The Commandos

World War II #31

by Russell Miller & The Editors of Time-Life Books

Book 31 of the Time-Life World War II Series

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, World War II, Reference, War

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've now read 35 of the 39 books in this set. I've given most of the books a solid 3 stars, some 4, and most I've read in 3-4 days. This one took me 6. I'd like to have given this one a higher rating. The book isn't poorly written at all, but it felt like a slog for me. I think the problem is that it's like a collection of short stories, a different cast of characters in each, so you get a glimpse of things here and a glimpse of things there, none of it really explored in depth or taken from beginning to end. The book includes accounts of incredible bravery and sacrifice. Unfortunately, you see many examples of poor planning and execution that sacrificed lives to missions that ultimately failed. If you're a true WWII history buff, you'll like this book. Otherwise, I'm not so sure.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of the origins of special forces in WWII. Many people are probably familiar with special forces in the military in the 21st century. This volume documents some of the early special forces or commandos that carried out a wide range of missions throughout WWII. Often, these groups were temporary units that were alter disbanded unlike the more permanent groups we see in military units today. However, there are plenty of parallels between some of the early training and missions carried out that led to the current day special forces units.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I hear the word commando I think along the lines of G.I. Joe. But it turns out that the term is British and they got the idea of an elite fighting force from different sources. Once commandos became the norm everyone wanted their own version.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had known that commandos were used in WWII in combat, but there is a lot of info about how they were deployed on all fronts for combat, espionage, and sabotage. Fascinating, especially since this was a cutting edge group that represented what warfare would become in our current times.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, very detailed account of the evolution, training, and employment of various Allied commando units, such as British Commandos, Royal Marine Commandos, SAS, SBS, Army Rangers, Marine Raiders, OSS, Jedburgh teams,Chindits, and the joint British-American Special Service Force. What we would call special ops forces today.

[Robert Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.