The curiously claustrophobic 'lost years' of the Second World War were a watershed for neutral Ireland and the Irish. While many Irishmen volunteered to serve in the British forces, others crowded into Ireland's own defence forces, and German spies were rumoured to be forging links with the IRA. Draconian emergency powers orders used the (often ludicrous) weapon of censorship to protect the nation's neutrality and the war came closer than the news reports from distant battlefields when bombs fell on Belfast and Dublin, raising questions about the viability of neutrality.
Tony Gray recreates the 'lost years' with wit and vigour and a comprehensive knowledge of the period. Drawing on personal recollections of his life in Ireland furing the war he brings to life a unique slice of history and a time of great change.