This is a historical novel but inspired by the real experiences of the author’s uncle. A totally absorbing tale that produces a compelling backdrop of one of histories great tragedies. All of the thrills and spills that every great fictional tale must have to keep the reader turning pages – Much Recommended.
NAME: Jan FILE: R2704 AUTHOR: Peter Haden PUBLISHER: Troubador/Matador BINDING: soft back PAGES: 407 PRICE: £9.99 GENRE: Fiction SUBJECT: Poland, Nazi Germany, 1918-1940, Free Polish Forces, espionage, German Jews, escape, evasion, smuggled, freedom, GESTAPO, Nazi persecution, Depression, Occupation ISBN: 978-1-788039-109 IMAGE: B2704.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/yagk5x8 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This is a historical novel but inspired by the real experiences of the author's uncle. A totally absorbing tale that produces a compelling backdrop of one of histories great tragedies. All of the thrills and spills that every great fictional tale must have to keep the reader turning pages – Much Recommended. This could have been the story of any one of hundreds of Poles and Czechs who survived the occupation of their countries and escaped to continue the fight against Nazi Germany. It is a story that might never have been, but the author persuaded his uncle to tell him how he escaped to Britain from Nazi Germany to join so many of his countrymen who were determined to keep fighting. Careful research, including help from Agnieszka Bolex, a professional Polish/Russian/ English translator and genealogy researcher living in Poland. In addition to translating for the author,she provided much valuable information about life in rural Poland and discovered the location of Jan's original home. This is one of those historical novels that provides a vivid picture of the background to the story that is important to understanding the tragedy of 1918-1940 for Europe as German ambition once more plunged Europe into war and destruction that produced after-effects still plaguing the region today. Histories of the period rarely provide this level of detail, concentrating on the authors' conclusions. Today it is difficult to understand that increasingly distant period. In the days before computers and CCTV, surprisingly large numbers of people managed to evade detention by the Nazi security service and in the period between the two World Wars, individuals managed to move around between countries to find work during the depressions that followed the end of the Great War. For many, of those who escaped the occupation of their countries by Germany, there were two escapes because they found their way to France and fought on there, escaping once more to Britain after the fall of France. These escapes were epics, each unique in the fine detail and often depending on the help of Germans. The author has produced a gripping thriller that deserves to be a great publishing success. There is an air of authenticity throughout the book. It is an adventure, a story of love and of several lives thrown into turmoil by events. Jan not only escapes, but then joins the espionage program, first going back to join Polish partisans and then reporting on the German build-up on the Western front. Capture and a second escape keep this tale boiling furiously. A great read and an inspirational story that is a worthy memorial for all those who fought in the darkest days of World War II. Sadly, so many of these stories are now lost to history as the survivors dwindle and it is always a joy to read a tale that will now survive in print.