Soldiers first-hand accounts of Second World War active service invariably make inspiring and exciting reading but "Mines, Bombs, Bullets and Bridges" is exceptional for several reasons. First, Brian Mosss role as a bomb disposal specialist was especially hazardous. Secondly, he was in the thick of the action from the start, dealing with unexploded ordnance during the London blitz. He was then deployed as a frontline sapper to North Africa and onto Sicily before landing on Gold Beach on D-Day. Despite many close calls he was relatively unscathed until taken out by a butterfly bomb at Nijmegen. Fortunately, despite serious injury he lived, quite literally, to tell the tale but his war was over.
While the Authors graphic account compares favourably with the very best wartime memoirs, it also has a unique element, namely examples of his outstanding artistic skill. It is truly remarkable that he not only managed to produce so many fine works under combat conditions and that he was able to draw such accurate maps from memory. His sketches and paintings bring a special dimension to this story.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Moss, Michael (Hrsg.)
Title
Mines, Bombs, Bullets and Bridges. A Sapper's Second World War Diary
Details
English text, 60 bw- and 8 colour illustrations. 232 pages.
State
new
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Church Street 47 S70 2AS South Yorkshire Vereinigtes Königreich
