In between watching baseball, hockey playoff games and basketball playoff games, I've had the chance to do a lot of reading. This book was one where I received the request before its publication in March, but due to various setbacks, I did not get to it until a couple days ago. The timing was good as today, May 10, marks the 86th anniversary of this escape. Here is my review.
Title/Author:
“Escape From
Holland: The Dash for the Last British Boat Out of Holland in May 1940. A Thrilling True Story of Football, Ballet,
Journalism and War” by Chris Hunt
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
The old saying that
sometimes real life is more exciting or dangerous than fiction was certainly the
case for this story. Many people from
various walks of life living in Holland were drawn together by the threat of
war. Their escape from the German invasion
of the Netherlands in 1940 and eventual safe return to their native Britain is
told in this very good book by Chris Hunt.
Because I will
review sports books for this site, Mr. Hunt thought I might be interested in
reviewing this book because one of the main celebrities who made this daring escape,
Billy Marsden, was a well-known football player and manager in England. There isn’t a lot of football mentioned in
the book, except for two significant passages.
One is how Marsden’s playing career came to an end due to injury. He was very thankful for the German medical
personnel who helped him recover – something he felt was ironic given that it
was now Germany who was pulling Europe into war.
The other section
of the book where football was the main topic was a recreational game between
native Dutch men working at the hotel where English refugees were staying and a
group of the English refugees. These players
were mainly from the Sadler’s Wells Ballet Company. The dancers were putting on shows in Holland
when the invasion started and the hotel was where they and other refugees were awaiting
the boats that would take them out of the country. I thought that was great that for at least a
short period of time, there was some recreation that would take minds off of
the desperate situation, whether as a player or as a spectator.
Most of the
book is a very good portrayal of footballers (Marsden is the most prominent,
but not the only one profiled here), dancers and journalists who were in Holland
for one reason or another. Their escape
from the bombing and invasion is just as dramatic as any wartime movie produced
in Hollywood. The details Mr. Hunt writes
about each person, each narrow escape and each brief pause of relief make for
great reading. While it took me a little longer to read this book than usual
for a review request, it is a book that should be consumed carefully as no
detail mentioned is unimportant to the story.
This might be
better classified as a war or military book than a sports book, but that doesn’t
really matter. What does matter is that
this is a gripping look at a daring escape by people of various walks of life
for who were brought together for a dangerous expedition that ended with a
well-deserved trip home.
I wish to thank
the author and Mile Away Publishing for providing a copy of the book via
NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
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