Last Hope Island Last Hope Island

Last Hope Island

Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War

    • 4.4 • 80 Ratings
    • $12.99
    • $12.99

Publisher Description

A groundbreaking account of how Britain became the base of operations for the exiled leaders of Europe in their desperate struggle to reclaim their continent from Hitler, from the New York Times bestselling author of Citizens of London and Those Angry Days

When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over continental Europe in the early days of World War II, the city of London became a refuge for the governments and armed forces of six occupied nations who escaped there to continue the fight. So, too, did General Charles de Gaulle, the self-appointed representative of free France.    

As the only European democracy still holding out against Hitler, Britain became known to occupied countries as “Last Hope Island.” Getting there, one young emigré declared, was “like getting to heaven.”

In this epic, character-driven narrative, acclaimed historian Lynne Olson takes us back to those perilous days when the British and their European guests joined forces to combat the mightiest military force in history. Here we meet the courageous King Haakon of Norway, whose distinctive “H7” monogram became a symbol of his country’s resistance to Nazi rule, and his fiery Dutch counterpart, Queen Wilhelmina, whose antifascist radio broadcasts rallied the spirits of her defeated people. Here, too, is the Earl of Suffolk, a swashbuckling British aristocrat whose rescue of two nuclear physicists from France helped make the Manhattan Project possible.

Last Hope Island also recounts some of the Europeans’ heretofore unsung exploits that helped tilt the balance against the Axis: the crucial efforts of Polish pilots during the Battle of Britain; the vital role played by French and Polish code breakers in cracking the Germans’ reputedly indecipherable Enigma code; and the flood of top-secret intelligence about German operations—gathered by spies throughout occupied Europe—that helped ensure the success of the 1944 Allied invasion.  

A fascinating companion to Citizens of London, Olson’s bestselling chronicle of the Anglo-American alliance, Last Hope Island recalls with vivid humanity that brief moment in time when the peoples of Europe stood together in their effort to roll back the tide of conquest and restore order to a broken continent.

Praise for Last Hope Island

“In Last Hope Island [Lynne Olson] argues an arresting new thesis: that the people of occupied Europe and the expatriate leaders did far more for their own liberation than historians and the public alike recognize. . . . The scale of the organization she describes is breathtaking.”—The New York Times Book Review

Last Hope Island is a book to be welcomed, both for the past it recovers and also, quite simply, for being such a pleasant tome to read.”The Washington Post

“[A] pointed volume . . . [Olson] tells a great story and has a fine eye for character.”The Boston Globe

GENRE
History
RELEASED
2017
April 25
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
576
Pages
PUBLISHER
Random House Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
36
MB

Customer Reviews

DealFord ,

Thanks for telling this story.

I adored this fascinating book and could not put it down. So much of its content was new to me- even after taking multiple history classes in college. I have a new profound admiration for all the occupied countries and want to learn more.

Mainejayne ,

Riveting

One of the best history books I have ever read - and I have read hundreds!

More Books Like This

Alone: Britain, Churchill, and Dunkirk: Defeat into Victory Alone: Britain, Churchill, and Dunkirk: Defeat into Victory
2017
Never Surrender Never Surrender
2015
How Churchill Saved Civilization How Churchill Saved Civilization
2017
Churchill The Young Warrior Churchill The Young Warrior
2018
The Guns of August The Guns of August
1994
The Fall of France The Fall of France
2004

More Books by Lynne Olson

Citizens of London Citizens of London
2010
Madame Fourcade's Secret War Madame Fourcade's Secret War
2019
Empress of the Nile Empress of the Nile
2023
Troublesome Young Men Troublesome Young Men
2008
A Question of Honor A Question of Honor
2003
Those Angry Days Those Angry Days
2013