor on the throne after the Nazis invade England. Move ahead to 1992 and Sean Dillon from Higgins' Eye of the Storm returns to help locate the briefcase in a sunken submarine that has been discovered by a diver. Someone else besides Dillon is searching, too. Will the papers in the briefcase implicate higher ups in the British government as Nazi sympathizers?

F/ILES
Iles, Greg - Spandau Phoenix - 1993, 536p.
Beginning with the flight and capture of Rudolf Hess in England in 1941, and his subsequent imprisonment in Spandau prison in Berlin, the story then jumps forward to 1987 and his death and the razing of Spandau. Amidst the ruins of the prison, a diary written by Hess is found which reveals why Hess fled to London as well as Hitler's ultimate plan. This discovery starts a global race that moves from Germany to South Africa, and from England to Israel in an effort to end the conspiracy.

F/LEFFLAND
Leffland, Ella - The Knight, Death and the Devil - 1990, 718p.
A carefully researched fictional biography of Hitler's right hand man, Hermann Goring, one of the most feared men of World War II. Raised in a castle by his mother and her lover, Goring enjoyed an ideal childhood. He grew up to become a flying ace in World War I and was later adored by Germans due to his playboy reputation. Leffland learned German so she could study documents firsthand in addition to interviewing many witnesses.

F/MCCORMICK
McCormick, John - The Right Kind of War - 1992, 333p.
Fight alongside the 4th Raider Battalion, the elite Marine Raiders, in the Pacific as they attempt to outmaneuver the Japanese and live another day. Also enjoy the funny situations that three privates create as war surrounds them. A great blend of suspense, action and humor.

F/MANN
Mann, Jessica - Telling Only Lies - 1992, 246p.
When journalist Anne Medlicott appears on a TV talk show, she inadvertently makes a remark about a supposed Nazi sympathizer that could be construed as slanderous. As she searches for the truth by writing a biography, a complex tale evolves beginning with the 1936 Olympics and the betrayal and tragedy that ensue. An effective mystery written as historical fiction.

F/MATTHEWS
Matthews, Greg - The Wisdom of Stones - 1994, 467p.
The story of a young Englishman, Clive Bagnall, who goes to Australia to take possession of an inherited cattle ranch. The inheritance turns out to be much less than he hoped, but with the help of the local tough guy, Doug Farrands, and cousin Val, they try to make a go of it until the war interferes. There will be frightening adventures for Clive and Doug at the island prison camp Dombi, and an exciting escape.

F/NEBENZAL
Nebenzal, Harold - Cafe Berlin - 1992, 281p.
Written by the screenwriter of Bob Fosse's "Cabaret," this is a detailed account of the Kaukasus Klub in the late 1930's and its Jewish owner, Daniel Saporta, who claims to be a Spaniard. In rich detail Saporta tells of the decadence and colorful characters who inhabit this world. But as the 1940's arrive and there is no more high life, he must go into hiding and make decisions about risking others' lives to save his own.

F/ONDAATJE
Ondaatje, Michael - The English Patient - 1992, 302p.
At the end of World War II in an Italian villa serving as a hospital, only four people remain. The villa houses a Canadian nurse, Hana, and her last patient, an unknown Englishman who has survived a plane crash. Also living there is a thief used by the Allies in intelligence and an Indian who was a soldier for the British specializing in bomb disposal. Slowly their individual stories begin to seep out carrying the reader through the English countryside, London during the Blitz and the hospitals of Italy.

F/ROSENBAUM
Rosenbaum, Ray - Falcons - 1993, 404p.
Two young Air Force flyers, one a spoiled senator's son and the other a determined pilot, are stationed in Hawaii and manage to survive Pearl Harbor. In spite of their hatred of each other, their paths cross later in the war as they become part of a team of pilots who must learn a dangerous new technique of flying to bomb the oil refineries in Ploesti. However, when they arrive at their target they realize that the Germans are not surprised.

F/TAYLOR
Taylor, Theodore - To Kill the Leopard - 1993, 297p.
A submarine story told from several viewpoints: aboard a Nazi U-boat, on an American freighter with merchant mariner Sully Jordan, and in France with the Resistance. After Jordan has had two tankers sunk from under him and nearly dies of exposure in a lifeboat, he returns as captain of a Navy Q-boat, a ship used to attract submarines. An engrossing and detailed account of sea battles.

F/TILLMAN
Tillman, Barrett - Dauntless - 1992, 412p.
Considered a turning point in the war, the Battle of Midway in 1942 was one of the most important in the Pacific. Tillman shows how the development of the SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber was instrumental in this battle. Main character Ensign Phil "Buck" Rogers and others in the cast, some fictional and some real, tell the story of how they turned back the Japanese and possibly changed the course of history.

F/WAKEFIELD
Wakefield, Tom - War Paint - 1993, 234p.
Told from three viewpoints, this is a reminiscence about when Kay Roper came to the small English village of Padmore to teach in a girls' secondary school during the war years of the early 1940's. To the women of Padmore she brings sexual revolution, to the girls self-respect, but for herself—who knows? Not until years later will the village inhabitants know more. Chosen as one of the Books of the Year by London's "Daily Telegraph," this is yet another side of the effects of war.

F/WHITNELL
Whitnell, Barbara - Charmed Circle - 1992, 343p.
Rachel Bond spends summers with her grandparents in a small English village. She becomes enamored with the four Rossiter children next door who appear to have it all—looks, money, happiness and strong family ties. Only after she becomes enmeshed in their family does Rachel uncover the secrets they have. Set in England during the war, this is a story that will especially appeal to Maeve Binchy and Mary Wesley fans.

Prepared by Lynn McCullagh, August 1995