The Guns of Navarone — a Great World War II Classic
A highly enjoyable novel about a most desperate of missions, great for a Saturday night read — highly recommended
This is another of my charity shop buys, 69p this one cost and I have to say it was a real bargain because it’s a great read. It’s another book by Alistair MacLean, and this one was published back in 1957 and is an action thriller set during World War II.
The story takes place on the imaginary island of Navarone, and the mission is to take down the guns of Navarone — a set of heavily protected land based naval guns — which if they do not succeed in doing will see thousands of Allied troops lose their lives.
First thing’s first, counter to popular belief this is not based on a true story and there is no island of Navarone, the only truth to the story is the historical context of which it is supposed to be a part, which is the Dodecanese Campaign, a campaign by the Allies to capture the Italian-held Greek islands in the Aegean Sea back in 1943.
In terms of whether it is any good, the simple answer is yes, without a doubt, it is…
