Malta Books

I loved this book and the history of the most feared Catholic knights in the world The Knights of Malta. This book was published in 1929. I have read over 20 books on the Knights of Malta. This book has historical information that other books do not include and that must books copy from. This history starts when the Knights come to Malta and ends when Bonaparte comes and conquers the island. The reader will see how the knights of the order lived and fought on Malta and on the sea. Well written, inspirational, almost poetic at times. Ex "The galleys of Malta! They were famous throughout the Christian and Infidel world. Admired and toasted, or feared and cursed, their names were repeated, their cruises, their victories, their mishaps, were watched & discussed, in courts, in counting-houses, in barber-shops and on the streets, with the same eagerness & enthusiasm that scans today's newspaper reports of the latest airplane or Artic hero. Every merchant who had a cargo at sea, every women whose son or sweetheart was a sailor, every tough old captain who loved an adventure & admired a brave fighter, prayed for them or honoured them. Christian captives, chained to the benches of Turkish galleys, strained their ears for the welcome war-cry, 'For Christ & St. John!' which promised their freedom. Christian fleets 7 armies stranded on the hot sands of Africa, or besieging island strongholds in the Levant, watched eagerly for the scarlet banners of the Eight-pointed Cross coming to their relief. Every turbaned admiral, every fierce renegade Corsair, both trembled & exulted at the prospect of measuring his skill against the redoubtable Knights of St. John. Their flag was the only one a Moslem feared,...........

This book fully details the grim years of the Second World War for Britain in the Mediterranean when a small group of Hurricane fighters helped to keep Malta secure as a valuable base for the British. These planes succeeded the 3 Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters - named 'Faith', 'Hope', and 'Charity' - which constituted for a time the only defense for Malta against the aerial onslaught on Malta by the Italian Regia Aeronautica, which began shortly after Italy declared war on Britain in June 1940.

Though the Hurricane performed well against the Regia Aeronautica, it had a very hard time standing up to the Luftwaffe when it made its presence keenly felt over Malta during 1941. In particular, the Messerschmitt 109 fighter, which outclassed it in almost every respect. Nevertheless, the Hurricane helped to keep Malta free as Britain faced the spectre of defeat in the Mediterranean between 1940 and 1942.

Exactly what I wanted and... I got it

Geographically, Ohio may be a long way from Malta but the two became forever linked through the historical events of WW2. The Ohio was a ship - at that time the largest (and fastest) Tanker ever built, and Malta a country under siege. Malta's position in the Mediterranean meant she played a vital part in the war in North Africa - with aircraft based there attacking Rommel's supply lines at every opportunity. In order to maintain those attacks, however, it was imperative she continued to be re-supplied by convoy.

By August 1942 Malta was in dire need of help. Unless substantial supplies were delivered - and soon!, Malta would have to be surrendered by 7 September at the very latest. In the meantime the German campaign in North Africa was going from strength to strength because aircraft based at Malta had no fuel to continue their campaign. They were also running out of aircraft.

Operation Pedestal comprised 14 commercial ships which departed the Clyde on 2 August 1942. By the time they entered the Mediterranean on 10 September such was the importance of this convoy that no fewer than 4 Aircraft Carriers were assigned to the overall defence. From here on those ships came in for attack after attack from air and sea and they pushed ever closer to their destination. Almost immediately the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle was lost and the next day the 8,000 ton cruisers Kenya and Nigeria were put out of action and the 4,190 ton light cruiser Cairo sunk. It was at this time the Ohio took a direct hit from a torpedo. For a long while she was stopped in the water with her crew making frantic repairs and an easy target. In spite of her extensive damage, however, the ship got under way and was soon making 15 knots. By the morning of the 14th she had caught up. In the meantime, however, the 9,400 ton cruiser HMS Manchester was lost.

The loss of so many capital ships on a single operation only served to underline the importance of this convoy. One at a time the freighters with their valuable cargoes were being reduced in number as they were attacked and lost. From now on the Ohio received greater attention - from both sides. Firstly she had become the primary target for Axis forces and secondly she was regarded as the most important ship still afloat as far as the convoy was concerned. In short, the Ohio must reach Malta at all costs. She was torpedoed, she was shot at, she was bombed with explosives and bombed with fuel in a bid to set her alight. The many near missed she suffered twisted her hull and with her cargo of fuel oil and kerosene leaking in all directions she could have simply blown apart at ant time. She was abandoned and re-boarded (twice), her steering gear was first damaged making steering impossible and then it was blown away altogether. She lost countless tows and was so badly damaged that Destroyers were loath to come alongside less they sustain damage from the ship itself.

But come alongside they did and, re-boarded yet again and - when any lesser ship would have been sunk several times over, the Ohio was finally berthed alongside Parlatorio Wharf, Malta at 0930 hrs 15th August 1942. Only four other ships from the original 14 also arrived. Incredibly, very little of the Ohio's cargo had been lost and as a direct result of this incredible feat of human endurance, the fuel carried by this one ship helped turn the war in North Africa in favour of the Allies.

This book tells the tale of a single ship. In bringing Operation Pedestal to life in a thrilling and readable style, Michael Pearson skilfully draws the reader into the events aboard other ships at key moments in the voyage. He also includes just about each and every many who played a key role at various times. All the facts and figures are there including brief technical details of every ship. For those who wish to study the many pages of bibliography, his account is also exceedingly well researched and I congratulate him on a job well done.

NM

The day I finished reading "People of the Temples" it was announced that the Council of Europe is to draw up an action plan to conserve Malta's cultural heritage in which the pre-historic period has an importance that is universally acknowledged. From this aspect no country can actually boast of so much in so small a space. The number of major megalithic temples bears absolutely no relativity to the islands' dimensions, a fact which deserves deeper thought and consideration. Equally intriguing is the proximity of certain major temples to each other: why erect a structure, with all the labour it involves, when you have a similar one only a few hundred metres away? What demographic conclusions can one draw from the space taken by the temples? How did the people who built them live? What were their contacts with foreign countries - there isn't anything on the more proximate littorals that proves the existence of similar contemporary structures.

I have read this dissertation written by Duncan Borg Ellul and i was amazed by how well he has chosen to put words and the way he makes people aware how illegal purchase of Alcohol has dominated the island of Malta and how to prevent it. This book is worth reading as it applies to all individuals around the globe.

Rough Guides' "Malta & Gozo" is a very handy guidebook. Although it is only 192 pages and pretty light, it is packed with information. The thing that I like most about this book is that it contains detailed maps of all three Islands, Malta, Gozo and Comino, in addition to numerous city maps and plenty of both colour and black and white photos.

The main focus of "Malta & Gozo" is to provide the reader with detailed and up to date descriptions of the main attractions, restaurants and hotels in each community. As well, this guide contains a basic overview of practical information, relating to transportation, money, communication, festivals and language.

One very special bonus is that this book is accompanied by a mini CD, showing the book's contents in digital format. This feature is nice if you would like to take a closer look at the maps provided in the book.

If you would like an up-to-date and thorough guide of Malta, this book is for you.

The style of writing is similar to Marquez's `One hundred years of Solitude' and Rushdie's `Midnight's Children'. A wonderful read for the lovers of magic realism. This is a story of the fight between the good and evil in a remote village. The son of the devil is a crocodile man, his seductress is the ghost of a beautiful dead, the witch doctor Bulu-Bulu can become a cigar smoking monkey, the wooden christ comes down from his cross to converse with the priest...many fantastic treats

In 1943, British and American amphibian and airborne forces began landing in Sicily, culminating in the invasion of Sicily which took 39 days. The plan (code named Operation Husky) fixed Malta as the launching site for the fighter and fighter-bomber offensive. Spitfires Over Sicily provides a day-by-day historical account of Malta Spitfire operations during the battle of Sicily from January through August, 1943. Illustrated with 100 photographs, including the pilots, their adversaries, and the Spitfires of many of the squadrons involved, Spitfires Over Sicily is a remarkable and engaging history that is a welcome and informative contribution to the growing body of World War II literature and a "must" for military buffs.

This is an excellent book for people wanting to travel to Malta. However, if after reading this book you would like to learn Maltese. I recommend strongly Merhba 2 - Maltese Language conversation course. This course is bilingual ie English and Maltese and it consists of five audio tapes and reader. For more information send email to karatt@ozemail.com.au