Charles Glass, former chief Middle East correspondent for ABC News, uses his considerable research and storytelling skills to uncover the little-known story of SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents George and John Starr ... While They Fought Alone may read like a thriller, the enormous toll that the war took on George and John Starr is palpable. As we approach the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, this book is a timely reminder of what it took to defeat tyranny.
Glass, former chief Mideast correspondent for ABC News, tells the story of George and John Starr, British brothers of American descent who worked with partisans in France during WWII. George spearheaded a Resistance network in southwest France that overcame numerous obstacles to seriously hamper the German war effort, with achievements that included blowing up a gunpowder factory in Toulouse and rendering 900 sections of railroad inoperable for German trains ... Glass’s vividly written work adds an important chapter to the story of the Resistance.
Former ABC News chief Middle East correspondent Glass creates a fresh, detailed take on the patriotic legend of anti-Nazi insurgency by focusing on the diverse array of heroes and villains the brothers encountered once dispatched in 1942 to develop resistance cells for Britain’s Special Operations Executive ... The author ably captures the stubborn courage displayed by SOE agents and the French resisters who gathered around them, and he clearly portrays the clever functionality of Allied espionage and insurgency tactics despite the brutality of the Nazis and their collaborators. His determination to fully document the sprawling web of individual players, political factions, betrayals, and flashpoints that compose the French resistance narrative results in a history that casual readers may find dense but that World War II buffs will relish ... A well-rendered historical account emphasizing the moral complexities of unorthodox warfare.
