Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture

by Joshua Levine

Overview

New York Times Bestseller

The epic true story of Dunkirk—now a major motion picture, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, and Mark Rylance

In 1940, the Allies had been beaten back by the Nazis across France to the northern port of Dunkirk. In the ultimate race against time, more than 300,000 Allied soldiers were daringly evacuated across the Channel. This moment of German aggression was used by Winston Churchill as a call to Franklin Roosevelt to enter the war. Now, Joshua Levine, the film's official historian, explores the real lives of those soldiers, bombed and strafed on the beaches for days on end, without food or ammunition; the civilians whose boats were overloaded; the airmen who risked their lives to buy their companions on the ground precious time; and those who did not escape.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062740311
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	364
Sales rank:	598,796
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Joshua Levine has written six bestselling histories including titles in the hugely popular 'Forgotten Voices' series. ‘Beauty and Atrocity’, his account of the Irish Troubles, was nominated for the Writers' Guild Book of the Year award. ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’, his history of the pilots of the First World War, has been turned into a major British television documentary. He has written and presented a number of programmes for BBC Radio 4. In a previous life, he was a criminal barrister. He lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

“Will suit anyone interested in military history from the soldier’s point of view. ... The real stories of the men who were there bring the history to life on the page.” — The Federalist

“Fascinating. ... Fills in a lot of the historical context that Nolan so purposefully avoids in his film.” — Under the Radar

“A story of survival. ... Deserves favorable mention due to its detail, flowing narrative and ground-level storytelling.” — Warfare History Network

From the Publisher

Will suit anyone interested in military history from the soldier’s point of view. ... The real stories of the men who were there bring the history to life on the page.

The Federalist

A story of survival. ... Deserves favorable mention due to its detail, flowing narrative and ground-level storytelling.

Warfare History Network

Fascinating. ... Fills in a lot of the historical context that Nolan so purposefully avoids in his film.

Under the Radar

This audiobook recounts the dramatic rescue of Allied Forces at Dunkirk, France, during WWII and explains the history of the evacuation that is dramatized in the recent film. Narrator Jonathan Keeble gives listeners a special treat as he demonstrates his command of Scottish, Welsh, and even German accents to portray the soldiers involved in the fight to stop the German army. He smoothly delivers descriptions of the horrors the troops suffered in the lead-up to the daring evacuation and quickly changes his rhythm and tone to slip into characters suggested by the dialogue. The Allies code-named the rescue at Dunkirk “Operation Dynamo.” This account, as delivered by Keeble, is almost as impressive. E.E.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2019 - AudioFile