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This work is a meticulously researched account of Malta's strategic importance during World War II and how it varied with military events elsewhere. As historical fiction, it deftly combines facts, such as the now-famous (but then top secret) Bletchley Circle, with fictional characters and events. The tiny island, which, at approximately seventeen miles long and nine miles wide, is said to be the smallest country in the world, was significant as a British military base for the Royal Navy for nearly 150 years prior to World War II.
The reader becomes acquainted with the then-contemporary lives of some fictional military personnel, as well as their backstories. One woman, Candice Weld, who is in the British military, had German grandparents. Weld's life has been dominated by her sexist, abusive father. As a signals officer—a generic term for practically any type of worker—she is a codebreaker. Weld, Chief Officer Stevie MacCay, the senior pilot Robin Priestman, the young Beaufort (a British twin-engine bomber and reconnaissance aircraft) flyer Ned Nettleton, and the historical figure, pilot Adrian Warburton, are the main characters.
The interplay among the characters and the traumas they endure effectively illustrates the roles people play in the construction of war. Schrader's engaging narrative shows how the officers learn lessons in leadership and function as they deal with the British military and those under their command. The reader easily connects to the main characters as the action and drama develop. Schrader's book is a magnum opus as a reference to macro and micro situations on a small island during a huge war.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
Schrader's The Last Crusader Kingdom and An Obsolete Honor were Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalists in 2019 and 2009 respectively.