Books with DW in 'em.

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Garry Holmes
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Books with DW in 'em.

Post by Garry Holmes »

Has anyone else seen a book called ACHTUNG SCHWEINEHUND by Harry Pearson? It's essentially about the author's fascination for war-gaming, although it also talks about the presence of WWII in the popular culture of the 60's and 70's. DW gets a page to himself. Pearson mainly talks about the strategy game that DW came up with, although his war work is also mentioned. Pearson intimates, rather unfairly, that DW spent the war getting sozzled and then sleeping it off. To be fair, almost everyone mentioned in the book receives this sort mockery. Rather like the Hammer book that we were talking about recently, it suffers from some poor proof reading--Pearson says that in VON RYAN'S EXPRESS Frank Sinatra plays a Nazi General! Still, it's an enjoyable read even if you're not interested in war-gaming.
DW also gets a passing mention in AGENT ZIGZAG by Ben Macintyre. The book tells the extraordinary true story of Eddie Chapman, the British double-agent who got out of a Jersey Prison by pretending to want to spy for Germany, and them went to MI5 and offered his services spying on the Nazi's. During an informal interrogation of Chapman, one of his German bosses asks if he knows Wheatley. When Chapman admits he does, the man asks if he knows that Wheatley is working for the British government.
I read one book after the other, so it was interesting to see a mention of DW in both of them!
Jim
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Post by Jim »

Peter Haining's WHERE THE EAGLE LANDED is about the "persistent legend of German forces landing on the coast of Suffolk in the summer of 1940." Haining says it was in a conversation with DW that he got his first real clue that the legend was based on fact. He also notes he was warned ahead of his meeting that Wheatley liked his alcohol, and liked sharing it.
Garry Holmes
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Post by Garry Holmes »

And another: rereading the rather wonderful THE GENERAL DANCED AT DAWN by George McDonald Fraser, I was reminded of another DW reference. In NIGHT RUN TO PALESTINE the narrator tries to pass the long and tiring train journey by reading THE LAUNCHING OF ROGER BROOKE.
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