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Robert Matzen

Författare till Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II

10 verk 510 medlemmar 42 recensioner

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Foto taget av: Robert Matzen at BookExpo at the Javits Center in New York City, May 2019. By Rhododendrites - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79387601

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historical-novel, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, TV/film-industry, relationships, twins, writers*****

If you are into the inner workings of the film industry in the early 1940s you will definitely love this very well written fictional backstory on the creation and production of the film "Casablanca". The players in this are real people who made a difference in their time, and defining just what that was is job one for this book. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from GoodKnight Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
… (mer)
 
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jetangen4571 | Jun 16, 2023 |
My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/detpf-KHo8A

Enjoy!
 
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booklover3258 | 20 andra recensioner | Jan 3, 2023 |
A very interesting book which delves into the usually undiscussed life of Audrey Hepburn during her time in World War II Netherlands. This book is uneven and drags on early and actually concludes with very little of Audrey herself. A lot of records research was conducted and some new relevant material from other works was included. Much of the book involves Audrey's mother and her role in promoting Audrey as a promising ballet dancer and dance performer. She of course went on to become a world famous actress. The book does jump forward to Hepburn and then husband, fellow actor, Mel Ferrer visiting the town memorial in Oosterbeek honoring the 1st British Airborne Division. This was an important part of the book and the most tragic since it lays bear the utter idiocy of General Montgomery, and his use of airborne troops as cannon fodder for his tank units. The 1st Airborne division was one of the most brilliant units in war history and luckily we get to hear about their exploits once again. Audrey was there to see these brave men throw down their lives for the people of Arnhem's freedom. For some reason the author succumbs to historical revisionism by saying the British were bombing the Dutch when they were actually bombing and strafing the German mechanized units before sending infantry back in after Montgomery having managed to bungle the reputation of the Brits by laying waste to his own airborne division. Later Matzen says that the US B-17s and B-24s were bombing the Dutch civilians which was of course not true. Bombing was imprecise due to altitudes on bombing runs and German 88 AA guns which could hit the bombers directly in flight but the target intent was not for bombs to hit the civilian population. If any blame is to be laid it is with Prime Minister Chamberlain for appeasing Hitler rather than with the brave American air crews in the process of crippling the German war machine. Again this was a good book to read for myself and my own literary interests but I find the disjointed material hard to recommend to others, even if they also be fans of Hepburn. The book does have a nice picture of Audrey and Otto Frank (Father of Anne) in front of the Hidden Annex as she was being persuaded to play Anne in a movie version of the book The Diary of Anne Frank. Audrey was moved by Frank's book and knew it to be factually true but reading the drama had scarred Hepburn too too much to act in its production. She declined.

This book is part of a WW II trilogy which includes Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart. Index, B&W Photos, Bibliography.
… (mer)
 
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sacredheart25 | 20 andra recensioner | Dec 22, 2022 |
Biography of Audrey Hepburn’s life offstage, focused on her early years in the Netherlands during WWII. She and her family endured the Nazi occupation, the execution of her uncle, and starvation during the Winter of 1944-1945. Her mother was initially a supporter of the Nazis, but soon became disillusioned. Early in the occupation, Audrey continued to pursue her passion for the ballet, and later switched to teaching children to dance. Audrey played a role in the resistance – delivering pamphlets and running errands for a doctor.

The first half is stronger than the second. I enjoyed hearing about her family background, her interest in ballet, and what life was like in the Netherlands during the occupation. It becomes a bit repetitive and less focused toward the end. I listened to the audio book, read by Tavia Gilbert. She does a competent job, but her narrative style is overly dramatic for a book of non-fiction.
… (mer)
 
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Castlelass | 20 andra recensioner | Oct 30, 2022 |

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Statistik

Verk
10
Medlemmar
510
Popularitet
#48,631
Betyg
3.9
Recensioner
42
ISBN
53
Språk
1

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