Castaways of the Kriegsmarine - current printing
£11.96
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- o***e (422)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseAs described, well packaged and at a fair price. A highly recommended seller, would buy from again, thank you!
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Reviews (7)
16 Mar, 2023
Unique perspective but eye-watering price
It was early morning on 8th December 1941 in (then) Malaya but still only 7th in Hawaii when Japanese landings began, a couple of hours before Pearl Harbour. The outbreak of a new front in the global conflict was no surprise; the speed and completeness of the Allied collapse was. One of the problems this created was an unexpected deafness to enemy intentions. The army had expected to use its own linguists and co-opt businessmen, missionaries and diplomats familiar with Japanese language and culture. Most of these people were now stuck in occupied territory.
The author was a junior Japanese officer in Java, disarmed in 1945 and repatriated eighteen months later. In that time he met no Japanese-speaking Britons and was surprised to discover several fluent speakers when posted to the UK later in life. This prompted him to research the frantic catch-up courses run by London University's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), which are the subject of the book.
It is absorbing and well-written. There is a useful selection of images, though in view of the price (see below) they should have been in a proper plate section rather than printed in text. It is unusual, perhaps unique, in dealing with the topic from a British rather than Australian or US perspective. There is a useful table giving the number of candidates put through each type of course, broken down by service but I would also have liked a rundown of course dates. The author is strong on the identity and subsequent path of the army candidates, less so on those from the RAF, and almost completely ignores the naval contingent. This is a pity.
One final word on price, which is eye-watering. I couldn't find a source of a new copy under £100 for quite a slim volume (I eventually traced a used copy which was stiff enough). It's quite difficult to see how this is justifiable.
12 Apr, 2021
Works well, with a few wrinkles
I previously owned the non-recording version of this. I was pleased with the performance and usability but had to return it because it suddenly stopped seeing my wi-fi network. OK, early-life failures happen - I am willing to give Manhattan the benefit of the doubt on this. I bought the T3-R to replace it because I couldn't obtain the cheaper version quickly. I don't save programmes but find the ability to pause live transmissions useful. The casing is the same shape as the T3 but slightly larger, which may affect placement options, and the supplied mains lead could usefully be longer. Two other minor gripes: I had no trouble getting the remote of my T3 to control my TV but can't repeat the trick with this, and have yet to find a way of making the T3-R 'wake up' the TV when I switch in on. First world problems? In general, though, for what it does I have no complaints. Output quality is good and the remote works well, with large buttons. Let's hope this one keeps working.
14 Jul, 2023
Useful, portable and lightweight
It's useful to have a SQD and SD card reader in one compact box. My only slight whinge is that the data lead is very short - either a longer lead or a USB3 socket would be more useful. On the other hand it does serve to keep the whole thing compact and integrated.