Product Description

On Falcon’s Wings is the heart-breaking story of five teenagers in Prague, Czechoslovakia, during World War II whose lives are unalterably changed when resistance commandos assassinate Gestapo general Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. In the tragic aftermath of the assassination the boys are kidnapped by German soldiers and sent by troop train to the Eastern front to dig anti-tank trenches, find safe passage through mine fields or perform whatever tasks their captors order them to do. Realizing that they will most likely be killed by the Russians or by the Germans or by accident, some of the teenagers manage to escape. During their perilous trip home, the boys are rescued by partisans, aided by sympathetic Ukrainians, and brutalized by Nazis. Scarred and traumatized, the boys who survive the harrowing journey back to Czechoslovakia must search for their loved ones and rebuild their lives in war-ravaged Prague.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1118900 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 394 pages

Customer Reviews

Review by George D. Klein, author of "Dissensions"
This compelling and gripping novel about five teenagers' lives during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia is hard to put down. Marshall Umpleby is to be congratulated on crafting this novel.

The story shows the interconnectedness of five teenage boys and one of their girlfriends who's disparate lives become intertwined almost by accident. One came to Prague from Lidice for medical treatment after being injured by Nazi troops and meets the others. They are part of a church-sponsored wrestling team coached by a partisan. That partisan successfully assassinated General Heidrich, the Nazi overload of Czechoslovakia. The teenagers later witness the death of those partisans.

Due to carelessness one evening, all five boys and their girlfriend are arrested by Nazis. The girl is raped and sent home. The boys are bundled on a train for the eastern front and survive a harrowing trip into the Ukraine, although one is killed on the way. In the Ukraine, they escape, although another one is killed. They slowly make their way back to Prague with the help of local farmers and partisans. Another of their group is killed by Nazis. Along the way, they survive heat, cold, dank sewers, polluted rivers and finally make it back to Prague having been smuggled back as 'cargo" by sympathetic partisans. The book ends with the return of the two survivors to grateful relatives.

Character development and background scenery is described in an excellent way. Clearly the novel is to be well researched.

World War II is now a distant fifty year memory. It is good that Umpleby reminds us how horrible it was and that the Nazis of that day were truly the ultimate "untermenschen". Their sins should never be forgotten.

Real and Relevant
If you like historical fiction, you'll love this fast-paced, compelling story about five teen-age boys whose lives take a disastrous turn during the Nazi occupation of Prague. The author very wisely chooses to focus on teenagers whose naive, impulsive, and rebellious nature is in constant tension with the Nazi troops. Their journey reveals the absolute cruelty of war and the psychological domination that occupation gives the occupiers -- not unlike what we've recently witnessed at Abu Ghraib prison.

The characters are so real and so beautifully drawn that I became very involved with them. I struggled with them as they weighed the risks of fighting back or submitting. Those who break through the barrier of fear pay a high price as heroes or martyrs.

I read the last 125 pages in one sitting because I had to find out how it turned out for the five boys I had become so fond of. This is a five star read -- one you won't soon forget.

Great story revolving around a rarely revealed part of WW2
On Falcon's Wings is terrific story telling. The story and characters bring to life a period and place I knew very little about -- despite being a World War II history aficionado.

Historical enlightenment aside, this is simply a thoroughly enjoyable read.