The Eagle Has Landed by Higgins, Jack - 1980

New York U. S. A.: Bantam Books. Very Good 1980. Paperback. Marfree, fresh 13th prtg; no names, not marked-in, underscored, clearance or discard. Mails from NYC usually within 12 hours.; 362 pages; Classic WW2 suspense novel, Dec 23, 1999 By Jeff Cordell (Fort Drum, N.Y.) - The Eagle Has Landed is probably Jack Higgins best work. For almost fifteen years prior to this novels publication in 75 he had been turning out potboilers that took place among the London mob, the IRA, the Sicilian mafia, ex-Nazis hiding in South America. His books were solid, enertaining, and rather forgettable. But with Eagle Higgins found his stride. It's a classic WW2 suspense novel which takes all the cliches and combines them to make a rather fresh and exciting work. You actually find yourself hoping the German commandos pull it off. The book raised a few eyebrows when it came out because it was written predominately from the German point of view and the Germans were - for the most part - portrayed positively. I've read the book several times over the past sixteen years and have viewed the movie - also well done - several times as well. It moves quickly and is very engrossing. Unfortunly Eagle was Higgins high point - one which he has been working hard to recover ever since. His following books have been allright reading but he's never approached the quality of The Eagle Has Landed. If you're new to his work start off with Eagle and then try Storm Warning. After those two you're on your own. Eagle is excellent though. .