Of Windmills and War

By: Diane Moody

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The rumblings of war in distant countries mattered little to Danny McClain. Growing up in Chicago, his world revolved around afterschool jobs, a rescued beagle, his pen pal in Holland, and the Cubs' chance to go to the World Series. Then, in December of 1941, news of the attack on Pearl Harbor hit much too close to home. In a few years, Danny found himself in the copilot seat of a B-17, stationed with the 390th Bomb Group in Framlingham, England.

Anya Versteeg had been just a teenager when Hitler's troops invaded her homeland of Holland in May of 1940. Forced to grow up much too fast, the feisty preacher's daughter eagerly immersed herself in the Dutch Resistance. Certain that God had turned his back on Holland, she did whatever she had to do to save her country before it was too late.

By 1945 the people of occupied Holland were starving. Thousands were dying every day. Then, just days before the war ended, help came to the Netherlands like manna from heaven.

Operation Chowhound held special meaning for Lieutenant Danny McClain. Somewhere below, in the battered land of tulips and windmills, was the girl who needed rescuing, and he would move heaven and earth to find her.

©2012 Diane Moody (P)2016 Tantor

Great read

I loved the story. The characters were great. Narrator became annoying, The same tone through out.

Extremely Moving

A long but moving story on how mean people can be to one another and yet goodness shines thru in the end... So rewarding!!

An Unseen Gem

I don't remember why I bought this book. World War Two is of particular interest to me, maybe that was it. Maybe it was on sale and I just bought it on a lark. Maybe it was that I have traveled to the Netherlands and Holland and found windmills fascinating, I just don't know but I'm glad I did. I lived by a Dutch family growing up and they told me of their hardships and cruelties they had experienced and saw in the war. I could hear their stories as I listened to the last part of the book. Both of the narratives rang true.

I loved the flow of the book. How the different stories blended together. How the family was put together and conveyed a sense of the time. I found that I could really relate to these characters. I generally set aside so much time for listening but found myself wanting to listen more. This is a mark of a good book. I've never read anything else of this author but I will. The narrator did a great job.

If you have an interest in this time period, with characters you can relate too, then give this a read or a listen. To the Author and Narrator, thank you for taking me there and bringing me back. We don't appreciate the sacrifices these people gave to us far enough.

If you liked the Nightingale don't miss this one

For me, the Nightingale was both the book that started my Audiobook addiction, rekindled my love for books, and even now that my library holds over 500 books and many, many, MANY hours of listening, it's still in my top 3 books of all time. all that being said, Of Windmills and War is one not to be missed. I have already purchased book 2 and expect that tonight is heading towards being another night of little sleep.

Awesome

I loved every word I heard when I listened to the audio version - I crochet baby hats while listening but had to stop sometimes as emotions got the better of me
I'm so glad there is a sequel to it
Thank you

Mixed bag

Known history, chick romance, realistic Dutch suffering & resistance. I finished it. Saying something.

Amazing story.

I loved this book about ww2 Holland and the Resistance. The American pilot connection was also very good. Well researched and the narrator also was excellent. I felt right there with the characters and what they went through. Highly recommend this novel. Very well done.

Historically educational, well researched

Love the book. A good narrator. Loved learning so much history about World War Two.

I loved learning about the Holland Resistance during WWII

This book gives a unique perspective of an American G.I. and a Holland resistance fighter. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys World War II historical fiction. I have read numerous books of this genre and I highly recommend this one. It doesn’t gloss over details of struggle, faith and endurance.

Wasn't expecting all the religious overtones

Really entertaining, good book. There's a lot more religion than I had expected. I felt like I was beaten with it, but I looked past most of it. The plot was worth it.