Operation Jedburgh - Book Review

Rick Baillergeon | December 01, 2006  | 0 comments  | Print  | E-mail

Beavan makes excellent use of a wide variety of sources. These include: declassified American documents of the operation, British reports which were recently declassified in 2002 and numerous unpublished and privately published manuscripts, letters, and diaries. He additionally extensively interviewed over 30 members of the Jedburghs (American, British and French). These first hand accounts add significantly to all facets of the book. Most importantly, Beavan is able to blend these sources so that they compliment one another.

I believe the biggest strength of the book is Beavan’s ability to personalize the book. He does this in several ways. First, during the introductory chapters of the volume Beavan crafts excellent thumbnail biographies of the Jedburghs (including former CIA director William Colby, founder of the Green Berets Aaron Banks, and the legendary Soldier Jack Singlaub) he discusses in the remaining pages. He includes information on their families, their lives prior to volunteering for the Jedburghs, and their motivations for volunteering. Second, Beavan includes dozens of personal photographs of the Jedburghs in two extensive photograph sections in the book. For me, putting a face to a name is an excellent feature in books of this genre.

Every time you think that there is no subject regarding World War II that has not been exhaustively covered in literature, along comes a book like Operation Jedburgh. Beavan has authored one of those books that informs as well as entertains. There are some readers who may question the author’s insistence on the instrumental rule the Jedburgh’s played in the Allied success. However, I believe those same readers will graciously admit that Operation Jedburgh was well worth their valuable reading time.

For those interested in more information on the book and its author, log on to www.colinbeavan.com.

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