Reign of Terror - Percy Chattey- Non fiction/autobiographical

This is a factual account of the second world war both from a historical point of view and

from the authors own memories. From evacuation and how children were chosen by their

adoptive families to descriptions of how things were at the time. things such as cars not even

having heaters- something unimaginable today. The hardships of the times and how

community spirit won though. This was an easy way of learning of a time long gone and I

think this would be enjoyed by the older generation who remember this and maybe

those interested in a factual read with little embellishment. This is a serious subject

however I felt the book could perhaps have been lifted  a little by having some

humorous anecdotes as I am sure they happened. There are the personal stories but

nothing that raises a smile as I have seen in other similar reads which then puts the

serious things more into perspective and makes for a more interesting account, other

than one very short anecdote from Norman Collier. It is lovely to see some pictures

and posters of the time and would be interesting to see some of the adverts to again

to bring home the reality. That said it is well thought out and a fairly short easy

read (146 pages). A book of memories of a time some of us cannot begin to

imagine what went on and as time goes on there are less and less first hand

experiences to be told so getting them down on paper is a valuable resource. 

A book of reminiscance intermingled with the facts.

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