Rating: 
Summary: Even better than "D-Day"
Review: This is a worthy sucessor to "D-Day". Even though it covers much more ground, I felt it provided a great overview of certain campaigns and high points of the Allies march east towards Berlin. This is probably THE book to get by Ambrose if you get only one.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling history that reads like biography.
Review: Stephen E. Ambrose, founder of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, pens a vivid account of the common soldier's experiences during the last bloody and brutal year of the European Campaign of World War Two. Ambrose's characteristic meld of factual commentary with first hand accounts draws the reader into the pages. As the author writes of the men that jumped from planes and fought from foxholes, readers will find themselves rooting for the good guys that they are beginning to know so well. This is no sterile "Army A hit Army B at Point C" history textbook. Rather, it is a compelling and effictive tool for conveying the real life experiences and emotions of ordinary men that were placed in extraordinary situations.
Rating: 
Summary: A great follow-up to D-Day
Review: Citizen Soldier is a great follow-up to Dr. Ambrose' first book in regards to the battle for western europe. The first book "D-Day - The climatic battle ..." will let you jump right to June 7th til the end of the war. For those who want to learn about Battle for Normandy and continue to the end of the war with germany I would highly recommend this set. There are other book to read as well, but start with these.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting Story
Review: This audio book was one of the most riveting and gut-wrenching stories that I have ever heard. From the moment that you enter the life of the World War II G.I., until you come back home with them, you will be caught up in the depths and the heights of War with American soldiers. I was mesmerized by Ambrose's words that painted a realistic picture of this struggle, and what it must have felt like to be there. Most of these stories were new to me, and they were interspersed with the ones that I did know, giving them context.
If there is a down side to this audio book, it is the almost annoying way the narrator has of reading each line the same, whether he is talking about k-rations or a tank battle. However, the story easily eclipses this small issue.
This is what a story should be: full of life and death and reality!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but flawed book!
Review: When I started to read "Citizen Soldiers" I had a hard time putting it down. As I enjoy reading histories of the events of WWII, I was caught up in this book and the manner in which Ambrose describes what these soldiers went through in liberating Europe.
What turned me off was that later I learned that he left out the exploits of the 5th Armored Division (the Victory Division). This amrored division came ashore at Utah Beach after D-Day and fought it's way across France, into Luxembourg and Belgium, and then into Germamy finally ending their drive at the Elbe River. In the course of this effort, the 5th Armored Division took part in the battles of Falaise Gap, and the Hurtgen Forrest. This last battle resulted in the greatest loss of American lives that Ambrose describes in his book. This division was also the first into Germany and also liberated concentation camps. To not give a single mention to the efforts of this honorable armored division is to say that they fought, suffered and died for nothing!
How do I know about this armored division? I get my information from two official US Army publications, "The Road to Germany ... The Story of the 5th Armored Division" and "The Victory Division In Europe, The Story of the 5th Armored Division".
I hope that the next time Ambrose writes a book on WWII events he gets the entire story into print!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I love Ambrose's theme, that because our soldiers are used to making decisions themselves, they made decisions on the battlefield that were correct and immediate.
Rating:
Summary: For those who like a soldier's version.
Review: I am not a Historian, but I enjoy reading about the common soldier in WWII. The books written by and about these men seem more real, more personal, than the humdrum facts and figures from a history book. That is why I hate to see Mr. Ambrose criticized as he is in some or these critiques. They say tiger tanks didn't have 88mm cannon on them. If that's all you can find wrong, then that's good. That tells me he did a good job with his research. Especially when Ambrose's statements are confirmed by men who were there. The stories of these men should be promoted, and Mr. Ambrose has done a very good job in that respect. I applaud authors who get these soldier's stories out. Least we forget. Their written word may not be as eloquent as some would like, but these were not eloquent men. That is what makes these books more personal. Other good books include "Company Commander" and "The Mighty Endeavor" by Charles McDonald. Mr. McDonald was a Company Commander in WWII and later became the Army's Deputy Chief Historian. In His book "Company Commander," he says on page 189-190, "But a German tank fired in the distance and the screech of an 88mm shell whistled over our heads and exploded in the town behind us." Another good book "If you survive" by George Wilson. George was a Lieutenant continuously on the front line for eight months from Normandy, to the Siegfried Line, to the Hurtgen, to the Bulge. He states on page 166, "Then it happened. The sky fell in, and we were in hell. German artillery and mortars, machine guns, rifles, and the murderously direct fire of the tank-mounted 88s all hit us at once. Also on page 233, "Evidently our losses had been several times greater than those of the enemy, probably because of the powerful 88s mounted on their tiger tanks.......Standing nearby were several German tanks, apparently abandoned because they were out of gas. They seemed to be undamaged, and even in repose, they were fearsome, with those wicked 88mm rifles sticking out ten yards it seamed" The views of those who scored Mr. Ambrose low, do not reflect the views of the majority of people who read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Oral history, not interpretation, is the value of this book
Review: The oral histories of veterans in this book are moving, disturbing, sometimes even amusing. They are the true value, the only value, in 'Citizen soldiers'.
Alas, Ambrose ruins it with his fatuous linking prose. Given that this is a book about Americans fighting in Western Europe it is fair enough that he focuses exclusively on place and nationality. However, he does an injustice to British and Commonwealth soldiers, implying as he does that the US carried the burden of the war, forgetting apparently, that the Empire had been at war since '39 (yes, the war didn't start in '41, Mr Ambrose), and by ignoring the resource demands of the Italian campaign, and previous campaigns in Western Europe, Greece, North Africa and Asia. His anti-British and Commonwealth jibes were, to this reader, who doesn't have any great-uncles thanks to the war, and all of whom had been killed before Dec. '41, quite offensive; an offense of omission. As I wrote above, sure it is a book about Yanks for Yanks, but the American contribution should be presented in context.
As for the German veterans interviewed for the book, isn't it curious how few Nazis there were...after they lost the war.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite history writer
Review: What I like most about Ambrose is how he uses interviews with actual participants to give you a close up perspective about what it was like. Anyone can analyze the battles, but you understand what it was like when you hear it from the ones who suffered through it.
Rating:
Summary: The Drive on Germany Seen from a Cold, Miserable Foxhole
Review: Citizen Soldiers begins the day after D-Day in Normandy and continues through the surrender of Germany in May 1945. While there are many history books about this period, all of the ones I have read take the perspective of either the big picture as seen by the politicians and generals or the little picture as seen by individual units. Citizen Soldiers is unique in my experience in combining both perspectives in one book. Citizen Soldiers is the only book I have read about World War II that contains every single negative story about the GI experiences that I have heard from individual veterans over the years. As such, Citizen Soldiers is a cautionary tale about grim realities of war. If you are easily offended by inhumanity, you will not enjoy this book. Combat is full of such, and Citizen Soldiers honestly captures everything from mass murder to random cruelty. I learned a lot from this book. Did you know that soldiers were often as likely to become casualties because of trench foot as with a bullet wound? Despite this, the recruits and draftees were never taught how to avoid trench foot. Other training errors cost lots of lives and wounded, such as not preparing the soldiers for the raised hedgerows in Normandy. The Germans were well prepared, but the Americans were not. Although no one can know what combat is like without experiencing it, Citizen Soldiers does a fine job of giving a flavor. The remorseless statistics of how many casualties were taken gives a grim sense of the fatalism that many soldiers must have felt. If 200 percent of a unit became casualties, and no one was released without becoming a casualty, what do you think you would assess your chances at? Where in the big picture histories, the cities and regions are mostly names. Here, there is a strong sense of place. You will know the difference between one forest and another, and from one river crossing to another. Important criticisms are aimed here at both the American and German leaders. Atrocities done by both Americans and Germans are handled openly and honestly. I hope these lessons will not be forgotten. I was pleased to see that Professor Ambrose made an effort to interview German soldiers as well. The mutual perspective on the battles and on the overall war experience is much more powerful than it would be by just hearing how it was for the winners. I came away from this book with a greatly heightened respect for the ordinary infantry soldiers of both the American and German armies on the northwestern front. I think you will, too. More than The Greatest Generation, this book made me realize the incredible character involved in winning World War II in northwestern Europe. I was also fascinated by the stories of how important innovations occurred, such as the coordination artillery, aircraft, tanks and infantry using radios and developing methods for breaching hedgerows in Normandy. It was the ordinary soldiers who usually came up with the good ideas, not the heavy thinkers. After you finish this book, think about where else lack of training and preparation needlessly wastes lives. How about people who have trouble learning in school, and feel humiliated in the process? At the same time, examine what the lessons are here for dealing with the escalating terrorism aimed at Americans. Look squarely in the face of violence and evil intentions with honesty!
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