Nancy Wake

This book was great. I was sorry when it was over. I generally read non-fiction and love to learn about previously unknown (to me) women from the past. This book moved swiftly and brought to life a part of the WWII resistance in France. A woman in a man's world who was greatly respected by them.

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 of space fighters (Chakotay, Seska and B'Elanna) battling against the Cardassians! HA! How stupid do I feel now?

Many people feel that the author's writing style was too humorous and therefore inappropriate but I disagree. I think the slightly dry, sarcastic tone fits the character perfectly! No nonsense, straight forward, not afraid to call a spade a spade. I enjoyed the writing style very much.

I had never heard of Nancy Wake prior to listening to this book. She is a true hero. This book is well written and almost perfectly read. I found it very difficult to stop. If this book had been a novel, you might have said "right, who makes this stuff up?" I loved the whole story, from Nancy's time in America and England to her carefree life in Paris. The writing gave the real feel of the Paris streets, the parties and Nancy's step by step change from free spirited wife to resistance fighter. I find it very interesting to read about ordinary people who find themselves in circumstances that bring out extraordinary responses. To see a young woman (not that different from me) who becomes a leader of the French Maquis (thousands of them in fact), and is recognized as having such a great impact on their success is amazing. WWII is full of stories of those who rose to the occasion and did the right thing. What happened after the war was sad in it's anticlimactic return to "normal" life.

Not great literature, but an inspiring read.

Nancy Wakes story is truly remarkable, she was engaged as a spy behind enemy lines and served with courage and pride, I urge every person who is interested in WWII and SOE to read this book, it is superbly written, wittty enough to show her true personality and serious but easily read to understand the terrible risks she undertook. She was also one on the only persons not to receive a medal after the war because of her colonial background. You must read this it is riveting.

Such an amazing woman for her time. Her sheer bravery and spirit of mateship and battling for the underdog is so typical of many of Australia's great characters but what made this all the more remarkable is that she was a young, energetic woman who made a stand and fought for what she believed in at huge personal cost. That her story is so largely unknown to mainstream Australia is a shame and deserves to be told. The author wrote with such feminine insight that it was a joy to listen to and he really captured the essence of the gutsy woman that was Nancy Wake. Her end in London was so sad with little recognition from Australia for her truly remarkable war contributions. I hope her recent death reinvigorates interest in her story. She is a national treasure that we should have great pride in.

What a joy to listen to Peter FitzSimons's biography of this incredible lady's or maybe larrikin's is a better word, biography and narrated as though by Nancy herself. Having grown up in WW2, with my father and brother participating, my memories are very clear of the stories of courage during that time. Mr FitzSimon writes great books and articles and I downloaded this book with relish and was not disappointed.

I really enjoyed the story of Nancy Wake. This book was well written and the narration was very well done. I could not stop listening and almost completed the book on the first day I had it. Unfortunately my Mp3 player ran down and I had to recharge the battery. I truly appreciated the no frills approach to the realities of war, and the respect the author showed for the attitudes of the day; neither apologizing for the anger many people felt toward the German people and their supporters nor trying to bring modern rationalization to bear on the role those people played in the war. I would recommend this book to anyone and will!

What a great story. A girl with more curiosity and determination than sense left her home in Australia and found herself in the middle of France during WWII.

This is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, but one of the things I most enjoyed about it was that the author did not paint Nancy as a saint. She smoked and swore and could out-drink most men. She was willful and had some definite personality quirks. I had to keep reminding myself how young she was and the attitudes of the time. (She was just a few years older than my mother.) All this made it much more interesting for me.

I am so glad that I saw this book. It would make great reading for young women, late high school and college age.

Nancy Wake was a woman of extraordinary heroism, and this is a story of a truly fascinating life - at least up to the end of WW2. Her bravery and sheer determination are inspiring. It is interesting and quite sad, however, that the rest of her life seems such an anticlimax after her experiences in the war - reminds me of the David Hare play, "Plenty".

However, this book is like a hagiography - obviously the author loves his subject, but somehow the portrayal of her lacks depth and feels airbrushed. The narrator also lets the overall impact down with a rather stilted delivery, but I think she is doing the best she can with material that is sometimes fairly clunky.

My favourite audiobook of all time! What a character she was!

Her escape from Nazi - occupied France into Spain, this woman wasn`t taking any nonsense from anyone!

Unfortunately I haven`t listened to any of Stephanie Daniel`s performances before, but will look out for in the future.

Nancy`s treatment after the war, after all the challenges she faced and overcame during it, how could she manage after? Life would seem dull to anyone.