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Amazon.co.uk Review
Published to mark the 50th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, Stephen E. Ambrose's D-Day: June 6, 1944 relies on over 1,400 interviews with veterans, as well as prodigious research in military archives on both sides of the Atlantic. He provides a comprehensive history of the invasion which also eloquently testifies as to how common soldiers performed extraordinary feats. A major theme of the book, upon which Ambrose would later expand in Citizen Soldiers, is how the soldiers from the democratic Allied nations rose to the occasion and outperformed German troops thought to be invincible. The many small stories that Ambrose collected from paratroopers, sailors, infantrymen, and civilians make the excitement, confusion, and sheer terror of D-day come alive on the page. --Robert McNamara
--This text refers to the
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Review
The New York Times Book Review "D-Day" is mostly about people, but goes even further in evoking the horror, the endurance, the daring and indeed, the human failings at Omaha Beach... Outstanding
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first Stephen Ambrose history book that I have read and it is most likely that it will be the last too. If you read the title you would believe that this is an all-encompassing account of D-Day based on first hand accounts. However because I would guess 80% of the accounts are from US veterans the book reflects this. It would be far more honest to call this work "D-Day : An American Triumph" because that is the way it is portrayed. You have to question an author's objectivity when it becomes clear that Ambrose knew Eisenhower personally and is in awe of him, the source material is so skewed towards US accounts and that when you begin to read through you will see opinions given with little or no supporting evidence. There is a really patronising view given of all the nationalities - i.e. the British are a bunch of tea drinkers who are either eccentric boffins or timid, thick soldiers. The really disappointing element is that this was an operation that covered 5 beaches and airborne operations but we only get the detail on 2 beaches - you are not able to judge which landings were the most important militarily for the Allies because there is so much emphasis on the US beaches where they endured a truly hellish time before getting themselves established. There are better accounts out there.
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found reading this book a strange experience. It's a gripping read, very thorough in terms of detail and research, and it brings the realities of war into sharp focus. I couldn't put it down, despite the fact that I was on holiday and should have been out sightseeing.
Despite getting great enjoyment out of the book, it also left a rather sour taste in my mouth. The author is primarily concerned with the American contribution to the D-Day operations - fair enough, since I take it he's American. However, he is openly contemptuous of the role of the non-American forces involved. The Canadians get a slightly condescending, brief mention. The most offputing factor was his treatment of the British soldiers though - according to Ambrose, the British took on the 'easy' beaches, wandered ashore, had a cup of tea then packed it in for the day. Not only did we not do much on D-Day, but we scuppered the American soldiers by providing them with our amateurish, ad-hoc kit. I found this kind of stuff slightly offensive and disappointing. The one plus point in this regard is that he keeps his mention of British troops to a minimum, so you aren't reminded of his bias too frequently.
The book is a flawed yet entertaining read, and it has motivated me to do some further reading on the role of the British troops in the D-Day landings.
Despite getting great enjoyment out of the book, it also left a rather sour taste in my mouth. The author is primarily concerned with the American contribution to the D-Day operations - fair enough, since I take it he's American. However, he is openly contemptuous of the role of the non-American forces involved. The Canadians get a slightly condescending, brief mention. The most offputing factor was his treatment of the British soldiers though - according to Ambrose, the British took on the 'easy' beaches, wandered ashore, had a cup of tea then packed it in for the day. Not only did we not do much on D-Day, but we scuppered the American soldiers by providing them with our amateurish, ad-hoc kit. I found this kind of stuff slightly offensive and disappointing. The one plus point in this regard is that he keeps his mention of British troops to a minimum, so you aren't reminded of his bias too frequently.
The book is a flawed yet entertaining read, and it has motivated me to do some further reading on the role of the British troops in the D-Day landings.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just browsing the other reviews is reassuring - I am not alone in regretting Ambrose's terribly one-sided view of the conflict in Normandy.
Ambrose was clearly a hard-working historian whose contribution in collecting hours of eyewitness accounts will be valued by generations to come. But his shortcomings are clear in this book - he is biased, as other reviewers have expressed, and he is a poor writer, incapable of injecting the events he is describing with any drama. Max Hastings is a proper writer, so if you want a much better book, I commend you to Overlord.
Sadly, because Ambrose acted as an advisor on the movie Saving Private Ryan, his strange belittlement of the contribution on the non-US allies to D Day has probably become a received idea for millions of people.
Ambrose was clearly a hard-working historian whose contribution in collecting hours of eyewitness accounts will be valued by generations to come. But his shortcomings are clear in this book - he is biased, as other reviewers have expressed, and he is a poor writer, incapable of injecting the events he is describing with any drama. Max Hastings is a proper writer, so if you want a much better book, I commend you to Overlord.
Sadly, because Ambrose acted as an advisor on the movie Saving Private Ryan, his strange belittlement of the contribution on the non-US allies to D Day has probably become a received idea for millions of people.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fascinating Because of the First Person Accounts
Ambrose takes you into the story of D-Day exploring what lead up the battle. He explores many of the topics (preparatory measures by bomber command, French resistance, etc. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JH
D Day - The Battle for the Omaha Beach
If you are expecting an overview of the events of D-Day then you will be very sadly disappointed, this book is about the American landings on Omaha beach and, to be honest, very... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mrs. Webb
Winners write history books.....
I am, if anything, a student of military history.
I am English.
This book is written by an American. That is a statement of fact, not a critiscism. Read more
I am English.
This book is written by an American. That is a statement of fact, not a critiscism. Read more
Published 8 months ago by JRWaddy
More Myth than Fact
Although this is, to me, is a very biased report. I cannot understand how the author has ignored repeated notifications for corrections to what are myths. Read more
Published 9 months ago by normngrey
US nationalist rubbish. Do not buy.
Once a fine historian, Stephen Ambrose eventually made a very good living out of telling US readers what they want to hear. Read more
Published 10 months ago by John Dynan
So biased it was offensive
I am in accord with pretty much everyone else on here. The book is so biased towards the US it is offensive. Read more
Published 18 months ago by What Katie did next
Hoo hum - lets have a go at the Brits ...
Factually inaccurate in many places & a showcase for an apparant dislike of Britain.
The 1st sentence of the prologue reads:
"At 00:16 HOURS, June 6, 1944 the Horsa... Read more
The 1st sentence of the prologue reads:
"At 00:16 HOURS, June 6, 1944 the Horsa... Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Kvalheim
A good read albeit with US perspective.
Unlike some of the other Ambrose book reviews I do agree with some of those who criticise this book it is heavily biased towards the US perspective and this is probably due to the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by A. S. Edwards
America wins war while England drinks tea.
This is a very biased book. There is a huge amount of information and detail on the American assaults on Omaha and Utah beach which I found very interesting and absorbing. Read more
Published 21 months ago by G. Silander
Awful. Just Awful
I'm going to jump right in and say "don't bother".
My boyfriend has had this book for a number of years now and had numerous attempts to read but got annoyed with it and... Read more
My boyfriend has had this book for a number of years now and had numerous attempts to read but got annoyed with it and... Read more
Published 21 months ago by The Kat One
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