This is such a great book. I love War memoirs. Bought this in Boston years ago. Oh, how great Boston is for books. I'm looking at you, Commonwealth Books and Brattle Book Shop! I bought a lot while there, just because they looked good. No idea why I don't read these more often.
Ill Met by Midnight is the true story of a small team of Brits, Greeks and Cretan guerillas in WWII who kidnapped the German divisional commander on Crete. Spoilers coming, but you know you just looked this up: The original general (the Butcher of Crete) they wanted to kidnap was absolutely horrible to the Cretans: exterminations, 10 locals targeted for 1 dead German. Villages razed. Women and children killed. Terrible. Unfortunately for Billy (the author) and Paddy, a new general showed up a few weeks prior.
The things this generation went through would make the equivalent gen nowadays cower in fear. I didn't realize till the very end, after reading about weeks and months of trying to parachute onto the island, then hiking hours and hours day after day, that the author was only 21 years old! Holy crap. And he was a Captain. Paddy was only 29 and a Major.
Dear reader(s) know how much I love used books, especially when they come with extras! This one belonged to Mrs. Kathleen Wright, who bought it (or at least claimed it as her own) in March 1951. She also included an October 22, 1950, review of the book from the NYT. Finally, someone named Grace Berdew (Corlew? Burlow?) borrowed the book, and finally returned it to Mrs. Wright on or around April 18. (Which year? Who knows for sure, but Grace recommends another book to Mrs. Wright: Jubilee Trail. She admits it is "not especially good literature," but likes reading about a trail from Santa Fe to California, before they were part of the U.S.
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