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Summary: Ambrose has assembled a great accounting of European WWII
Review: Ambrose, being the excellent historian and writer that he is, allows the story to tell itself. The book is packed with the individual stories of the men who helped liberate Europe. Victors takes us directly to the battlefields and we stand beside the actual citizen soldiers who fought and died. The book acutely reminds the reader of the sacrifices that have been made for this country, and of the blood that has been spilled in the interest of freedom and democracy worldwide. It is an excellent piece of history that I hope many Americans will take the time to read.
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Summary: A good recap.
Review: I got this book yesterday and began reading it before I realized that this book is an amalgam of Ambrose's earlier work. The content of The Victors is drawn from Pegasus Bridge, Band of Brothers and Eisenhower. Don't get me wrong, this is terrific writing, but if these older titles are already on your bookshelf you may want to think twice about buying this one. Otherwise, I think this book is a fine addition my library.
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Summary: Nice, but a re-run, "Ambrose Digest"
Review: Stephen Ambrose is a great author and historian, but I am annoyed with this book. From page 183 on, this book is a near exact copy of _Citizen Soliders_. Citizen Soldiers covers the fighting from after D-Day to V-E day, focusing on the enlisted and NCO's. In _Victors_ from about page 180 to the end, the text seems to be lifted verbatim from that excellent book. I haven't read all his D-Day and Eisenhower books, but I imagine that the first section borrows heavily from that. The bottom line is that this is a nice book, but if you've read his other books, it's not new. Think of this as Ambrose's "Greatest Hits" and you have the idea. Still, on it's own, it's a good book, especially for the budding historian.
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Summary: The Victors: A Great Book
Review: Though I seldom read history books, I thoroughly enjoyed this very interesting account of World War II from D-Day forward. Reads almost like a novel. I recommend it.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Summary: Huh?
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.
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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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