World War II preferred.

(I'd like to omit spy novelists, please.)

Nicholas Monserrat -- The Cruel Sea

Alistair MacLean - The Guns of Navarone

James Clavell - King Rat

Nevil Shute - Pastoral


Other:_____________________________________

I've read very little WW II literature, and what I have read deals more with the personal relationships that took place during that era, rather than details of the war itself. Two that come to mind immediately are Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and Anne Michaels' Fugitive Pieces. Both are excellent.

Sorry, I missed the word 'British'. These two are Canadian.

Well, my fave is actually Welsh, rather than "British", but I would have to go with Ken Follett and some of his WWII related such as Jackdaws, Hornet Flight, Night Over Water etc. He has a tendency to occasionally worry a bit too much about the details, but I find myself always engrossed and satisfied by his works.

More confusion Ken Follett is British.He is, however, not English but Welsh. He was born in Cardiff or, as he would probably not have it, Caerdydd. (Few Cardiffians speak or use Welsh)

quote:

Originally posted by FredPuli:
More confusion Ken Follett is British.He is, however, not English but Welsh. He was born in Cardiff or, as he would probably not have it, Caerdydd. (Few Cardiffians speak or use Welsh)

A-ha ! Some day I might get that correct But, still I try, diligent and duty-bound !

quote:

Originally posted by dogspit:

quote:

Originally posted by FredPuli:
More confusion Ken Follett is British.He is, however, not English but Welsh. He was born in Cardiff or, as he would probably not have it, Caerdydd. (Few Cardiffians speak or use Welsh)

A-ha ! Some day I might get that correct But, still I try, diligent and duty-bound !

Keep trying! You aren't helped by the antiquated, now uniquely American habit of calling Britain 'England' Britain/British covers the lot of us.England, Scotland, Wales ( 'the Principality') and Northern Ireland make Britain.

In strict law, but in no other way, Wales is regarded as part of England and has been since the C14. (It is not wise to point out this legalistic technicality to any Welshman,including Mr Follett ) Any act of Parliament automatically applies to Wales and England, Wales doesn't get a mention in it, but not to Scotland. Scots law and procedure is different from English law and a parallel act for Scotland is always passed at the same time as the 'English' one.

And just to confuse outsiders more, Britain's international sports teams are sometimes,apparently,called England.That, in fact, is what England teams are, just England. The England soccer team represents England only, as does the cricket team. Scotland has never had a cricket team qualified to play at the international level (and the less said about their soccer team, the better ).

I thought Northern Ireland wasn't included in Great Britain as it's "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".I thought that The UK included Northern Ireland but not Great Britain
Viv

True, Viv and now explain what the adjective is from 'United Kingdom' ! Citizens of 'the Province', Northern Ireland, think they are of part of 'Britain' and are 'British'.They are Irish too, but tend to explain to foreigners that they are from Northern Ireland, if asked.Republicans of the IRA, naturally, had the battle cry 'Get the British (pronounced 'BruTT-ish' ) out of Ireland !'

We always say 'Britain' not 'Great Britain' as though aware of the constitutional and official nicety and mean, by 'Britain', 'the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'.

And true if you're a constitutional historian,international lawyer, economist or diplomat. I was speaking as we speak everyday, and as Northern Irish people do. When we talk of 'the British Government' we mean 'the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. Only when we are being as formal as our ambassadors do we write or say 'the United Kingdom'.They may shorten this, using the abbreviation as an adjectival noun: 'the UK government'. Soldiers and ex-pats talk of returning to 'the UK',or 'Britain' not 'the United Kingdom'.Historians generally write of 'Britain' and 'British' not 'the United Kingdom'.

The reason for the official title of 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' takes a lot of explaining of history ,involving Elizabeth I, James I and VI, the hermaphrodite King Williamandmary,Queen Anne,the Dublin Post Office, the Irish Free State ( and Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all) Too long for here!

"...now explain what the adjective is from 'United Kingdom' "

This one is easy. It's United Kingdom-ish.

quote:

Originally posted by DorianGreyed:
"...now explain what the adjective is from 'United Kingdom' "

This one is easy. It's United Kingdom-ish.

Quite right. And the one from Britain ought to be not British but Britishish," a tendency, if you see what I mean, without committing oneself to definite, lest I offend anyone, to being a bit in the direction of being, dare I say it, of Britain".British is far too certain.