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D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II by Sarah Rose is several short historical accounts of women spies, tied into a single narrative. Ms. Rose is an author and journalist whose work appeared in such publications as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, among others.

This book sounded very interesting to me as I enjoy the many narratives and stories World War II has produced. D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II by Sarah Rose tells of these stories, focusing on women who spied for the Allies.

The book follows three women as they were recruited as spies and sent behind enemy lines, and unheard of act back then. They had to be tough, smart, have a good head on their shoulders, and thing quick on their feet.

To be fair, I knew most of what is written in this book from other books I’ve read. This is the first book though, that I’ve read, that tried to fit them all into a single narrative. I do commend the effort, but the author jumped around in time in places which, to me, seem out of order.

Ms. Rose took three women, each of them deserves her own book (At least one of them does, Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII’s Most Highly Decorated Spy by Larry Loftis ) and tried to narrow three lifetimes into 400 pages. This had the effect of creating a wonderful introduction to the subject, but I do suggest that those who liked this book go out and find more comprehensive biographies.

This book does provide an effective springboard to learn about these amazing women.

So many risked all to ensure victory 75 years ago in Normandy. D-DAY GIRLS tells the utterly compelling tale of female agents — members of Churchill’s Secret Operations Executive — who blew up weapon supplies and power lines, derailed trains, and sabotaged the Nazis with cunning, bravery and chutzpah to advance the Allied cause. Meticulously researched and lovingly written with an eye to giving these courageous women their due. And what a cover!

Pub Date 23 Apr 2019.

Thanks to the author, Crown Publishing, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#DdayGirls #NetGalley

I never knew of the SOE before reading this book. The research that went into this writing is phenomenal and I appreciate that. It tells the stories of three women who were in the SOE and their roles in leading to D-Day. I found this fascinating to read and cannot imagine what these women went through.
Many thanks to Crown Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

"D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II" eBook was published in 2019 and was written by Sarah Rose (https://sarahrose.com). Ms. Rose has published two books. 

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains a few scenes of Violence. The story is set in World War II beginning in July of 1942.

While the book focuses on three women who were members of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), it also tells the broader story of the Resistance in occupied France. The women that are focused on are Andrée Borrel, Odette Sansom (the recent book "Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy" goes into more details of her exploits), and Lise de Baissac. The author draws on recently de­classified files, diaries, and oral histories to tell their story. 

I enjoyed the 9.5 hours I spent reading this 372-page history. The scope of the book goes beyond the limits implied in the title in that it talks about the broader resistance efforts, not just the three women. I did feel that the book was slow and tedious at times.  I give this novel a 3.8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Should have been fascinating reading, but it wasn't. It's all in the writing.

The instructions say the review has to be 100 characters long, but really, the above is what I really wanted to say. Some people know how to write to make a book fascinating to read and some do not. It's not the subject matter, it's the writing skill

I love history -- especially World War 2 history!! Sarah did such an amazing job researching this book, I couldn't read it fast enough!! This book is about the three women who a part of the first team of women spies. Their stories are incredible. I hope this book becomes a movie. England didn't want to use women in the their military - but they had no choice!! This is the story we all wish we had learned about in high school.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title!

While I absolutely loved the cover art and premise of the story, I regret to say I just couldn’t make a connection with the writing itself. It’s very obvious the author did a tremendous amount of research to execute such a thoroughly detailed story, but this is also why I just couldn’t get into it. There was such an extensive amount of details constantly presented that it was too overwhelming for me as the reader. I felt so inundated with facts that I couldn’t even really relate to the story and its characters.

While it just wasn’t the book for me, I’m sure many will find D-Day Girls a home run and delight in the history and content presented.

I enjoyed this inspiring non-fiction about the real women of WWII who went undercover to help make D-Day happen. I loved the female empowerment and, as seen in the photo, I love, love, love books that have female spies in them or women who played a part in the war effort. I decided to include some of my favorite books that have women spies/badasses in them because when I saw that this book was coming out and it told the story about the real women who were spies or went undercover, I knew I had to read it! While there are parts that focus a lot on the military details of the war—which is necessary, I totally get it—I really just wanted more of the women! When we had their stories and what happened to them I couldn’t put this book down. Odette Sansom is currently my absolute favorite and I was blown away by her bravery, courage, and tenacity in the face of evil. I loved reading about all the women and they all inspired me. I cannot even begin to imagine the level of bravery it takes to do what these women have done. I will say my one critique is that I felt like a lot of the book focused on the military detail which I understand is necessary but felt like it was way too much detail on that and way less on the actual women. If the title wasn't D-DAY GIRLS, I don't think I could have confidently said this was a book solely about the women who helped D-Day happen.

historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, war-is-hell, war-experiences, spies, WW2 *****

I got this the day before release and haven't quite finished it, but since I have raved about it to more than a handful of friends I figured that I ought to post a review.
The research seems impeccable but it's the humanization of each of these brave and motivated women that is so compelling. They're not all young beautiful idealists, but they are all willing to put it on the line long before it was accepted and appreciated. Each woman's involvement is detailed but not in the dry boring way as in a thesis. These women were real and so are their histories. Besides that, it is eminently readable. Great read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crown Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

D-Day Girls is an interesting look at an underexamined aspect of World War II: the role women spies, trained in England, played in organizing and coordinating resistance in France in the years leading up to the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Primarily following the recruitment, training and missions of five of these women—Andrée Borrel. Lise de Baissac, Odette Sansom, Yvonne Rudellat and Mary Herbert—author Sarah Rose does a great job of conveying their military value and how they slotted into the overall spy networks in France, while still managing to portray each as an individual with a particular personality and set of motivations. The details of their training and the nuts-and-bolts descriptions of what was required to run a clandestine guerilla operation in France were most interesting to me, as well as the information about how the SS in Paris based on Avenue Foch managed to infiltrate, turn or otherwise undercut the English spy networks. Rose’s focus, understandably given the title of her book, is always on the women, but that did leave me with questions at the end of the book about the fates of various men in their networks—some of whom collaborated with the Nazis—that I wish Rose had addressed. (And the end in general did feel a little abruptly wrapped up.) These are fairly small quibbles, however; I think D-Day Girls is admirable for telling the unknown stories of brave women whose dangerous work on behalf of the Allies has not been adequately appreciated, and I hope it gains a wide readership in their honor.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Pregnancy, cool nerves and luck aided some agents in avoiding capture and imprisonment. Others were not so lucky facing and enduring years of torture and mistreatment. TRIGGER WARNINGS some of what was done to them is detailed. Against all odds, some of them survived. A few came so close, dying in the days after their camps were overrun by the Allies.

For various and assorted reasons, much of what these agents did remained classified and what did get mentioned was abbreviated. Since the women were not considered as being in the military, they were not awarded military honors at the time. It has taken decades for them to receive the recognition they deserved. This detailed and witty book helps shed light on their actions, their courage and their guts. B

D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose is a fantastic work of nonfiction about the British female spies who sabotaged the Nazis during WWII including Odette Sansom, Lise de Baissac, and Andrée Borrel. These women risked their lives to assure an Allied victory in Europe. They did everything from derail trains, blow up weapons caches, destroy power and phone lines, as well as gather crucial intelligence for the British. Their stories are absolutely fascinating and truly engaging. I appreciated the level of detail that has gone into this history book and just how skillfully it has been written and researched. If you enjoyed Duel of Wits by Peter Churchill (a memoir from Odette Sanson's secret agent husband), Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, White Rose by Kip Wilson, or are interested in historical fiction, and spy novels, I expect you'll be hooked on D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II by Sarah Rose.

The spies who armed the resistance, sabotaged the Nazis, and helped win World War 11

This is a dramatic true account of extraordinary women recruited by Britain who helped win the day on June 6, 1944 and pave the way for Allied victory.

Drawn from declassified files, diaries and oral histories, as per her notes, Ms. Rose did intensive research and has written a story of five remarkable women. These courageous women are Andrée Borrel, Odette Sansom, Lise de Baissan, Yvonne Rudellat and Mary Herbert. It is also the story of fearless men who worked by their side: Francis Suttill, Gilbert Norman, Peter Churchill and Claude de Baissic. Together, they destroyed train lines, ambushed Nazis, plotted prison breaks, and gathered crucial intelligence. Some never made it home.….

France and Environs 1940-1944.

Interesting:

A most heavy read, this account is a fascinating and important story not only of the women who worked as spies but also of the members of the resistance in France and the SOE (Secret Operations Executive) Office whose agents played key roles in the D-Day invasion. Sara Rose takes us on the dangerous journey they had to face in enemy territory.

Not so much:

It is a hard book to get into, the narrative lacks some cohesion and something is lost in the way it is told. The story jumps from event to event, from person and person sometimes using their code names other times their real names all this with little warning. I found this distracting and mostly confusing. It also reads like it was thrown together, much unorganized, more like a history professor’s lecture notes, a person that wants to say a lot but doesn’t have time to do so. Staying focus was a challenge and I wanted to abandon this book many times but I persevered wanted to know who would make it home….

In Conclusion:

Writing a non-fiction is a daunting task. Ms. Rose has nevertheless provided us with an overall picture of the war and has supplemented her words with a lively bibliography at the end. This book is an addition to the WW11 histories and not meant to be an easy and quick read.

I stay on the fence on this one.

This book focuses on the women who participated in espionage in France as part of the Resistance during World War II. It is part of a recent trend of books that focus on the roles that women played fighting the Nazis in World War II, which is a needed story that needs to be incorporated into World War II history. The book focuses on a small group of women who were trained by British intelligence services in espionage and then sent into France undercover to resist the Nazis and prepare for D-Day. I thought that the book could have done better at tying the role the French Resistance played in causing D-Day. However, it tells an interesting part of history, and it should be incorporated into how we teach World War II.

In D-Day Girls, author Sarah Rose illuminates the little known lives of the women who willingly went into occupied France to work with and unify those resisting the Nazi occupation during WWII. During the war, Britain faced a dearth of males the right age for spy and saboteur work as all available men were already at the front. Even if they had been able to scrounge up a decent force, Rose points out that most French men had been drafted into forced labor to make parts and necessities for the Nazis, so war-aged healthy males would have stuck out in occupied France.

Necessity being the mother of invention, the then radical decision was made to conscript women for the job, extending offers of work to women who had grown up in France at some point in their lives and spoke the language like a local. A handful were ultimately deployed to work as couriers and saboteurs, parachuted in or arriving by sea under cover of night. These women helped form the backbone of the resistance, training resistance fighters to assemble and use various guns and other weaponry, blowing up railroad tunnels and tracks at crucial junctions, and causing other damage to the Nazi machine wherever possible.

Standing stoic in the face of incredible danger, many of the women found their calling in the use of weaponry and sabotage that they daily engaged in, and, due to Nazi sexism, were able to slip past the German soldiers throughout France without suspicion. In D-Day Girls, Rose has created a meticulously researched work of nonfiction that flows like a spy novel, with the satisfying knowledge that the characters were in fact real life women who accomplished amazing feats in the war. A worthy and compelling read, Rose shows herself to be a gifted author to watch.

My thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating and important story that should be told. I just wish the organization and writing were a little better. I also have to wonder about the accuracy when the author presents the thoughts and feelings of the characters; I question whether it sometimes strays into historical fiction.
Still, it is a compelling topic and one deserving of attention.

I wanted to like this book as I am very interested in the subject matter. While I enjoyed the letters and such it felt like the book was simply thrown together and there wasn't really any good flow to it. It could have been better.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose is well researched book about the women that assisted in the French resistance during World War 2. The stories of Lise de Baissac, Andrée Borrel, and Odette Sansom were amazing, inspiring, shocking and impressive.

I received this book from Crown Publishing and #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Crown Publishing and #Netgalley for allowing me to read an uncorrected proof of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First off I was drawn to this book because of the beautiful artwork on the cover which immediately suggested to me the era in which the book was set. The title set up certain expectations for me and I am not sure they were fully met within the pages of the book. To be fair, I was reading an uncorrected proof and it is possible that the finished book will include things that I did not see. I did not see any maps or any pictures of the women that were focused on. In a broader sense, the author was writing not just about the women who worked as spies but about the S.O.E. from it's very early days until the time of the D-Day landings and a little beyond. With a different title I might have been more prepared for what I was reading.

I grew up reading books that my father had collected during the war and the ones that fascinated me the most were the ones either about P.O.W.s who tried to escape and women who worked in the resistance. Included among them were the book Odette about Odette Sansom, Born for Sacrifice about Noor Inayat Khan (known as Madeleine), Carve Her Name With Pride about Violet Szabo and Moondrop to Gascony written by Anne-Marie Walters about her experiences, among others. All of these were published in the 1950's while much information was still classified and could not be put into writing. They were exciting books to me as a young reader and I felt that I came to really understand what these women were experiencing. The author here chose to focus on the stories of three particular women, Odette Sansom, Lise de Baissac and Andree Borrel, and using recently declassified files, diaries and oral histories tell their stories and give the reader insight into what makes a woman stand up and resist against what she believes is wrong. Her intent was to write a book that would bring these women to life for general readers. I think perhaps with the amount of reading I have done in this area that perhaps I don't fit into that category.

The author began with Odette heading off to an interview at the War Office without really understanding what she was going there for. As a young mother, she thought it might have been something to do with photographs that she had shared. The general public had been asked to send photographs that showed the French coastline in any way that might ultimately be helpful at the time of an invasion. She was a mother of three young women and certainly was not expecting to be asked to go and serve in France. The chapter was quite detailed and interesting and was a good starting place for me. The subsequent chapter moved on to really start at the beginning of the war and the development of the "Firm" as the S.O.E. or Special Operations Executive was sometimes called. The author laid out in a logical way how the war had progressed thus far and what the military strategy was likely to be going forward. Throughout the book there were many spots where Rose moved away from the story of the women to things in perspective from the view of the "Firm" and the powers that be back in England. While these are important to help the general reader understand how things happen, as I reader I found it frustrating. Different chapters moved back and forth between the different women, often with very little to inform me of that until I was well into a paragraph. Personally I think I would have like to have read about each one in totality.

As I was reading the book I didn't notice any footnotes interspersed throughout the chapters. One of the difficulties of reading books on the kindle app but not on the kindle is that you can't easily flip back and forth through the book without losing your place. The table of contents did make mention of notes that would be at the end, but I missed that on my first excitement to get reading and didn't look to the end until I got there. Having said that, the author clearly did an incredible amount of research and much of it was fascinating. The notes run from page 291 to page 351 and a Bibliography follows that is over twenty pages long. If you read the book you really should read through the notes as they included some quite detailed information that did not make it into the body of the book.

I feel this book does give a good overview of the development of the S.O.E and how both the male and female operatives worked in France during the war. I didn't come away feeling like I had really gotten into the heads of the women. At times I felt like I was reading a history book, at other times like I was reading fiction. I think this book would be most of interest to the reader who has not done a lot of background reading about the war and the roles that the women played in setting the stage for the ultimate invasion and victory. Is it still relevant today? Yes - it is as women still face up to what they see as injustice and learn to speak out and resist.

D-DAY GIRLS by Sarah Rose
I had to keep reminding myself that this was “real non-fiction” and keep reading. Unfortunately I had just read a fictionalized account of the resistance in France that covered many of the same women/events in this book.
D-DAY GIRLS is well researched and well written. It does jump from person to person and event to event with only a new chapter title to give warning. I found this disconcerting and jarring. The notes are wonderful and enlightening.
Odette, whose exploits begin in the early days of the “Firm” and continue to end of the war, was a fascinating woman. The angst of the old guard in deploying women to danger and possible death is a continuing story even today.
History buffs will love this book. The minutia, letters and intimate details will carry them through. A person wishing a lighter tale or more “plot” should find another book covering the same era.
4 of 5 stars