Why am I passionate about this?

All the books on my list are exciting readings and tales of daring do. I loved these books because of the intimate personal details and accounts they give of war. They give a great impression of the challenges the men face and the dangers flung up by fighting and close combat. They also tell of the comradeship between men in war.


I wrote...

Hitler's Island War: The Men Who Fought for Leros

By Julie Peakman,

Book cover of Hitler's Island War: The Men Who Fought for Leros

What is my book about?

I try to bring to life the story of the men caught up in the Battle of Leros in 1943…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of War in the Islands: Undercover Operations in the Aegean, 1942-44

Julie Peakman Why did I love this book?

This book relates the recollections of the men of the Levant Schooner Flotilla, The Sacred Company, and the Aegean Raiding Forces. The author was a young officer in the Royal Naval Reserve who commanded a flotilla of raiding caiques on undercover operations in the Greek Islands.

These men were involved in naval operations in WWII. A mixed bag of volunteers, their task was to carry out Allied raiding parties in enemy-held territory. In total secrecy, under the cover of darkness, they navigated the seas, scuttled enemy boats, and blew up enemy ammunition. 

By Adrian Seligman (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked War in the Islands as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is an anthology of true stories about a little-known episode in the Mediterranean during World War II. The author formed and commanded a flotilla of caiques on undercover operations in the Greek islands whose task was to smuggle Allied raiding parties and their supplies in and out of enemy held territory, in total secrecy and under cover of darkness - risky undertakings that required high levels of navigational and seamanship skills from the skippers. This clandestine war is recounted by the author, 12 skippers of caiques, one of a motor launch and an RAF officer, who were actually involved…


Book cover of He Who Dares: Recollections of Service in the SAS, SBS and MI5

Julie Peakman Why did I love this book?

Most of the action is set in the Aegean, where the author served with the Special Boat Service, an off-shoot of the Special Air Service. Their aim was to raid airfields on the German-held islands.

He tells not only of the daring adventures but his admiration of the Greek resistance fighters who risked not only their own loves, but that of whole villages, to offer their support to the British.

By David Sutherland,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked He Who Dares as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Over fifty years having now passed since the Second World War ended, it is surprising that there are any first-hand accounts left that are worth the telling. The fact that there are, and that they have remained untold, can only be ascribed to modesty and to the fact that fifty years ago what seems to be the post-war generation to be the exclusive province of thriller writers was to David Sutherland's generation the only adult world they had ever known. It needs someone to say: "You'd better write it down before it's too late" or a grandchild to ask: "What…


Ad

Book cover of Captain James Heron First Into the Fray: Prequel to Harry Heron Into the Unknown of the Harry Heron Series

Captain James Heron First Into the Fray By Patrick G. Cox, Janet Angelo (editor),

Captain Heron finds himself embroiled in a conflict that threatens to bring down the world order he is sworn to defend when a secretive Consortium seeks to undermine the World Treaty Organisation and the democracies it represents as he oversees the building and commissioning of a new starship.

When the…

Book cover of Island Prize: Leros 1943

Julie Peakman Why did I love this book?

An officer in the Faughs, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, Ted (whom I interviewed), recounts here the events of the Battle of Leros and his time on the island.

The Faughs were just one of the companies sent to Leros to protect its important naval base from the German invasion. He gives battle details but also tells of the sadness of friends lost in the fray.

By E.B.W. Johnson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Island Prize as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of The Long Range Desert Group 1940-1945: Providence Their Guide

Julie Peakman Why did I love this book?

This is the story of the men from the New Zealand R Patrol, Long Range Desert Group. Their stories are told mostly in the words of the participants themselves through wartime operational reports, diaries, personal letters, and post-war interviews.

Owen was an officer in the LRDG and recollects various escapades he was involved in during operations. Lloyd Owen took command of the LRDG after being involved in the Battle of Leros.

By David Lloyd Owen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Long Range Desert Group 1940-1945 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Established to operate deep behind enemy lines in North Africa, the Long Range Desert Group was the first of the special forces to make a significant contribution. This is a definitive history of this elite organisation, by a former commander of the unit.'


Ad

Book cover of Henderson House

Henderson House By Caren Simpson McVicker,

In May 1941, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, hums with talk of spring flowers, fishing derbies, and the growing war in Europe. And for the residents of a quiet neighborhood boarding house, the winds of change are blowing.

Self-proclaimed spinster, Bessie Blackwell, is the reluctant owner of a new pair of glasses. The…

Book cover of Aegean Adventures, 1940-43: And the End of Churchill's Dream

Julie Peakman Why did I love this book?

These are recollections of a Parish as a serving officer with Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry. He was involved in fighting in Greece, starting with the Battle of Crete in 1941 and culminating in the capture of Leros in November 1943.

He addresses the failures of the events and why these happened.

Explore my book 😀

Hitler's Island War: The Men Who Fought for Leros

By Julie Peakman,

Book cover of Hitler's Island War: The Men Who Fought for Leros

What is my book about?

I try to bring to life the story of the men caught up in the Battle of Leros in 1943 based on first-hand interviews and written accounts, including diaries, letters, and journals. From the Italian capitulation on 8 September 1943 to the end of the battle on 16 November, thousands of British, Italian, and German men lost their lives, and thousands more ended up in prisoner-of-war camps. I write about the members of the elite Special Boat Service.

The officers had special training in knife fighting, mountain climbing, and parachuting in preparation for their raids. Others, such as the army soldiers, told me their stories of the desperate hand-to-hand combat and the suffering endured from continual bombings. 

Book cover of War in the Islands: Undercover Operations in the Aegean, 1942-44
Book cover of He Who Dares: Recollections of Service in the SAS, SBS and MI5
Book cover of Island Prize: Leros 1943

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,597

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 You might also like…

Book cover of Ambidextrous: The Secret Lives of Children

Ambidextrous By Felice Picano,

Bold, funny, and shockingly honest, Ambidextrous is like no other memoir of 1950s urban childhood.

Picano appears to his parents and siblings to be a happy, cheerful eleven-year-old possessed of the remarkable talent of being able to draw beautifully and write fluently with either hand. But then he runs into…

Book cover of The Twenty: One Woman's Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail

The Twenty By Marianne C. Bohr,

Marianne Bohr and her husband, about to turn sixty, are restless for adventure. They decide on an extended, desolate trek across the French island of Corsica — the GR20, Europe’s toughest long-distance footpath — to challenge what it means to grow old. Part travelogue, part buddy story, part memoir, The…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Greece, the British Royal Navy, and commandos?

Greece 189 books
Commandos 16 books