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The Resource Last Hope Island

Last Hope Island

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Summary
A groundbreaking account of how Britain became the base of operations for the exiled leaders of Europe in their desperate struggle to reclaim their continent from Hitler, from the New York Times bestselling author of Citizens of London and Those Angry Days When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over continental Europe in the early days of World War II, the city of London became a refuge for the governments and armed forces of six occupied nations who escaped there to continue the fight. So, too, did General Charles de Gaulle, the self-appointed representative of free France. As the only European democracy still holding out against Hitler, Britain became known to occupied countries as “Last Hope Island.” Getting there, one young emigré declared, was “like getting to heaven.” In this epic, character-driven narrative, acclaimed historian Lynne Olson takes us back to those perilous days when the British and their European guests joined forces to combat the mightiest military force in history. Here we meet the courageous King Haakon of Norway, whose distinctive “H7” monogram became a symbol of his country’s resistance to Nazi rule, and his fiery Dutch counterpart, Queen Wilhelmina, whose antifascist radio broadcasts rallied the spirits of her defeated people. Here, too, is the Earl of Suffolk, a swashbuckling British aristocrat whose rescue of two nuclear physicists from France helped make the Manhattan Project possible. Last Hope Island also recounts some of the Europeans’ heretofore unsung exploits that helped tilt the balance against the Axis: the crucial efforts of Polish pilots during the Battle of Britain; the vital role played by French and Polish code breakers in cracking the Germans’ reputedly indecipherable Enigma code; and the flood of top-secret intelligence about German operations—gathered by spies throughout occupied Europe—that helped ensure the success of the 1944 Allied invasion. A fascinating companion to Citizens of London, Olson’s bestselling chronicle of the Anglo-American alliance, Last Hope Island recalls with vivid humanity that brief moment in time when the peoples of Europe stood together in their effort to roll back the tide of conquest and restore order to a broken continent.Praise for Last Hope Island“In Last Hope Island [Lynne Olson] argues an arresting new thesis: that the people of occupied Europe and the expatriate leaders did far more for their own liberation than historians and the public alike recognize. . . . The scale of the organization she describes is breathtaking.”—The New York Times Book Review“Last Hope Island is a book to be welcomed, both for the past it recovers and also, quite simply, for being such a pleasant tome to read.”—The Washington Post“[A] pointed volume . . . [Olson] tells a great story and has a fine eye for character.”—The Boston Globe
Work
Instance
Label
Last Hope Island
Title
Last Hope Island
Creator
Subject
Summary
A groundbreaking account of how Britain became the base of operations for the exiled leaders of Europe in their desperate struggle to reclaim their continent from Hitler, from the New York Times bestselling author of Citizens of London and Those Angry Days When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over continental Europe in the early days of World War II, the city of London became a refuge for the governments and armed forces of six occupied nations who escaped there to continue the fight. So, too, did General Charles de Gaulle, the self-appointed representative of free France. As the only European democracy still holding out against Hitler, Britain became known to occupied countries as “Last Hope Island.” Getting there, one young emigré declared, was “like getting to heaven.” In this epic, character-driven narrative, acclaimed historian Lynne Olson takes us back to those perilous days when the British and their European guests joined forces to combat the mightiest military force in history. Here we meet the courageous King Haakon of Norway, whose distinctive “H7” monogram became a symbol of his country’s resistance to Nazi rule, and his fiery Dutch counterpart, Queen Wilhelmina, whose antifascist radio broadcasts rallied the spirits of her defeated people. Here, too, is the Earl of Suffolk, a swashbuckling British aristocrat whose rescue of two nuclear physicists from France helped make the Manhattan Project possible. Last Hope Island also recounts some of the Europeans’ heretofore unsung exploits that helped tilt the balance against the Axis: the crucial efforts of Polish pilots during the Battle of Britain; the vital role played by French and Polish code breakers in cracking the Germans’ reputedly indecipherable Enigma code; and the flood of top-secret intelligence about German operations—gathered by spies throughout occupied Europe—that helped ensure the success of the 1944 Allied invasion. A fascinating companion to Citizens of London, Olson’s bestselling chronicle of the Anglo-American alliance, Last Hope Island recalls with vivid humanity that brief moment in time when the peoples of Europe stood together in their effort to roll back the tide of conquest and restore order to a broken continent.Praise for Last Hope Island“In Last Hope Island [Lynne Olson] argues an arresting new thesis: that the people of occupied Europe and the expatriate leaders did far more for their own liberation than historians and the public alike recognize. . . . The scale of the organization she describes is breathtaking.”—The New York Times Book Review“Last Hope Island is a book to be welcomed, both for the past it recovers and also, quite simply, for being such a pleasant tome to read.”—The Washington Post“[A] pointed volume . . . [Olson] tells a great story and has a fine eye for character.”—The Boston Globe
Accompanying matter
technical information on music
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Olson, Lynne
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Nonfiction
  • Politics
  • History
  • Military
Label
Last Hope Island
Instantiates
Publication
Capture and storage technique
digital storage
Configuration of playback channels
unknown
Control code
OVERDRIVE:aafb4029-8eed-49f6-91f2-81fdfeaff907
Dimensions
not applicable
Form of item
electronic
Groove width / pitch
not applicable
http://library.link/vocab/inputERC
True
Isbn
9781524723804
Kind of cutting
not applicable
Kind of disc cylinder or tape
not applicable
Kind of material
other
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
Special playback characteristics
unknown
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
Speed
unknown
Tape configuration
not applicable
Tape width
not applicable
Label
Last Hope Island
Publication
Capture and storage technique
digital storage
Configuration of playback channels
unknown
Control code
OVERDRIVE:aafb4029-8eed-49f6-91f2-81fdfeaff907
Dimensions
not applicable
Form of item
electronic
Groove width / pitch
not applicable
http://library.link/vocab/inputERC
True
Isbn
9781524723804
Kind of cutting
not applicable
Kind of disc cylinder or tape
not applicable
Kind of material
other
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
Special playback characteristics
unknown
Specific material designation
  • other
  • remote
Speed
unknown
Tape configuration
not applicable
Tape width
not applicable

Subject

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