Dad of Divas' Reviews: Book Review

Monday, July 18, 2011

Book Review - Dead Eagles

About the Book
“The first rule is there ain’t no rules” drawls the opening lines in Dead Eagles (Greenleaf Book Group Nov 2011) the highly anticipated sequel to Those Who Dare, and second in author Phil Ward’s series of World War II novels about British hit-and-run raids against Germany, all led by a U.S. soldier.

Once again, Ward describes aspects of war—such as small-scale raiding—with meticulous accuracy. His inside look is rooted in lifelong personal experience in the military: At the age of 19, he became one of the youngest officers ever to earn the Ranger tab in the U.S. Army. Following service in Vietnam, (which resulted in numerous prestigious awards), he served with the 71^st Brigade (Airborne) of the Texas National Guard, and taught small unit tactics to ROTC cadets at UT, TSU and the TNG OCS for 26 years, which served as the small seed that sprouted the series.

“While clearly fiction, this deeply researched book is a history lesson about the Commando raids and the dark times in which such desperate measures occurred. It's the ideal blend: while learning a great deal, you will enjoy the compelling story.”-Olive-Drab.com on Those Who Dare

Dead Eagles dive bombs right into combat action in the opening pages, picking up where Those Who Dare left off: with U.S. Major John Randal, Commander of Strategic Raiding Forces, leading a crew of British Commandos, Royal Marines and Royal Navy raiders on a bold mission to foil Hitler’s Third Reich.

Meanwhile, the Germans are operating a naval intelligence ring off the Brits' Gold Coast colony in Africa and broadcasting collected data to their military from a clandestine radio station onboard one of three interned enemy ships, stationed on the Portuguese island protectorate Rio Bonita.

As a result, British convoys vital to the war effort are ravaged, so Major Randal and the Raiding Forces' must invade Rio Bonita and spirit away the three ships. Failure means either imprisonment or hanging for piracy - and Portugal declaring war on its oldest ally.

PHIL WARD spent a great deal of time behind the scenes of Texas politics as son-in-law to the late Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Bob Bullock. Ward lives in Austin with his wife and currently serves as the President of USA Training Company, a national driving safety organization.

Dead Eagles by Phil Ward (Greenleaf Book Group, November 2011, ISBN 978-1608321926, $24.95)

My Take on the BookThis book is a great sequel to Those Who Dare. In reading the original book I found it to be compelling and engaging and I have to say that the author has kept this up for his second novel. What I love about this author is his painstaking attention to detail. This, of course, comes form his military background, but never-the-less it is still something that was very pleasant to experience and something that definitely was an important addition to the plot and overall readability of the book itself, in my opinion.

Even without a military background you can appreciate this book, and maybe even more because the author makes it that easy to follow. The book was engaging, energetic and interactive and if you are looking for an action packed book that will leave you wondering what will come next, look no further than this book!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.