H.M.S. Defiant (DVD)

Advantages: s
Disadvantages: s

...are nothing new to us. But this book crystallizes what it is like to face these conditions, day in, day out, suffering sleep deprivation, exposure, exhaustion, mental anguish ... I find this book compulsive reading, so much so that that pilfered copy, having travelled across my world and back (a 1970's edition) is falling apart, and I must look for another. It doesn't help that every time I read it, I immediately read it again, in case I missed a bit. This was McLeans first book, written on the back of a response to a Glasgow newspaperman asking him to write a short story for publication, and I think by far his best. A film was made of this book, never shown on the tv to my knowledge, but what could the camera do for this book? How could any director do justice to this magnificent story? I'm not going to tell you what happens... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Unmissable, Outstanding
Disadvantages: You will forget time.

...Perhaps once in a lifetime there comes along a novel that both captivates and inspires. For me this is one such novel and if I tell you that I have owned my copy for more than 40 years then perhaps you will understand the impact it has had on me. This is the story of a warship H.M.S. Ulysses and her crew. A unique ship, built especially for escort duties on the notorious Russian Convoys of World War Two. As the story begins we join Ulysses at anchor in Scapa Flow, she has just returned from Murmansk on convoy escort duty and her crew are tired. No perhaps tired is the wrong word; exhausted would perhaps be a better description of a crew both physically and mentally exhausted who have been pushed to the very edge of their sanity. The arctic weather where Ulysses operates is known for its severe conditions and the effect of these... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Moving memoir
Disadvantages: Not everybody's cup of tea

...The Naked Civil Servant, an autobiography by the late Quentin Crisp, and made famous by a television drama with John Hurt, was first published in 1968. A witty, honest, self-deprecating and poignant account of his life, Crisp writes about the trials and strains of being 'not merely a self-confessed homosexual but a self-evident one', and of openly wearing make-up in an age when a woman with eye-shadow was considered sinful (let alone a man!) and homosexuality was still a criminal offence in Britain punishable under the law. The book takes us into a pre wartime twilight era of bohemia on the breadline, London bedsits and late night cafes as the defiant Crisp battles homophobia, the world of work and life in general, all the while determined to just be himself... "From the dawn of my history," writes Crisp at the start of the book. "I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful