Rating: 
Summary: Another Excellent work by Stephen Ambrose
Review: Reading D-Day and Citizen Soldiers, has given me a new appreciation for the soldiers who fought in WWII. Stephen Ambrose is able to describe, in vivid detail, what it was like to be fighting in WWII from Normandy to Berlin while still giving you a history lesson. I felt as if I was there myself. Through the numerous interviews of the people there, along with his knowledge about WWII, Mr. Ambrose was able to give you a tactical understanding of the war while giving you an emotional attachment to the men and women who served in Europe. Thank you Mr. Ambrose, and thank you to all who served in World War II.
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Summary: Learn about the generation that saved us all
Review: While I have read many WWII books, this was the first one I had found that succeeded in presenting the big picture, as well as individual stories and viewpoints.Most books may focus on a general and talk about his attack, or his defence: Patton took this town; Montgomery took that town. Citizen Soldiers, on the other hand, presents the daily struggles, triumphs, and yes, even failures, of the average Joe in the trenches---without losing sight of the big picture. I was very pleased with the book because I am one of the people who is concerned that we [US citizens] are already forgetting the lessons of WWII. I worry that we are not grateful for the scrifices paid by an entire generation. I wonder if we could do even half was well if called upon. I am afraid the revisionists will win. I don't understand how people can senior citizens or behave with such disrespect towards elderly veterans. I think part of this behavior is due to ignorance and the way History is taught. It's one thing to hear that after D-Day, the Allies marched across France, and Germany was defeated in less than a year. It's quite something else to learn the names of the previously nameless and faceless men who marched, fell, and often died, to learn about them, to know them. Other reviewers have pointed out some inaccuracies in the book. In my opinion, those inaccuracies don't matter. This book is not about technology, guns, and generals. Who cares what guns were on the Panther? That would be important in a book about tanks. This is a book about the triumph of the human spirit. This book tells your parent's story. Read it and remember.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable history from D-day to fall of Berlin
Review: I bought this book because my father is quoted in it. He occasionally, and somewhat reluctantly, tells stories about his experiences as an Army infantryman during the war. This book gives the entire story of the western front from D-day to the fall of Berlin, from the overall strategies of the generals to the day-to-day life of the soldiers on the front. This is the best book I have read on what fighting the war was like on the front line--the ever present danger, the incessant cold, the lack of sleep, and the other details of daily life. Ambrose's extensive use of quotes of the participants brings these stories to life. It's hard to imagine this story could be told any better.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed - historical inaccuracies abound
Review: The author of this book perhaps has come to view himself as thecurrent "specialist" on WWII history. That's fine -everyoneis indeed entitled to his/her own opinion. Though the lives of "everyday" soldiers are well protrayed in this book, the volume includes simply too many inaccuracies regarding basic historical facts to satisfy my standards. For example, the author refers several times to German Tiger and Panther tanks with an 88mm cannon; With regard to the Panther, INCORRECT: The Panther - perhaps the best medium tank produced by any nation during the war - had a high velocity, long barreled 75mm cannon, which was a far better gun tube than the US Sherman's little 75mm - the Panther NEVER had an 88mm gun. The author also tells us that Bayerlein commanded the 12th SS panzer Div., "Hitler Jugend". Incorrect. The HJ commander was Fritz Witt, who was killed by a direct hit on his command center by a large caliber naval shell just after the invasion. Kurt "Panzer" Meyer took command after Witt's death - NO Bayerlein. Also, in his portrayal of the "Battle of the Bulge" - the Germans' Ardennes offensive, the author reviews Kampfgruppe Peiper ("KG" - Battle Group Peiper), which was the German lead attack formation during the offensive led by the dashing young Obersturmbannfuehrer (LTC) Jochen Peiper. This KG was indeed the strongest of several KG formations used by the Germans in teh attack, but it in no way had the personnel figure in the vicinity of 22,000 which the author suggests. This figure in fact, is closer to the personnel figure for the ENTIRE 1.SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte" - of which KG Peiper was but a small part. The KG on its own, had closer to 4500 men - BIG difference (see the very accurate book "The Devil's Adjutant") for the American defending forces! Had the Germans attacked with a Battle Group of the size the author suggests, the Americans would have been easily thrust aside - the "Bulge" would have burst. Although "Citizen Soldiers" is interesting, as a former US Army ARMOR officer myself, the sometimes significant inaccuracies that appear throughout this book color my impressions of the whole in a negative shade. END
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book!
Review: Although not serious, academic history this is still an incredible book and one that you should buy and read!
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible story of courage and fear...
Review: Incredibly readable, gripping story. This book made an indelible impression on me because of the way the author described the physical environment in which these men, Americans and Germans alike, fought for their lives and their comrades. The author provides a fairly succinct explanation of what transpired on the tactical and operational levels in Western Europe after D-Day. For example, the book cleared up my sketchy understanding of what actually took place during the Battle of the Bulge. More importantly, through hundreds of interviews including, among others, Pvt Kurt Vonnegut, Mr. Ambrose shows us what we could never really imagine what it must have been like fighting our way across France, Belgium, and Germany. Never before have I experienced such a vivid, lucid (if one could be) description of the bitter cold, the mud, the confusion, and the fear. Finally, while providing a candid, relatively unbiased view of the war from certain German soldiers' perspectives, he also shows us the pure, unmasked evil of the SS, the Hitler Youth, and the Nazi propaganda machine that brainwashed a generation. This book de-glorifies war while glorifying the valor of the soldiers who fight. Also recommended: "With the Old Breed" by E.B. Sledge, and "Goodbye Darkness" by William Manchester. These books provide an equally gripping account of WWII in the Pacific from the Marines' perspective.
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Summary: Unmatched courage and commitment
Review: As I read this book, I wondered if I or anyone of my generation would be able to sum up the courage to fight as bravely as the American GI did in the ETO. The generation that fought in WW II and preserved democracy in our world may have been unique. This book tells the tale, in vivid detail, of the soldiers who fought and prevailed against Hitler and the Nazis. Ambrose leaves no stone unturned as he successfully conveys to us the experience of the GI. It's not meant to be a complete history of the war, but rather a history annotated with scores of personal accounts by the men who fought it. After reading this book, I salute these men and thank them for making possible the free country I live in today.
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Summary: Ambrose's pen puts you in the foxholes as well
Review: I am a young World War II history buff who first read Ambrose's book, "D-Day June 6, 1944" which left me wanting to know more. After reading on in "Citizen Soldiers" I gained a new perspective on the reality of war. Page after page of first hand reports by men and women who were there just left me in a state of shock and disbelief at the horrors of war. Ambrose's words are subtle, quick and to the point. This work left me saddened that such an event ever happened, but it also left me with a tremendous amount of respect for all those that fought and died in this war. What Ambrose made clear as day was the sheer number of people on all sides that paid the ultimate price for the liberation of Europe. Unbelievable!
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the serious history buff...
Review: With a title like Citizen Soldiers I was expecting a book that described the experiences of the individual soldier in the ETO (something like The Deadly Brotherhood by John C. McManus)and lets you see the ETO as they saw it. Instead, I got a book that that focus's on the 12th Army Group (mainly 1st Army, 3rd is also mentioned, but in a secondary role to 1st Army, 9th gets some mention, and 7th barely exists) and attempts to bolster a rather weak analysis of the strategic view with the voices of veterans and snippets from other books. While this may not be bad for introducing people to WWII, I would suggest that those who are interested in the US soldiers exploits in WWII read Joseph Balkoski's Beyond the Beachhead or Gerald Astor's A Blood Dimmed Tide to understand what the citizen soldiers went through.
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Summary: Patriotism Illustrated
Review: Citizen Soldiers is an incredible look at an age when men, knowing they would likely die, put aside what was best for themselves and sacrificed for the good of the nation and the world. The hundreds of individual stories filled this reader with vivid pictures of an incredibly brutal war we can only pray never occurs again. It also distinguishes stark differences from an age of honor when men gave their lives so that others could be free, to an age where Americans elect and support a draft dodger as their president of the United States. Citizen Soldiers is guaranteed to enlighten those of us who did not live through the insanity of WWI or experience the courage of a generation of men.
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