Odessa: An Illustrated History - Glenn Justice - Hardcover - 1st ed Book

Since I was a kid, I've had a fascination with WWII special operations, particularly the Jedburghs. I mean, I have an original Smatchet sitting right here on my desk. But, overall, despite (or perhaps partly due to) the book being a quick read, it was a disappointment. 3 stars only because I have a strong interest in the subject, otherwise I'd give 2.

The book is mostly an aggregation of material from other published work, and not a hard research effort based on primary sources. The author pieced together all that material to tell the comprehensive stories of a few select Jedburgh teams, which is not a bad thing, but there's nothing really new here. The efforts of other special ops elements in France, the OSS OGs, SOE, the British and French SAS, are mentioned only in passing with no attempt to clarify operational linkages or strategic planning. And the author, himself a former SF officer, lets a bit of hero-worship and romanticism unduly color the history. I don't need to read how "handsome", "attractive", or "rascally-eyed" individuals are in my military history. In doing so, he also left out most of the unpleasant details of German retaliation against civilians for the actions of the Maquis. But I guess the book is not targeted at those with a deep interest in history. Its written in manner intended to make it digestible for those with little understanding of the military or military history, so in that way, it may be better suited to readers that fit that bill.

Its not necessarily a bad book; it was a quick simple read about a subject I'm interested in. Some of you may really enjoy it. But its not up to the writing and research standard from which I've grown used to absorbing my history.