The Cretan Runner

Just finished this book, which is a remarkable first-person account of resistance activities on the island of Crete during WWII. The book's author was a Cretan messenger for British SOE commando cells hiding out in mountain caves, who sometimes had to travel dozens of miles overnight over rough terrain while avoiding German patrols.

The Germans were quite ruthless in repressing the population, destroying entire villages and murdering everyone around, but the irrepressible spirit of the Cretan people in the face of such cruelty comes through in this book.

One of the most audacious yet little-known events of WWII was the SOE kidnapping of the German general in command of Crete; although the author did not participate in that particular action, he does write about how the general was shuffled around from cave to cave before being smuggled off the island.

This book provides a detailed, in-depth account and insight into the challenges and adventures of resistance fighters in an almost-unknown theater of operations. I found it well worth the read.