Author:Alex Kershaw
A cold winter morning in the Ardennes Forest, 1944, and Hitler launches his last and most audacious attack on the unprepared Allies. Standing between the German forces and the desperately regrouping Allies were just eighteen young Americans, hidden in fox holes.
In a fierce day-long battle, this small band of soldiers repulsed the German attack three times, inflicting severe casualties and defending a strategically vital hill despite being vastly outnumbered. They surrendered only when they ran out of ammunition. But then the real battle for survival began ...
Alex Kershaw's brilliant account draws on the words of the decorated men who fought this heroic action, bringing vividly to life their struggle on the battlefield and later off it - as POWs.
Kershaw digs deep into the folk memories of the young men who survived virtually impossible odds, blending their accounts seamlessly into the harrowing narrative of battle. His journalistic approach is brilliantly complemented by his intimate, sharp, plain prose
—— Herald‘Gripping … The hour-by-hour account is packed with fascinating and often poignant vignettes'
—— Daily Express, 5 starsKershaw writes well and makes sense of the battle ... a clear and straightforward military view.
—— Literary ReviewShows us the battle at its grittiest and bloodiest, but through it all manages to maintain a grip on the bigger picture.
—— ScotsmanSo where does this leave Robert Kershaw’s 24 Hours at Waterloo? Very simply, in a class of its own ... brings the events to life with judiciously chosen first-hand accounts ... there could be no better companion to the battlefield than Kershaw’s.
—— SpectatorChomsky's work is neither theoretical, nor ideological: it is passionate and righteous
—— Times Literary SupplementEngaging writing and excellent presentation . . . a tricky yet well-crafted analysis, which adds to the revisionist school of thought with some edgy arguments, this is sure to get you thinking.
—— BRITAIN AT WAR magazineAn insightful study of generalship on both sides.
—— DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Books of the Year'A tremendously well-written and important book and a testament to the qualities Camus lent La Peste's hero: 'humane, optimistic, tolerant, free-thinking, ever alive to injustice and acts of inhumanity'
—— Rebecca K Morris , IndependentCaroline Moorehead’s remarkable book is in essence the story of how a community, or rather group of communities, survived the travails of war with dignity. It is also a tale that gives a larger meaning to Hemingway’s macho phrase, 'grace under pressure'… Moorehead is wary of attempts to simplify history and ignore the complications of memory… What, as the last memories dim, was the truth? Moorehead’s question is implicit: is there such a thing? The reader is left with another question, equally difficult: 'what would I have done?’
—— Ian Bell , The HeraldPowerful and ultimately uplifting book … a far more nuanced account of courage - in which some Catholics did indeed help, and the links with neutral Switzerland were occasionally helpful - than previously recounted about Le Chambon
Fascinating and heartening story… Thorough, objective and readable… captivating
Elegant style
Brilliantly captures the actions of an astonishing, taciturn wartime community
—— Dermot Bulger , Sunday Business PostA story of courage and determination, of heroic individuals…and of what can be done when people come together to oppose tyranny
—— Sunday TelegraphA unique story of courage and determination
—— Daily TelegraphElegant style
—— WOW247Moorehead’s account makes for frequently moving and, at times, harrowing reading… Fascinating
—— Hanna Diamond , BBC History Magazine[Moorehead is a] brilliant investigative journalist
—— Country LifeA work of remembrance and a moving tribute
—— Iain Finlayson , Saga MagazineMoorehead skillfully intersperses layer after layer of historical fact with narratives of deeply human stories
—— Henriette Wentink , Reform MagazineA moving piece, splendidly told
—— Lucy Beckett , TabletIt’s an inspiring story
—— Peter Lewis , Daily MailMoorehead does an expert job in pulling together testimonies from survivors to filter myths and memories from fact to retell an extraordinary tale
—— Julia Richardson , Daily MailStory of courage and determination, of a small number of heroic individuals who risked their lives to save others, and of what can be done when people come together to oppose tyranny
—— Miss DinkyVillage of Secrets is crammed full of stories from survivors, tales of courage, betrayal, failure, success, hope, despair. It is a helter-skelter ride through the most extreme of human experiences
—— Susannah Perkins , Nudge