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23rd out of 112 books
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17 voters
Nancy Wake
'Freedom is the only thing worth living for. While I was doing that work I used to think that it didn't mater if I died, because without freedom there was no point in living'.
Nancy Wake
In the early 1930's, Nancy Wake was a young woman enjoying a bohemian life in Paris. By the end of the Second World War she was the Gestapo's most wanted person.
As a naive, young journalist,...more
Nancy Wake
In the early 1930's, Nancy Wake was a young woman enjoying a bohemian life in Paris. By the end of the Second World War she was the Gestapo's most wanted person.
As a naive, young journalist,...more
Paperback, 297 pages
Published
January 28th 2001
by Harper Collins
(first published January 2001)
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Very interesting and readable biography about a woman who became a heroine of the French Resistance during WW11. There are plenty of reviews which go into details about this book, so I won't do that here. I will mention one quibble with the writing. It sometimes falls into buffoonery. This occurs mostly at segues in the story and can be funny, but considering the topic (WW11 in occupied France) it didn't always feel appropriate - it's the kind of thing you would find in a children's book. I thin...more
On August 7 this year, one of the most amazing women of our times passed away at the grand old age of 98. Nancy Wake has been claimed by both New Zealand and Australia as one of their own - by New Zealand because she was of Maori descent, born there and retained close ties with her extended family; and by Australia because she lived there from early childhood, grew up there and lived for a period of time after the war there. But she could equally be considered French for her service to France du...more
WOW! This true story biography is what fiction aspires to be. During World War 2, Nancy Wake (a.k.a. the White Mouse) became a courier for the French Resistance fighters, was trained as a British SOE agent, joined and led the French Maquis fighters against the Germans, and became the Gestapo's Most Wanted Person. Nancy parachuted out of planes, lived in the forest with the Maquis troops she was sent to coordinate, slept on pine needles, taught soldiers how to use weapons, rode a bike 400 km over...more
The author begins with a quote from Anne of Green Gables, and goes on to say that it ranks with Anne of the Island as Nancy Wake’s two favorite books. Since “Anne” is very high on my list as well, I was instantly intrigued. I had read a review of Nancy Wake in which the writer complained that the author’s writing skills were lacking. I disagree, and the audio version is particularly fascinating as the narrator does a great job with the various accents! This is the biography of an Australian resi...more
A friend of mine was reading this book while she was staying at my place for a couple days. Out of interest, I asked her what it was about and the more she explained, the more I wanted to read it for myself. Kindly she left the book with me and I devoured it over the next few weeks.
Not being an avid reader of biographies of any kind, I was surprised that I was immediately drawn into Fitzsimons' style of writing. He makes the reader interested in wanting to find out more about the people he is wr...more
Not being an avid reader of biographies of any kind, I was surprised that I was immediately drawn into Fitzsimons' style of writing. He makes the reader interested in wanting to find out more about the people he is wr...more
You didn't have to admire or like Nancy in this book. People I have discussed this book with in our book club stated that they didn't like her very much. I don't think this book was about liking or disliking Nancy but what she endured during WW2. I was just blown away by her courage, tenacity, drive, ambition and passion for her cause. I just liked her for all of her amazing strength and absolute lack of fear to pursue all she did during WW2. What a woman and what a story of a time and place tha...more
The name caught my eye, the subject grabbed me and the fact that she was born in Wellington NZ sealed the deal. I listened while traveling to NZ and Brussels. Loved it.
Appalled by what she'd seen of the Nazis in Berlin and Vienna, Nancy joined a resistance group in Marseilles helping to smuggle out escaped British prisoners. By 1943, Nancy had become the No 1 target on the Gestapo's most wanted list, and there was a five million-franc price on her head.
Appalled by what she'd seen of the Nazis in Berlin and Vienna, Nancy joined a resistance group in Marseilles helping to smuggle out escaped British prisoners. By 1943, Nancy had become the No 1 target on the Gestapo's most wanted list, and there was a five million-franc price on her head.
Interesting biography, but not very well written. Nancy Wake's life certainly was eventful. She left Australia well before the war and was established in France with a French husband by the time the Germans invaded. She joined the maquis in the south of France and did some amazing things. However, the writing of this biography left me wondering - evil Nazis - yes we know that the Nazis did some horrendous things, but the emotive language does a huge dis-service to Nancy's life story. Just how ob...more
Like (I assume) many of you reading this review, I had never heard of Nancy Wake before coming across this book. What a find! Her story was fascinating.
If you enjoy stories set in WW2 like I do, you'll enjoy this captivating biography of "The White Mouse" as she was referred to by the Gestapo.
She served as a British agent during the later part of World War Two and became a leading figure in the Maquis groups of the French Resistance. Up until this point, I thought the Maquis was a rebel group o...more
If you enjoy stories set in WW2 like I do, you'll enjoy this captivating biography of "The White Mouse" as she was referred to by the Gestapo.
She served as a British agent during the later part of World War Two and became a leading figure in the Maquis groups of the French Resistance. Up until this point, I thought the Maquis was a rebel group o...more
This book is hard to come by in that there are only a few copies in circulation according to the friend who loaned it to me. It was quite an interesting biography of a very gutsy and courageous woman who had a very important role in WW II. It is surprising that she survived. I do wonder if some of what she described was a bit exaggerated, but she did put herself in harms way many times and the Germans were defeated, so even if exaggeration was there, I must hand it to her. It is definitely worth...more
Proud to be an Australian woman from Nancy's pioneering ways and her courage to stop the Germans. After reading this remarkable woman's tale, I cried buckets when she died last year in sorrow but also that it was old age that called this Lady.
A remarkable woman, and an engaging read, although at times I thought that the tone was a bit uneven - veering from quite formal, to "Aussie rugby player". An excellent introdcutory read for people interested in the role of the SOE and the resistance in World War II.
I loved this nonfiction book about Nancy, an Australian, who was a resistence leader in France during WWII. She was truly a remarkable woman. The writing was not that great, but the story was fascinating.
A great book for following World War II from a French, insider perspective. Nancy Wake is an extremely courageous Australian who took it upon herself to make a difference and fight the Nazis.
Fascinating story that was so badly written that I felt no connection with character or place. I can't believe that this so called author churns out so many books and sells!
Good enough that, even though I discovered that I didn't like Nancy all that much very early on, I couldn't help but keep reading. I admire her enormously, but I can't like her.
I enjoyed the book although it started out slow with her childhood in Australia. That actually gave the background to her personality to being such a strong leader in the French resistance which had a lot of interesting and exciting parts. I did not know too much about the resistance details till
this read.
this read.
Great true story of woman who led groups in the French Resistance in WW2. Well written; had plenty of humorous parts making for a light-hearted moment in the midst of tragedy and suffering at the hands of the Nazis.
I loved the story. What a tremendous woman! The story was like the author reading his notes he had made in interviews with her.
Bought at the Perth Writer's Festival, 24 Feb 12, after listening to FitzSimons talking about "Batavia" - he was FANTASTIC!
Nancy died today. She was a remarkable women. I was very fortunate to meet her once; how lucky am I! RIP Nancy.
This is a four star read because Nancy Wake was a 5 star woman and her story was written by a 3 star author.
An interesting read from the feminine side of the French resistance in the second world war.
great story but Fitzsimons has a VERY simplistic writing style and a horrible habit of using the same adjective twice in the same sentence - nit-picky I know....
Fascinating person. Her life story is better than most fiction.
Amazing woman! So daring and intelligent! Wish I could of met her!
I had never heard of Nancy Wake. Her story is interesting but this book isn't as gripping as it could have been.
Loved this - great recounting of an amazing life.
The historical nut within liked this story.
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Peter FitzSimons is one of Australia’s most prominent and successful media and publishing identities. His busy professional life involves co-hosting the breakfast program on Sydney's Radio 2UE, writing weekly columns for the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun Herald newspapers, appearing on Foxtel's Back Page television show and, when time permits, authoring best-selling books. A correspondent for Lond...more
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“We had a teacher called Fanny Menlove, and I remember once when she was out of the room Nancy went up to the blackboard and wrote it backward - Menlove Fanny - and we all fell around laughing. She got into big trouble, but she didn't seem to mind. She had no fear.”
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updated Mar 10, 2012 05:49am
Mar 12, 2012 02:00pm