cover image Siege: Malta, 1940-1943

Siege: Malta, 1940-1943

Ernle Bradford. William Morrow & Company, $19.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-688-04781-8

During World War II the tiny island of Malta commanded both Allied and Axis supply routes in the Mediterranean and was an important intelligence listening post for the Allies. From June 1940 until August 1943 it was subjected to heavy bombardment by Italian and German planes (262 air raids in one month alone), yet the islanders and the British garrison not only survived but assisted in turning Malta into a launching pad for a counteroffensive. Winston Churchill called the island ""that unsinkable aircraft carrier.'' Although Bradford's book is oddly devoid of individuals, he conveys in magnificent detail the privations of the defenders and the ingenuity with which they coped with bombs, starvation and the threat of invasion. The relief and exultation with which the island-saving Santa Marija convoy was greeted is movingly described. Bradford's previous books include Ulysses Found and Julius Caesar. (March 24)