Review: Get the history right!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 16, 2012
Stars 2.75The good stuff first. There is a wonderful love story mixed dancing through the pages. The hero/villian AbeWeinstein, Julius Schiller/Julian Tate, take you through the dark days of film making for the Third Reich-he's a Jew. He falls in love with his leading lady Eva Wendt/ Betty Weinstein-also a Jew. This has potential or so I thought. The author Jack Hillgate/David Levine does an excellent job with scenery descriptions and character development. Gals, you will the story of struggle and love. There are some very touching and moving parts through the story, with a few interesting twists. Okay, those are the good parts.However, if an author is going to pick an exact time in modern history, get the facts straight. Mr Hillgate, you are a film maker. Surely you perform excellent research for your productions. Why should a book be any different? The time line and events are unbelievable to those of us who know better. The topic you are covering is very real and deserves good, solid research. An example: It's July 1944 and Herr Schiller is caught in an ambush with his German (no longer) comrades. He is knocked out during the ambush and wakes-up three weeks later in an American Hospital and the war is over? That would make it late July 1944 or early August. Come on. Oh and what about it being 1939 and the Germans are bombing England and The Lowlands and France have been conquered? Please!As an amateur historian of this era, I cringe when I see people doing zero research and putting it out for public consumption. Also, at times I believe you were recollecting personal stories from the past as the story moved on. At times, the hatred and anger (well justified) for the Nazis was overwhelming and obtrusive. It detracted from the story and the characters you sought to build.In the future, if you chose to write about this topic again, please get the history correct and save the commentary for your films.