The Sentinels: Fortunes of War

very good

Not the type of book I thought I would like, but it was excellant. Romance, suspension, intrique, history--keeps you going from page 1
Would highlyt recommend this book to anyone who likes a good spy novel

8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

interesting

Another historical novel with a twist: "The Sentinels: Fortunes of War" by Gordon Zuckerman Is set in WWII where six economics doctoral students think they can explain and predict the rise and fall of world powers. What they do discover is that German industrialists are pushing Europe towards war so that they can make millions of dollars in illegal war profits. The Sentinels devise a plan to stop this from happening, and visa versa. A little too detailed in the explanation of the inner workings of banking industry, but truly an interesting concept and thrilling story.

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Provocative

The plot is an interesting take on behind-the-scenes financial machinations, creating financial puppet-masters that control political player-puppets. The plot is insightful, interesting, and novel. Set in WWII, one has to wonder how many similar plots are playing out in 2009 political and financial theaters, in the US, and worldwide.

The Sentinels makes an interesting rainy-day read, while at the same time having a premise that is very thought-provoking, timely, serious, and possibly real.

Wonderful. It captured my imagination and I could not put it down.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

A must read!

An exciting historical novel that deals with noble themes and explores from a unique perspective the rise and demise of Hitler. Six brilliant post graduates from affluent backgrounds at UC Berkeley bond together to act against the industrial German powers that are supporting the National Socialist German Workers Party.
Zuckerman has thoroughly researched his fascinating story with details and descriptions of locations and well delineated character studies.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Good for an excelled reader

Good plot and storyline. Zuckerman could have went into a bit more detail and explanation in some areas; as I felt he left it to the reader to fill in the blanks. If you are a good reader, you could make sense of what happened where info was missing, but it would have been more enjoyable if the writer provided the information so the reader could stay enthralled rather than trying to find missing pieces. With a bit more organization and expansion in writing, this could have been an excellent war time espionage novel.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Entertaining thriller

An interesting concept is at the heart of this book; a group of highly intelligent, rich young professionals use their unique skills to bring WWII to an early close. Romance, international intrigue, danger, and insight into world banking make for a story that moves along at a fast pace. The characters were a little 2-dimensional, and the story a little predictable, and a little unbelievable - privilege gets you far, but only so far . . .but the story kept my interest to the conclusion.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very Good

It was not what I expected. Very good! Never looked at the war from this perspective.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

recommended!

I thought this was a pretty good book. I don't know how much "truth" there is in the story but it sure made for an interesting viewpoint of how money can influence political events. While this story taked place during WWII some ideas can be carried forward to today.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended

For those who enjoy WWII and Nazi stories. Timely considering the problems of our govenment today. I would definitely read another of this authors books.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Interesting premise, but too shallow in execution.

I liked the idea of the book, the international transfer of wealth during WW2.
Possible spoilers below.....




I was a little disappointed at how the main six characters also had parents who all knew each other--a little too convenient. The relationship complications were more developed than the ostensible main plot, which was very intriguing, but then wan't really developed. These yound people seemed very smug and sure of themselves (rather accurately for twenty-somethings), but their success was almost in spite of themselves rather than for their actual insight.

Time flowed very erratically in this book, some events were described as months or weeks apart, and if felt as though the war lasted about 10 years based on the durations described in the book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Decently entertaining

I liked it but the character development was a little lacking.just a side note

Ficiton yes, but please some historical accuracy

Very fanciful but makes it sound easy for the rich to travel to Europe during WWII and even to fly coast to coast in the USA for foreign nationals.
Does jump around without continuity, may be due to translation issues though

Bob

I think it's ok

Interesting story

The story was an interesting WWII era plot. Probably something that goes on no matter what era of time. The situation at time was rather ludicrous as far as the situations were concerned and the constant moving of the characters all around the globe. Quick read. Recommend for a good reading.

I rarely DNF, but I couldn't read this.

The plot and perspective sounded good. Very good. But the storytelling is nonexistent. All tell, no show. Characters are cardboard cutouts.

Slow and tedious

I put this one down for good without finishing - tedious, all about character development (to a fault).

Amazing story

This book was amazing. I just couldn't put it down. It caught my attention from the very first page. I hope the author makes more like this one :)

Recommended

Good book with an interesting story line - nice historical perspective of the transfer of German industrial power.

highly recommend

enjoyed this book highly recommend..

Creative concept makes for interesting reading

The concept of the Sentinels as a protector of humanity is a refreshing and hopeful view of young people of influence. This first book should make for some more enjoyable reading about modern history.