The evacuation of Dunkirk was a pivotal point during World War II that I knew of, but knew little about. The 2017 film, directed by Christopher Nolan, gave me some insight, although I never considered it a definitive history of that desperate effort to save (mostly) British soldiers from an approaching German army.

Now, John Grehan and Alexander Nicoll have provided me with a great deal more information. Their book, Dunkirk Evacuation - Operation Dynamo: Nine Days That Saved an Army, part of Pen & Sword's Images of War collection, takes you right to the scene of the action in late May and early June 1940, when more than 300,000 soldiers were saved from capture or death.

With a chapter devoted to each day of the operation, the book provides a textual context of the daily progression of events. Most of the book is devoted to photographs, however -- some 140 black-and-white pictures from Dunkirk, the English Channel and safe in Dover, plus a few for illustrative purposes from the 1958 movie version of Dunkirk.

The text is quite informative, but the photos and captions really give you a sense of being there on the beaches, or on the ships and boats that tried to save those men. You'll see ships loaded with troops and sailing for home, and ships that were shelled and sinking, or run aground. You'll see planes in the air or downed on the sand. You'll see makeshift defenses and piers on the beaches.

You'll also see the faces of men awaiting rescue, en route to home or back in England, as well as the German soldiers who arrived too late to halt the evacuation but posed merrily with the equipment and vehicles abandoned or destroyed.

This book really brings the Dunkirk miracle home. Well done!