Category Archives: Reviews & Profiles

Reviews and profiles buttonBook reviews and personal profiles of people connected with Operation Ladbroke, as well as the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 and gliders in WW2 in general.

SAS Rogue Heroes – Book Review

‘SAS Rogue Heroes’ is a readable and enjoyable account of the SAS in World War 2. But there’s not much about the SAS in Sicily, and what there is, is not great. Review of ‘SAS Rogue Heroes – The Authorized … Continue reading

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The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment – Book Review

‘The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment’ is an academic book in style, but it’s full of interesting nuggets of information about the personalities, politics and technology involved in developing Britain’s parachute and glider forces. Review of “The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment … Continue reading

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Nothing Is Impossible by glider pilot Victor Miller – Book Review

‘Nothing Is Impossible’ is the best account we have of Operation Ladbroke by somebody who was there. Now the second edition greatly expands Victor Miller’s original telling. Review of ‘Nothing is Impossible – A Glider Pilot’s Story of Sicily, Arnhem … Continue reading

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PARAS Voices of the British Airborne – Book Review

If you like undiluted collections of veterans’ accounts of airborne operations, this book is for you. If however you prefer your history with, well, a bit of history, then you could find this book frustrating. Review of ‘PARAS – Voices … Continue reading

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The SAS Pocket Manual – Book Review

“The SAS Pocket Manual” might fit into the pocket of your camouflage smock, but it’s not exactly a manual. Really it’s an interesting collection of original archive documents, only some of them from manuals. Book review: ‘The SAS Pocket Manual’, … Continue reading

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Tullio Marcon – the story of his story of Augusta 1943

As a boy, Italian historian Tullio Marcon lived through the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. This is the background to his story of that eventful summer. Tullio Marcon was 13 in 1943, and living in Augusta, an important Italian … Continue reading

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Italian Artillery of WWII – Book Review

Books about the Italian artillery of WWII are rare, even in Italian. This one in English is extremely welcome, but may slightly disappoint students of Operation Ladbroke and the fall of the Piazzaforte Augusta-Siracusa (PA-S). Book Review: ‘Italian Artillery of the … Continue reading

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Seizing Bridges, Building Bridges – Battlefield Tour Guide Roberto Piccione, Syracuse, Sicily

In 1943 British glider troops seized the Ponte Grande, a bridge near Syracuse, Sicily, launching the Allied invasion of Italy. Now Roberto Piccione builds bridges between former enemies. Beside a perfect tourist cove, where no tourist goes, opposite the golden walls of … Continue reading

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Peter Davis of the SAS – a precious first-hand account

Until now, book-length personal records of the SAS in Sicily, written while memories were fresh, totalled exactly one.  For fans and historians who find such first-hand accounts invaluable, Peter Davis’ exciting new book has doubled our treasure. Book review: ‘S.A.S. Men … Continue reading

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