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Filmmaker Alert! Jul 12, 2008
Anyone in search of first-rate movie material--whether screenwriter, director-producer, or development company--could do worse than to check out Rita Kramer's Flames in the Field, the true story of four courageous British agents who were dropped into occupied France during World War II to organize resistance groups against the Nazis. The fact that the agents were young women only adds to the poignancy of what is at once a tale of suspense and intrigue and a tragic story of possible betrayal. Biographer Kramer (she wrote the definitive life the 19th-century educator Maria Montessori) expertly recounts how these women and their colleagues sought to carry out Winston Churchill's injunction to "set Europe ablaze," all the while unknowingly caught in a Byzantine web of scheming on both sides. Kramer's original research (both among archives and survivors) is a substantial contribution to the scholarship on the cult of intelligence, and her elegant prose and flawless sense of pace make the book a page-turner, effortlessly readable. But it's the subjects themselves, too--the men and women of a heroic time--as well as the complexity of motives and events in a situation where almost any moral choice is tragic, that make her story such a stunning tableau.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Inspiring, Heart-Rending Jun 16, 2008
These stories will break your heart. Four courageous women go to their deaths after being captured one by one, usually because of treachery on the ground and sometimes stupid bureaucratic blundering in London. Rita Kramer -- whose abilities as a writer and researcher were already well established -- gives life and vitality to four forgotten heroines of history's most devastating conflict. "Flames in the Field" is a keeper.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Illuminating history Jun 02, 2008
"Flames in the Field" is a mesmerizing, eye-opening account of a World War II secret operation, still little known, and of four of its women operatives. It is the most vivid kind of historical writing and though it tells a story whose terrible ending the reader knows from the beginning-- all four died in a concentration camp in France because of their work-- it reads like a mystery or suspense tale. This is a book you cannot put down, because of the tension the author maintains as she weaves together different strands from different people, places and politics. The complex tapestry that results illuminates not just the role of women in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), not just the kind of anti-Semitism that the French as well as the Nazis practiced, but the Machievellian triage that goes on in wartime, the inescapable treacheries, the score-keeping and the record-keeping, the pettinesses and the heroism. This is one of the few history books I know that I will want to read again.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A Great Read! May 29, 2008
Flames in the Field is an exciting book that tells the story of women agents who operated behind enemy lines during World War II. The research is impeccable, and the story is fascinating and well-written. A must read for anyone interested in World War II history, as well as for aficionados of women's history.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Flames in the Field Electrifies May 28, 2008
Flames in the Field is a searing account of the heroic efforts of British and French resistance fighters during World War II. Rita Kramer manages to combine both historical detail and subtle character studies in a story that has suspenseful and surprising twists. Although the book is meticulously researched, it reads more like a spy novel that you can't put down. I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading about the unsung heroes who helped to vanquish the Nazis; the under-reported role of women in that courageous mission and the political machinations that turned heroes into pawns in a larger game plan. This book is exciting to read and an important contribution to uncovering the hidden story behind the Allied victory.
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