In Time of War, by Pierce O'Donnell - Large Print Reviews

Large Print Reviews

In Time of War
Hitler's Terrorist Attack on America
By Pierce O'Donnell
Introduction by Anthony Lewis
Read How You Want, (2012)
EasyRead Large Print, in 16 Point Font
(Originally Published in Standard Print by The New Press)
ISBN: 9781459604247
Genre: History

Reviewed by Boris Segel - January 26, 2012

Military tribunals, questions about who should be deemed to be an enemy combatant, charges of terrorism aimed against foreign soldiers, unlawful detentions, the restriction of civil liberties in America - sounds like the developments after 9/11. However, for historians and political scientist, it has all happened before...

In June of 1942, German U-Boats landed eight saboteurs on American soil. One team of commandoes landed near Jacksonville, Florida, and the other near Amagansett, on Long Island. One group, led by George John Dasch, was discovered by a young Coast Guardsman as they were landing on the beach. Being unarmed, the coast guard member was not able to apprehend them, but he sent out the alert. Shortly thereafter, Dasch, sensing that they were doomed even before they started, called the FBI and turned himself, and his team, in. He provided the FBI with information that allowed them to round up the other team within a month. Neither team managed to carry out a single act of sabotage. Rather than being treated as prisoners-of-war, or summarily shot as spies, the eight men where tried by a special military tribunal convened by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, setting a precedent that President George Bush used when he tried to convene military tribunals to try enemy combatants. Six of the Nazi sabatores would eventually be executed, and two, including Dasch, were sentenced to thirty years in prison.

In In Time of War: Hitler's Terrorist Attack on America, Pierce O'Donnell details how this attack was planned, what it's goals where, and how the men were chosen and trained. He also details the events surrounding their landing on American soil, their activities once they landed, and their capture. The bulk of the book deals with their trial, the legal and moral issues surrounding the trial and the sentences that were handed down. O'Donnell also examines how the war, and fear of additional attacks on American soil - after Pearl Harbor - lead to the erosion of civil liberties. Questions about the constitutionality of military tribunes, restrictions on civil liberties, and lack of full disclosure to the public that occurred after the arrest of the Nazi saboteurs, are problems that were destined to reappeared after the events of 9/11.

Code-named Operation Pastorius, the Nazi attempt to carry out sabotage efforts on American soil was a complete failure. However, the aftermath of this abortive attack had long reaching legal repercussions, repercussions which are outlined in detail in this book. As well, the use of the term terrorist in the book's subtitle is subjective. America carried out sabotage activities behind enemy lines during World War II. If you class the Nazi's attempted sabotage efforts on American shores as terrorism, should not American sabotage efforts that were carried out in Germany also be labeled as terrorist attacks? This is just one of the many thorny questions that are brought up in this book, questions that are as relevant today as they were back in 1942.

In Time of War is an informative and important book that is important not just for exploring an often overlooked aspect of World War II history, but also due to how it relates to modern issues currently facing the world. Most important, this book illustrates how public fears - real or imagined, can steer governmental reactions toward actions based on trying to calm public rage and fear, rather than upon legal and moral precedents.

In Time of War is available from Read How You Want, an on-demand publisher that makes books available in a variety of formats including Braille, DAISY, and five different large print formats. This range of formats makes this, and other books, available not only to visually impaired individuals, but also anyone with a reading or physical disability that makes reading standard print books difficult.

Want to stay up to date on what's new at RHYW? If so, Click Here to register to receive monthly updates from RHYW on their most popular large print titles.

Related Reviews:

MacArthur's Undercover War, by William B. Breuer.
In this intriguing narrative, Breuer, chronicles MacArthur's long-running covert war that he waged against the Japanese during World War II.
The Jedburghs, by Lt. Col. Will Irwin (Ret).
The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944.

Back to top

About LPR | Privacy Policy | Site Map

Questions or Comments? Send an email to:

info@largeprintreviews.com