Last Hope Island: Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War

Lynne Olson’s Last Hope Island is a fine, but deeply maddening work. Olson does a formidable job of illustrating the ways in which all roads led to London during World War II. The roads range from governments-in-exile, to the management of war strategy, including intelligence and resistance work, to the importance of foreign troops in the Battle for Britain. Olson mined some terrain that was already familiar to me (such as the sabotage of the heavy water plant in Norway), and quite a bit that was new (the depiction of Dutch Queen Wilhelmina was easily my favorite).

Olson also illustrates the many ways in which the import of Britain was unfortunate because the British seemingly seized every opportunity to be pigheaded, careless, and incompetence, and above all arrogant. I was struck more than once by the ways in which the Great Victoria and her descendants managed to wreak havoc across the world, resulting in the deaths of tens (hundreds, perhaps?) of millions and creating the quagmires from which the world still has not extracted itself. Ghastly, just ghastly, as a Brit might say.

Of course, the British were not the only ones who could be stubborn, shortsighted, and arrogant. FDR could play at the game, too, as Olson showcases most aptly in describing his attitude toward Poland and Czechoslovakia: “…he also felt that the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain had the right to dictate to the less powerful states, not only during the war but afterwards as well.” It's should come as no surprise, then, that Warsaw's final act in the war was tragic, while that of Paris was jubilant.

At regular intervals, I was angry, rather than inspired, which is perhaps Olson’s masterstroke. (Olson, too, can be assumed to harbor a bit of anger; passages such as “the amateurism of SOE was, more often than not, as inept, careless, and downright stupid…” or “cannon fodder for British Intelligence, that’s all we were” are not infrequent.) While some might argue that such a focus detracts from what the British did accomplish, I think it’s worth remembering that the heroics have all been bought and sold by the dozen, but the mistakes and miscalculations are less known, and offer the greater lessons.