I've read more about WWII than almost any other event in history, and this books takes a perspective and gives details that I've never come across or paused to consider. It's the perfect blend of history, narrative, and anecdote. To see WWII unfold from the perspective of the exiled government heads of state was profoundly insightful, and a welcome break from the battle fields. Highly recommended.

Author Lynne Olson has extensively researched and aptly titled Last Hope Island: Britain’s Brotherhood with Occupied Europe, and the Unsung Heroes Who Turned the Tide of War. I learned much that I did not know about World War II beyond the obvious military details—the active leaders who found refuge in Britain (Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, King Haakon VII of Norway, General Charles de Gaulle of France, etc.), the resistance fighters and ordinary citizens who rescued Allies, code-breakers scientists, spies, the BBC who brought hope to occupied Europe, etc. The War engulfed the entire population on both sides of the Atlantic and energized many to ultimately defeat the enemy. In order to portray the entire picture, Olson does not omit detailing the mistakes, miscalculations and political divisions occurring during the long fight.
I also learned about the Warsaw Uprising, the Hunger Winter that occurred near the War’s end in the Netherlands, and the post-war formation of the European Common Market. Last Hope Island made me grateful for the bond developed between Britain and the Continent, a bond ultimately successful (but not inevitable) in defeating Hitler.

Crucial stories of the rest of the allies in World War II. I'm fairly knowledgeable about the war from the US and British points of view, but this volume fills in with the leaders and unsung heroes of Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, France and many other countries. I certainly didn't know about the Polish pilots who fought to fly--and were responsible for the greatest percentage of German planes shot down--during the Battle of Britain. Highly readable and informative.

Thanks, Netgalley, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stories of real life heroism, in the midst of a Country determined to Survive Hitler s powerful war machine. For two long years., the only Nation that stood between Freedom, and a madman out to Conqueror the world; was that Emerald Scepter Isle, Great Britain, This is England at her very best, the heroism of individuals, and as a people united for a cause, the fight for Freedom, I highly recommend, Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee

A bad book about World War II-era Britain is a black swan. This book is a white swan. No matter how many white swans are seen, the non-existence of black swans are not proven. It would take a really impressive amount of ill humor and dedication to pettyfoggery to produce a bad book about World War II-era Britain, although probably one exists somewhere.

Still, this book has slightly odd shifts in tone. It's a little like two different books mashed together. The author, in her afterword, says this is a project she started, abandoned, and picked up again years later, which may account for the extremes of mood.

One of the books is a feel-good book about plucky little England defending civilization against the Huns. All of the ingredients that make this era so much fun to read about are present in this book: the wastrel sons of the aristocracy who turn into heroes when needed, the quarreling refugees and expatriates, the powerful people coming around to the correct point of view at the last possible moment, the normal people behaving normally when doing so is a heroic act, the romance, the sudden death, the twists of fortune, the hair's breadth escapes, and so on. This is probably the book that people who read popular history like to read (rightly or wrongly).

The second book overlaps with the first, but also lights out for new territory. It's an angrier book about how provincialism, bureaucratic turf-fighting, and general short-sightedness on part of the Allies, but most frequently the British, needlessly sent thousands of people to their gruesome deaths at the hand of the Nazis. This was especially appalling in the chapters when knuckle-headed and self-regarding amateurs, whose sole talent seemed to be in the field of back-office paper-shuffling, played at war. The result was long periods of pointless slaughter of the brave and trusting, while those responsible used the supposed need of secrecy as a convenient excuse to avoid discovery. This is probably the book that people who read popular history need to read (but may not like).

I received an free unfinished galley of the ebook for review. Thank you to <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/">Netgalley</a> and <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/246697/last-hope-island-by-lynne-olson/9780812997354/">Random House</a> for their generosity.

Also worth reading are the author's comments on Brexit <a href="http://www.lynneolson.com/brexit-last-hope-island/">here</a>.

Full of Revelations
Last Hope Island spotlights the occupied countries of Europe whose governments sought refuge in England. England welcomed them, but didn’t necessarily treat them or nations well.
England’s and France’s callousness toward their neighbors was astonishing. Churchill advocated Britain take the offensive against Germany, but not on German or, of course, English soil. Instead, it should take place in Norwegian waters to stop the shipment of Sweden’s iron ore to Germany. He claimed they would be fighting to protect the liberties of small countries. On April 8, 1940, the British sowed mines along the Norwegian coast without consulting the Norwegians. The next day, Germany attacked and occupied Norway.
When spies were sent to the various countries, the SOE or MI6 didn’t consult the governments in exile. If they had, the spies would have had a better chance of succeeding, and thousands of civilians wouldn’t have been executed.
Germans captured the SOE’s Dutch spies in the Netherlands and took over the intelligence network. Warning signs were there; the spies didn’t use their security codes when radioing London. But the British weren’t listening. They simply admonished the spies to use their codes, and kept sending more people and more arms which were immediately met by the Germans. Most of the spies were executed.
The Belgians insisted on remaining neutral, to the dismay of the British and French, who wanted to enter Belgium before the fighting broke out. King Leopold III suspected they wanted to keep the war off their soil. A French general admitted as much.
When the Germans broke through the Ardennes and the British planned to evacuate, they told neither the Belgians nor the French so they would keep the Germans at bay while the Brits fled., their British liaison asked if they would be allowed to participate in the evacuation. Brit Gen. Henry Pownall said, “We don’t care a bugger what happens to the Belgians.”
The Belgians mounted a determined, well-directed defense but, with their army near disintegration, informed the British and French they must surrender. The British and the French unleashed vicious verbal attacks on the king in the press, making him and the Belgians the scapegoats for France’s defeat and all their troubles instead of acknowledging their own ineptitude and stupidity.
Poland broke the Enigma code. Polish pilots were the best in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. And Poland was abandoned to the Soviets. Czechoslovakia didn’t fare any better.
It was a strange kind of hope the governments-in-exile found in England.

I have been a big fan of Lynne Olson’s books for a long time and was delighted to receive a review copy of her latest. Subtitled, “Britain’s Brotherhood with Occupied Europe and the Unsung Heroes who Turned the Tide of War,” this is a very relevant read at the moment when the idea of a United Europe after WWII seems to be suffering various cracks and fissures. Indeed, as Olson points out, Britain has spent much of its history trying to stay apart from Europe. However, in June 1940, London – to its shock – found itself the de facto capital of Europe, as King George VI and Winston Churchill welcomed kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers, fleeing occupied Europe.

London became a haven from those from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg, and as Winston Churchill embraced General Charles de Gaulle as the exiled leader of France. With British resistance a beacon of hope, the BBC (recently derided by the new President of the United States) became furtively listened to across the whole of occupied Europe, as the source of trusted news and a source of information to European resistance.

The beginning of this book tells the story of how those exiled leaders arrived in London. Many were unwilling to leave their countries, but, faced with no alternative, found themselves arriving on English shores to escape capture by the Germans. Among them was King Haakon VII of Norway, who Hitler had demanded be tracked down and killed. In a typically British anecdote, he demanded to know of King George, exactly what security measures had been put in place to protect the royal family and George assured him airily that he had an alarm buzzer which would be pressed to call for help. Pushed to put this into action, King George reluctantly activated the buzzer and, predictably, nothing happened… While George found the whole episode humorous, King Haakon demanded that action be taken.

This, then, is the story of how England welcomed exiled leaders to its shores; along with troops from Europe and also many distinguished scientists, engineers and nuclear physicists. Charles Henry George Howard, also known as Lord Suffolk, was personally responsible for spiriting away not only two eminent nuclear physicists from occupied Europe, but also the ‘heavy water’ used in the nuclear process and essential – not only for research purposes – but also to keep this incredibly important material out of German hands. It is also the story of how European troops re-grouped to fight for the Allies; including the brave Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain.

This is not only a positive account of wartime London though; however exciting and vibrant the city had become, with an influx of new people. It highlights how the Germans looked up to the British secret service, which, in fact, was underfinanced, understaffed and infiltrated by enemy agents, including Kim Philby. Of factions, feuds, infighting, the shock of exile, of being treated as ‘poor relations’ and of the rivalry between the SOE and M16. Lynne Olson takes us through the war and on to the planned liberation of Europe, how collaborators were dealt with and the Soviet threat. It also highlights Britain’s relationship with Europe; which remains tempestuous and difficult. This is an excellent, informative and extremely interesting read. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

After reading and enjoying Lynne Olson's Citizens of London I was excited to read her new history set in the same time period. Olson's premise is that Britain was the last place standing from Hitler's onslaught and that's where numerous Europeans escaped to as their countries were taken over in WW II. Of course this refuge was also under attack but at least it was never actually occupied by the Nazis. The allies (and their leaders) that she documents the most were Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium and France. Although I am an avid reader of WW II history I learned a lot about some lesser known stories as well as some that I was a little more aware of.
One of the takeaways from this book is that even great men are not morally great all the time. The more I have read about Churchill and Roosevelt the more I am often saddened by some of the choices they made to support, and more often, to not support various allies. One of Olson's themes is that Britain has always been standoffish about Europe and you see this as WW II begins and also as it ends even as they face their loss of world power. She also notes that the Brexit vote just reinforces a long standing feeling of the British people.
When you read history you often ask yourself how you would have acted if you had lived then. Of course we have the advantage of hindsight so it is usually an exercise in wishful thinking rather than anything we can actually answer. As you read this book you can understand why so many people who survived WW II looked back on those days as the highlight of their lives as the author brings their stories alive.