James Follett (1939–2021)

This was a humorous read that reminded me of the TV show from the 1960s called Hogan's Heros. A Cage of Eagles is about a World War Two prison camp in Northern England that houses German prisoners. Different humorous antics take place all focused on either escape or intelligence gathering.

Great read. sets up the story with some interesting insights into the history of the establishment of Israel and the issues experienced by their governments as they tried to protect themselves against the aggression of near neighbours. The story of how Israel managed to obtain the plans for the building of the Mirage jet fighter was fascinating.

A story about a future submarine with a "fail-deadly" launch initiation system with the inevitable malfunction. Originally a BBC radio broadcast; later a written novella. I listened based on being interested in nuclear submarines (and particularly the question of what happens after the initial mission is accomplished), and the title being a quote from both the Bhagavad-Gita and Oppenheimer.

Big problems: personnel and military leadership issues entirely incompatible with even a basic show more understanding of how the military actually works. Deeply implausible technical design, including both errors -- assuming things are impossible which were well known or even obvious to even the most basic technical analyst in the 1960s, and assuming things are possible which are equally obviously impossible.

Bleh. Technical-focused stories shouldn't be written and produced by people who don't understand the relevant technology. Follett was a tech writer at the British MoD, so he should have some awareness of the issues, but somehow in the process this story became stupid.

(The original radio broadcast is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyZyPrG3s3c) show less

I have been captivated by James Follett's Eagles trilogy. Perhaps because the real No 1 POW Camp (Officers) Grizedale teases a sense of naïve romance in the midst of a horrendous war, and because of the heroic stature of Commander Otto Kruger, who was modeled after the real Otto Kretschmer, Germany's most successful U-boat captain prior to his capture and internment at Grizedale Hall. In the second book of the series, A Forrest of Eagles U-boat officer Leutnant Karl Moehe "has vital show more information on the behaviour of the T5 torpedoes that he has to get home." Remarkable for the number and ingenuity of his attempted escapes, accident prone Moehe, who has managed to break an arm while in hospital, is also known as "Unglückish Moehe" unlucky Moehe. His trials make up the first of the four parts of the novel all of which are well worth the read. show less