Monday 1 October 2012

Gordon Stevens - And All The King's Men


This is one cracking read. I admit I am a fan of alternative endings to various historical events. This book by Gordon Stevens (you can get secondhand on sites like amazon.co.uk as its out of print) puts an alternative spin on the Battle of Britain and depicts a German victory in England in 1940.  The main character in the book is a man called Jack Masters, a Kent farmer who is approached by British intelligence before the outbreak of war in France. He is asked if he would be interested in joining a resistance network, and of course he says yes. The book is very descriptive about events of the invasion, the annihilation of the Royal Air Force, and the subsequent collaboration by the majority, and the small number who choose to resist, albeit in a small way. My only criticism of this excellent book is that Stevens writes the Germans do not progress any further north than the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland. This is very difficult to believe, surely the Germans would have wanted to complete invasion, especially before invading the Soviet Union. But hey, don't let this put anyone off buying or reading this excellent book, imagine if this had really happened? Its a scary thought...