Night of Flames

Title:

Night of Flames

A Novel of World War II

Author:

Jacobson, Douglas W.

Subject:

Fiction

Historical

Description:

Painting a vivid and terrifying picture of war-torn Europe during World War II, this tale chronicles the lives of Anna, a Krakow university professor, and her husband Jan, a Polish cavalryman. After they are separated and forced to flee occupied Poland, Anna soon finds herself caught up in the Belgian Resistance, while Jan becomes embedded in British Intelligence efforts to contact the Resistance in Poland. He soon realizes that he must seize this opportunity to search for his lost wife, Anna.

Publisher:

Globe Pequot

Date:

2008-10-01

Digital Format:

HOOPLA E BOOK

Summary

Author Notes

Douglas W. Jacobson is an engineer, a business owner, and a World War II history enthusiast. His book Night of Flames won the 2007 Outstanding Achievement award from the Wisconsin Library Association. He is also the author of the novel Katyn Order. He lives in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.

Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

Jacobson's debut is a wide-ranging historical tale that starts and ends with the fate of a married couple. Jan Kopernik, a major in the Polish cavalry, and his wife, Anna, a university professor in Krakow, end up on separate paths when the Germans invade Poland in 1939. After the Polish cavalry launches a disastrous charge against German tanks, Jan takes refuge in a Hungarian refugee camp. Soon after, in what is the first of many terrifying adventures, he returns to Poland, working for the Polish Free Forces in the disguise of a Gestapo agent. Anna, for her part, flees to Belgium, where she works for the "White Brigade" resistance, ferrying rescued British and American aviators along the "Comet Line" to freedom. Surrounding these central characters are a host of partisans, saboteurs, soldiers, SS officers, and others caught up in the war, each with an intriguing story. Jan and Anna themselves will be severely tested in their search to find each other. Inspired by his Belgian relatives' own World War II experiences, Jacobson has written a novel that is suspenseful, rich in convincingly detailed incidents, and impeccably researched. Recommended for public libraries and all collections of historical fiction.-Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.