I Have Damien Lewis Covered!

You know Mother Nature is in a serious snit when you wake up in the morning here in Phoenix and it's colder than it is in Anchorage, Alaska. We've had below freezing temperatures and even snow in parts of the valley for the past week, and I'm more than ready to return to the balmy temperatures we normally have at this time of year. One thing's certain: this weather makes me appreciate summer even more than I usually do!

To keep icicles from dangling from the end of my nose (can you tell that I do NOT like cold), I'm going to do a "Cover Off" of a book that's set, for the most part, in the steamy jungles of the South Pacific during World War II. That ought to warm me up!

Time to take a look at the US and UK covers of Damien Lewis's Smoky the Brave!

As I said in my review of the book, the US cover uses the photo that won Smoky Yank Magazine's Mascot of the Year award. Due to jungle conditions, weather, parasites, and the like, Smoky got at least one bath in Bill Wynne's helmet every day. I think this photo is the perfect cover. It shows just how small Smoky was, her personality shines from her face, and it tells potential readers that the book is set during wartime. Since most people associate war dogs with big German Shepherds and other large breeds, seeing that tiny dog in a soldier's helmet is going to pique curiosity in many people who see it.

On the other hand, the UK cover seems aimed at people who may be put off by any trappings of war, although it looks as though there might be something a bit explosive going on in those palm trees in the background to the right. There's no real scale in the photo either to show Smoky's size.

You've undoubtedly noticed that both covers are rather "talky," and you know that I don't like a lot of words all over the cover of a book. In this instance, I think some explanatory text is helpful. I guess we just have to have the blurbs telling us that Lewis is a best-selling author since so many readers seem not to want to pick up a book unless it's a "winner." (But I do wish those two blurbs would disappear.) The descriptive text on the US cover lets the potential reader know exactly what's going on. This is a book about a dog who became a mascot and friend to a group of soldiers during World War II. The cover wants us to find out how on earth a tiny dog like that found itself in such a situation.

You get none of that from the UK cover. "The World's Smallest Dog With the Biggest Heart" is so... generic, and "Smoky" looks as though she's ready to stop playing fetch and come inside now, please. The blandness of the UK cover makes me wonder if they were not allowed to use Yank Magazine's photo of the actual dog.

I think you can tell by now that I think the US cover is much superior this time around. How about you? Which cover do you prefer? US? UK? Neither one? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Smoky the Brave by Damien Lewis

First Line: The image painted on the side of the aircraft's fuselage was eye-catching.

Japanese military advances are threatening to overrun New Guinea in February 1944. It is absolute chaos, but the discovery of a tiny Yorkshire terrier shivering in a foxhole in the jungle surprises everyone when she's brought into the base of a photo reconnaissance squadron. Adopted by Corporal Bill Wynne, Smoky quickly becomes the mascot and lucky charm for the unit, but few would believe the military career this four-pound furball would have.

The cover of Smoky the Brave is the photo that helped win this tiny Yorkshire Terrier Yank Magazine's Mascot of the Year award. She got a bath in Bill Wynne's helmet every day. Most people think of small dogs as nervous and yappy, good for taking up space on old ladies' laps but not much else. Smoky was one of the many dogs who behaved contrary to this popular misconception.

Smoky's life was truly extraordinary. She became the first recorded therapy dog when an acquaintance of Wynne's persuaded him to take the dog to visit soldiers convalescing in hospitals in Brisbane, Australia. She saved lives, learned how to parachute jump, laid cable on an airfield just seized from the enemy-- and was awarded eight battle stars. (And I'm not mentioning many of her exploits.)

I learned a lot from reading this book, especially about photo reconnaissance squadrons that would fly thousands of miles to obtain detailed photographs of enemy positions. Pilots who flew these missions were beyond brave. They flew alone. They never knew when the enemy would spot them, the conditions were freezing, and since the planes had to be as light as possible to travel such long distances, the pilots had no guns, so they couldn't shoot back in an effort to save themselves.

I'm still not completely sure how much I enjoyed this book. Lewis glossed over an event in Smoky's life that I thought could have used a bit more explanation, and his writing style is very matter of fact. As a passionate dog lover, I was expecting to be much more emotionally involved in the book than I was. Now I'm debating whether a more subjective approach would have improved the book, or would it have done a disservice to such a marvelous dog? The debate rages on in my mind. What I do know is that any dog lover is going to be glad they took time out of their busy lives to read about a creature that had more than her share of bravery and heart.

Smoky the Brave: How a Feisty Yorkshire Terrier Mascot Became a Comrade-in-Arms during World War II 
by Damien Lewis

eISBN: 9780306922565

Da Capo Press © 2018

eBook, 312 pages

Non-Fiction, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon


 

On My Radar: Damien Lewis' Smoky the Brave

As I began putting this post together, I had two books I'd recently found out about and I couldn't make up my mind which one to feature. I decided to go with the non-mystery just to shake things up a bit... and also because the face on the book cover makes me feel all warm and mushy.

I may be allergic to cats, both literally and figuratively, but I am an unabashed dog person. The cover of Smoky the Brave reminds me of a six-week-old Yorkshire Terrier named Amber who was feisty and courageous and incredibly smart. I'm all afire to read this book because I want to see a grownup version of Amber in action. Hopefully, most of you are animal lovers and will take a look at the book I'm looking forward to being released.

Available in the US on December 4, 2018!

If you're having trouble reading the full title, it is Smoky the Brave: How a Feisty Yorkshire Terrier Mascot Became a Comrade-in-Arms During World War II, and the author is Damien Lewis.

Here is the synopsis of the book:

"Smoky the Brave is the extraordinary, touching, and true story of a heroic dog and her adoptive masters in the jungles of the Pacific War. In February 1944, as Japanese military advances threatened to overwhelm New Guinea, a tiny, four-pound Yorkshire Terrier was discovered hiding in the island's thick jungles. The GIs who discovered her thought at first she had been a Japanese army mascot, but it turned out that she didn't understand commands in either Japanese or English. A mystery, she was soon adopted by US Army Air Force Corporal William "Bill" Wynne, an air-crewman in a photo reconnaissance squadron, and became something of a lucky charm for Wynne's unit. When Smoky saved Wynne's life by barking a warning of an incoming shell as their landing craft approached an enemy-held beach, he nicknamed her the "angel from a foxhole."

Smoky's exploits continued when she famously jumped with the unit in a specially designed parachute. But her most heroic feat of the war was running a cable through a seventy-foot pipe no wider than four inches in places to enable critical communication lines to be run across the recently occupied airbase of Luzon. Her efforts saved hundreds of ground-crew from being exposed to enemy bombing, preventing both injury and loss of life.

In recognition of her efforts, and adding to her previously-awarded eight battle stars, Smoky was given the PDSA's Certificate for Animal Bravery or Devotion in 2011. InSmoky the Brave, award-winning war-thriller author Damien Lewis brings to vivid life the danger and excitement of the many missions of World War II's smallest hero."


I don't know about you, but I can't resist that little face on the cover, let alone the outline of what Smoky accomplished during the war! Smoky the Brave is available now in the UK, but I'm going to show a measure of restraint and wait for the US version which will be released on December 4, 2018. That way, it will be a bit of a Christmas present to myself.

How about you? Does Smoky tempt you at all?