Did you see the recent movie "Dunkirk" and wonder what led up to this incredible story of survival? Joshua Levine served as the historian/adviser to director Christopher Nolan for the filming of the project. This book draws on his previous book "Forgotten Voices of Dunkirk" and adds historical context.
The book sets the scene starting with the declaration of war in September, 1939. The British Expeditionary Force (the BEF) was sent to help the French hold the line against Hitler's troops. For many months, not much happened and the military presence largely lost focus and discipline. When the German Blitzkrieg finally began in mid-May, the French, Belgian, and British forces found themselves out-maneuvered. Poor communications contributed to the chaos and confusion. The British held off the advancing German troops, but gradually fell back to the area around the Channel ports, gathering at Dunkirk. If the BEF had been trapped and captured there, it is very likely that Britain would have had to make terms with Germany, drastically altering the course of World War II.
Levine's book weaves together the military story and intimate details from survivors. It takes a bit to get going, just like the campaign it describes, but it does an excellent job of explaining the crucial role that Dunkirk played both in the war effort and in maintaining morale at home in Britain. There is a map and some photos of the movie and the actual events.
Recommended for readers interested in World War II.

Dunkirk was a massively successful failure in WWII. I had never learned about this story in history class so knew absolutely nothing coming in, other than this took place in the early parts of WWII. The British and French troops kept getting pushed back and back by the Germans until they wound up on the beaches of Dunkirk, France having to be evacuated across the channel. Ships came from everywhere, both civilian and navy, to evacuate these troops. Many died, but many many more were rescued. This book tells the story of what lead up to Dunkirk and how this rescue took place.


This book is also about the new movie Christopher Nolan is making on the events at Dunkirk. There's both an interview with Nolan at the start and a chapter at the end of the book about the making of the movie. Having no knowledge about Dunkirk, I found the Nolan interview at the start of the book oddly placed. I was worried it was going to spoil something further in the book and couldn't appreciate their interest in the story because I knew nothing about it yet. However, the notes at the end of the book on the film making were quite interesting. The fact that they filmed on the Dunkirk beach should make this even more authentic.


In the telling of what happened at Dunkirk, there were many eye witness accounts stitching together Levine's story. These likely come from his other book Forgotten Voices of Dunkirk (I can't help but wonder if the book is exactly the same, but with chapters added on the movie). These accounts were very interesting, but overall they were all quite short, which lead to some major pacing issues in this book. The history of Dunkirk isn't started until about page 60. Then the book is on a roller coaster from engaging and interesting to boring. At times I wondered if I should give up, but I stuck through to the end. It does get better once the troops are on the beach and the rescue attempt is underway.


I'm not a huge history buff (but do enjoy well tell stories of historical events) and feel that most parts of this book are geared towards someone of a more historical buff nature. If you can get past the first 100 pages or so, you'll learn a lot about this event and the movie that will represent it.

This is a great accompaniment to the film and as a story it is very interesting and engaging as a narrative. The three strands of air, sea and land mix very nicely. Unlike the film, you also get some contextual information. However, the book is meant to accompany the film and therefore it is not to the level of detail and minutiae that someone might require for a standard history of the Dunkirk Evacuation.

Really enjoyed the personnel aspects of the book, but was thoroughly uninterested in the making of portions.

got up to page 148

3.5*

Some very interesting things in this, but also some parts are just a little too long-winded. Some of it felt a little too informal for a history book about an event that involved thousands of deaths.

I don't know what inspired me to pick this audiobook up.

Okay, well, maybe I do know a little. I really like the narrator Jonathan Keeble. But the topic is not one that I know much of or really have a ton of interest in.

But this is at once a modern perspective on a pivotal moment in history and a contemporary account of a harrowing couple of weeks during the worst period of human history. And something that disparate really shouldn't work. But somehow it does. I found myself really enjoying this read, for both perspectives and the humorous anecdotes that made the story feel present and real.

An excellent introduction to the events leading up to the evacuation of the BEF, and to some extent the politics behind it. as well as a discussion of the process of bringing the experience to a cinema audience. Anyone whose interest was sparked by the film or by veterans' memories will enjoy this book.