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Review
'Fifty years from now, the history of D-Day will, I'm sure, lean heavily on this book.' --New York Times Book Review
'If you have read all the accounts of D-Day or none of them, if you were in the fighting or on the sidelines, you will be spellbound, as I was, by this magnificent retelling of a glorious and tragic story.' --Lt. General James Gavin
'Ryan's classic military study.' --Publishers Weekly
'If you have read all the accounts of D-Day or none of them, if you were in the fighting or on the sidelines, you will be spellbound, as I was, by this magnificent retelling of a glorious and tragic story.' --Lt. General James Gavin
'Ryan's classic military study.' --Publishers Weekly
Review
'The terrifying realism of what war really is. D-Day was the greatest and most necessary military undertaking in British or American history and Mr Ryan's book is worthy of its theme.' - Observer; 'Fifty years from now, the history of D-Day will, I'm sure, lean heavily on this book.' - New York Times Book Review; 'If you have read all the accounts of D-Day or none of them, if you were in the fighting or on the sidelines, you will be spellbound, as I was, by this magnificent retelling of a glorious and tragic story.' - Lt.General James Gavin; 'Ryan's classic military study.' - Publishers Weekly
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having read this book many years ago I was pleased to see it being republished. For me it is probably the best and most readable overall coverage of the 6th June. It is well written and researched. It benefits from the author writing it at a time that was much closer to the day in question. He obviously had access to many veterans and tells their stories well. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in this period.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
D-Day is one of the most important days in the last one hundred years. It has been portrayed in countless times in different forms through movies (examples The Longest Day [Special Edition] [DVD] [1962], Saving Private Ryan [DVD] [1998], and Band Of Brothers, video games Medal of Honor Allied Assault: Deluxe Edition (PC), Close Combat: Normandy Invasion), but written word shouldn't be forgotten. Cornelius Ryan's first book brings it to life. He describes the events leading up to the invasion, the aborted attempt, the airborne landings the night before, and storming the beaches. Ryan provides his colorful history from a range of sources including interviews with generals to soldiers to civilians. He also bases his story on his research of captured German documents and other firsthand historical accounts. There also some nice B/W pictures provided including pictures from Ryan's personal collection.
He lays out the story through the perspective of all sides. He shows the story unfolding from the eyes of all the allies, the defending Germans, as well as the civilians directly involved. His writing style is very dramatic and keeps your enthusiasm throughout. He also doesn't neglect the actions of the non-American allies. You are introduced to Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches as well as the well known Omaha and Utah. Ryan also shows us how disorganized the Germans were on D-day. Key members of the German command were away including Rommel. Armored reinforcements were moved and then halted. You never know what could have been, but the book makes you appreciate how fortunate the allies were on D-Day. The generals were expecting that all the beaches would be as bloody as Omaha.
My only complaints, roughly three-fifths of the book are events leading up to the beach landings. I think more detail especially on the advances from the beaches should have been provided. Another detraction is the lack of maps in the version that I have. I'm familiar with the beaches and airborne landing areas, but maps showing these areas would have been very helpful to readers not familiar with the subject.
Despite those minor detractions, I highly recommend this book. The sacrifices made on June 6th 1944 should never be forgotten. We are fortunate that Cornelius Ryan has captured a little of that for us. See Ryan's other books as well, A Bridge Too Far and The Last Battle.
I would also recommend CROSS CHANNEL ATTACK by Gordon Harrison, Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy by Max Hastings, Omaha Beach: D-Day June 6, 1944 and Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airbourne Operations on D-Day by Joseph Balkoski if you would like to know more about D-Day.
He lays out the story through the perspective of all sides. He shows the story unfolding from the eyes of all the allies, the defending Germans, as well as the civilians directly involved. His writing style is very dramatic and keeps your enthusiasm throughout. He also doesn't neglect the actions of the non-American allies. You are introduced to Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches as well as the well known Omaha and Utah. Ryan also shows us how disorganized the Germans were on D-day. Key members of the German command were away including Rommel. Armored reinforcements were moved and then halted. You never know what could have been, but the book makes you appreciate how fortunate the allies were on D-Day. The generals were expecting that all the beaches would be as bloody as Omaha.
My only complaints, roughly three-fifths of the book are events leading up to the beach landings. I think more detail especially on the advances from the beaches should have been provided. Another detraction is the lack of maps in the version that I have. I'm familiar with the beaches and airborne landing areas, but maps showing these areas would have been very helpful to readers not familiar with the subject.
Despite those minor detractions, I highly recommend this book. The sacrifices made on June 6th 1944 should never be forgotten. We are fortunate that Cornelius Ryan has captured a little of that for us. See Ryan's other books as well, A Bridge Too Far and The Last Battle.
I would also recommend CROSS CHANNEL ATTACK by Gordon Harrison, Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy by Max Hastings, Omaha Beach: D-Day June 6, 1944 and Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airbourne Operations on D-Day by Joseph Balkoski if you would like to know more about D-Day.
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