Rating: 
Summary: Good intro, not for the well read however!
Review: Ambrose squeaked this one out in my opinion. It is essentially a cut and paste compilation of "Citizen Soldiers" and "Eisenhower" and "Band of Brothers". If this is your first Ambrose book, you will find it enjoyable. If this is the ONLY book you read about WWII, it is a fair choice, however, if you have read any of Ambroses other work, then I wouldn't bother.Ambrose clearly has fallen under Ike's cult of personality, and although Ike was a great politician and a compassionate man, he was not a master strategist and many of his decisions cost unnecessary lives in my opinion. This book trys to capture the sweep of the US involvement in W.W.II. European Theater in one text of similar length to Ambrose's other works. It may be that books thicker than this don't sell well and that is why Ambrose only included the limited material that he did because this book leaves you wanting. It is rich in details about details, but misses other large happenings. In my opinion, it is better to read "D-Day", "Citizen Soldiers", "Band of Brothers" and "A Bridge too Far" and to skip this book altogether.
Rating: 
Summary: Fighting in the cold
Review: This covers the European theater from D day to the end.
The futile battles of the Hurtgen forest are documented. A waste of men for nothing. We gave up our advantages of air power and tanks to fight in an impenatrable forest.
What struck me over and over, was what the men fighting endured.
The supply situation was what is was always in the military. Those in the rear get the gear. Those doing the fighting get the remains.
In the battle of the Hurtgen forest, during a visit by Ike, a company of Rangers complained to Ike about the lack of cold weather gear. He got the Rangers cold weather gear, but not the other thousands of men doing the fighting.
The same applied in the battle of the Bulge. The people in the rear out of the line of fire had waterproof, warm boots, and huge overcoats to keep warm. Those doing the fighting had summer uniforms, leather boots, and had to fight without benefit of fire to keep them warm, or get their food warm. The result was thousands of men with trench foot. The men went hungry a lot of the time due to impassible roads, so food supplies could not be brought up.
The men who endured this were heros.
Ike was the first to realize what Hitler was up to when the Battle of the Bulge started, and got Patton moving on a counterattack plan immediately, which succeeded.
Thanks to Steve Ambrose, the suffering of the men who did the fighting is documented.
Rating:
Summary: Sort of a best of Stephen Ambrose
Review: I have read most of the books by Ambrose and the material in The Victors is covered better in his other works. It isn;t bad, but the only reader who might find it interesting is someone who was looking to get into Ambrose's WWII works. Anyone else but the completists will probably not enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Synthesis of other Ambrose books
Review: As mentioned by almost every other review, this book is a synthesis of Ambrose's earlier works about WWII. Overall, it makes for a fine read, but the material will be redundant if you have already finished his other books. Having said that, this book would serve as a good intro to the writing style that Ambrose typically uses in his WWII books. He likes to focus on the people who actually fought the war. From the generals to the privates, he tries to cover all angles in order to tell the best story. And Ambrose is one of the better story tellers around these days. Unfortunately, he sometimes forgets to mention where he gets his stories from, as evidenced by the recent controversy. For those not very familiar with the ETO, this book could serve as a good primer of this theatre, mostly from the American and British perspective. Otherwise, I don't recommend it for anyone familiar with Ambrose's other books, or who is a serious student of WWII because there is not much new here. Lastly, if you decide to buy this book, don't pay full price for this book. It is in every used book store that I have visited recently, usually for a low price.
Rating: 
Summary: Great history of courage and determination of WWII heroes
Review: This book is a compilation of several of Ambrose's earlier histories of Eisenhower and WWII. Having read "D-Day," I recommend his earlier books for a more thorough understanding of what went on. In reading about the drive to victory after D-Day, I, at times, felt that there were blanks to be filled in; that I was not getting the full picture. Nonetheless, this is still a fine book because it gives vivid descriptions of the hardships, privations and fears that the American and British soldiers had to overcome. After the landing at Normandy, there was still much horrific fighting that had to be done to ultimately win the war in Europe. What I found particularly interesting was Ambrose's explanation as to why there were many duds among the shells launched by the Germans against the Allied positions. Shells made in American and British factories were of high quality and reliable. These shells were made by a free people in support of the war effort. On the other hand, German artillary shells were manufactured largely by slave labor. These slaves had no interest in furthering the German war effort. Therefore, whenever they could get away with it, the laborers pulled off little tricks such as mixing sand with the powder or whatever else they thought would get past the inspectors. I believe that this explantion of duds is a microcosm of what ultimately lead to the Allied victory. Ultimately, the free labor of the Allies did a better job of supplying its troops, and the citizen soldiers, in times of great hardship and privation, were better able to push on. However, make no mistake, many German soldiers were highly motivated and extremely driven to succeed as the hard fought final Nazi offensive at the Bulge proved. But, in the final drive to victory, including the battle of the Bulge, the Allied soldiers, that Ambrose lionizes, had that little extra. The great contribution of this, and other Ambrose books, is to give a full appreciation of how ordinary American young men, rose to the occasion and accomplished valiant deeds that Hitler could never have anticipated. Again, this book leaves some gaps in the narrative that the original books to not but on the whole, Ambrose accomplishes his goal, to get us to empathize with and appreciate our courageous forefathers of the WWII era.
Rating:
Summary: The Victors
Review: From the very beginning of the book I was enticed. I thought it was very well written and an enjoyable read. It includes stories and things I would have never expected. I thought the relationship between Marshall and Eisenhower was most interesting. I had not learned much about Marshall and Eisenhower's personalities. They were opposites yet worked very well together. Their relationship was based on trust. It is inspirational to hear of all that our soldiers went through during World War II. As someone looking back it helped me to better understand what went on and what the soldiers experienced first hand. I thought "The Victors" was a wonderful book and spanned over a good period of time. I would highly recommend it to others as a World War II informative book.
Rating:
Summary: The Story of Young Boys Becoming Men for the Defeat of Evil
Review: Stephen Ambrose has crafted a wonderful popular history of a tale that should, and must, be told to every generation of Americans and Europeans. This story must remain in our hearts and witness that there is such a thing as objective evil and that we, all of us, have an obligation to stand up for the good. To that end, Stephen Ambrose, has marvelously depicted the lives of Eisenhower's men in battle. This book is a complilation of several other books written by Ambrose. Therefore, if you have read the others, you may be disappointed by this book. Nonetheless, for the first time reader of an Ambrose book, I can say that this book needed to be written. The book ends with the following: "What I think of the GIs more than a half century after their victory was best said by Sgt. Mike Ranney of the 101st: 'In thinking back on the days of Easy Company, I'm treasuring my remark to a grandson who asked, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' No, I answered, but I served in a company of heroes.' So far as I am concerned, so did they all." Ambrose has compiled quite a compendium of oral histories and preserved the memories of these soldiers in print. The reader will not be disappointed by Ambrose's casual style because it conveys a sense of brotherhood, of victory. This is no stale tome of history which recites dates and facts ad nauseum. Rather, it is a story of boys becoming men for the defeat of evil. One soldier remarked as he entered a concentration camp and saw the harm and hate down to innocents that "Now I know why I am here." We should also know why this war was fought. Therefore, read this book, treasure it and pass it on to your children.
Rating:
Summary: Huh?
Review: Ambrose does it again. The Victors was well-written, informative, and exciting.
Rating:
Summary: overall pleasing
Review: Now admittedly and quite obviously this book covers much of what his other books, D-Day and Citizen Soldiers, covers. This may or may not be a good thing. One main difference is that in The Victors the book goes chronologically like the others; however, The Victors is not focused on the timeline of events. For example there is a section for each of the two American landing beaches at D-Day, and then there is a section for Hedgerows; neither of the sections are certain dates or times. I personally love reading WWII books so I do not believe that the repetitions are superfluous, as other casual readers may. In my opinion, it is a very well-written and truly great book.
Rating:
Summary: Ambrose is always good
Review: Although Ambrose is always good, this is not his best. It is interesting and tells the story of the American GI under Eisenhower's command, but leaves something to be desired.
We've been spoiled by Mr. Ambrose previous works and so this book lacks the full spectrum approach we've come to enjoy. Having said all of this, I will add that I was captivated by the personal stories of heroism and courage. While driving, I found myself fixed on the stories and nearly missed an exit! My greatest criticism for this audio book is Cotter Smith's reading of it. He is focussed and clear, but seems to miss opportunities for inflection and tone that would enhance the reading of this work. Listen, but realize other Ambrose works are much better.
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