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Summary: D-Day by Ambrose - The best WWII book yet
Review: This book starts with the planning and decision to "go, includes the loading, cross-channel voyage and the landings from the paratroopers behind Axis lines to the final teams taking away the dead and wounded. Ambrose tells the big picture story, along with the horrors from on the beach GI accounts. Each beachhead, assult wave and landing is detailed with both a historical and personal perspective. This book is tough to put down and better written than any war book I have read.
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Summary: A Compelling Read
Review: A truly important work in describing the enormous undertaking of the D-Day invasion. While at times it gets a bit sluggish in its attempt to mezmerize the reader with facts, figures and events, it is nevertheless, a wonderful tribute to all those who fought for the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny. It is a powerful reminder of what people will sacrifice in order to live free.
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Summary: Good historical info
Review: This is a very detailed, historical informational source of D-Day, READ IT.
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Summary: A troop carrier pilots comments about 6 june 1944-
Review: The author did a very POOR job of researching the facts,he only repeated misinformation from people who either were not there or did not know the facts. He adamantly refuses to discuss his outrageous lies with us-We would appreciate your cooperation in curtailing the sale of this book until he retracts the lies that he fabricated about the TROOP CARRIER PILOTS .How do I know they are lies I WAS THERE. Burton S. Cook Major USAF
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Summary: D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climatic Battle of World War II
Review: This is a very well writtin book with its facts all in the right places. i found myself wanting to keep reading it. his use of personal experences lets you connect with the people and the events that happened that day.
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Summary: Junk History
Review: This book is junk history of the worst order. Hopefully Stephen E. Ambrose has kept the tapes and letters from the many interviews he obviously conducted to research this book so that they might be used by better historians to write a accruate, non-biased account of D-Day.
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Summary: Rubbish, manipulated history at its best
Review: For starters, if you're an american you will love this book, but to any one not a US citizen, and intrested in what really happended this is NOT the book I would recommend. Reading between the lines the message of this book soon, painfully soon, becomes: "America alone saved Europé and the free world from tyrrani, the US Armed Forces were the best in the world at that time - it's morale, esprit de Corps, training, leadership, technology, equipments and tactis were superior to ANY one else. British forces lacked everything and the German Wehrmacht could hardly match any standard american fighting unit in combat" If everything this book conveys would be true, I would be the first one to stand up and scream "God bless America, for all mankind - man, I wish I was born in that country"Fortunately, this is far from the truth. I had only read about 60 pages before I got to flabbergasped to continue. This book is not only poorly researched, but holds such grave errors, small and great, that I began to wonder if the author has even studied WW2 history. It stresses the fact that the german army was not especially proficient in the art of war. The author dismisses the modern conclussion that the average german soldier had a kill ration double that of an allied soldier (which actually was even higher!) The "evidence" Mr. Ambrose bases this on is the simple fact that the german army always fought, an albeit effective defensive campaign, behind fortified positions! This is so stupid that I was totally loss of words. He mentions the Atlantic Wall, the Siegfried Line (ex West wall), the Mareth Line and the Gustav Line. This paradox is made even more complicated by the fact that very early in the book Mr Ambrose concluded that it never actually existed any Atlantic Wall (in which he is very right!) These "walls" very in fact (with the exception of the West Wall in early 1940) nothing but fancy words in which Hitler boosted morale into the defenders. In reality the word "wall" was merely for an administrative purpose. He moreover concludes that the german army wasn't very good at fighting a defensive war, and that the allies always pushed them back. This is a bit astonishing, escpecially when you consider that until D-Day 80% of the german army fought the Red Army and not the anglo-american forces. To this can be added the fact that the pathetically weakened Afrika Korps, overwhelmed at the Mareth Line, fought a succesful fighting retreat to Tunisa. Despite being hunted by allied armies, five times their size. And that it took the allies nine months to cover a few hundred miles in Italy, which was practically undefended. Mr. Ambrose uses few superlatives to describe the awsome might of the US Army, which had grown to a million man army under a short period of time. But he never stops to think if maybe the USSR during that period accomplished even grander things. They had in fact by 1944 turned the tide of war in Eastern Europé and fielded an army almost the size of the americans. This despite suffering almost ten million casulties, loss of 60 million inhabitants, 75% of its industrial capacity AND stopping the german invasion! The few times he does mention the Red Armys part in the battle against Hitler, he gets it wrong. He concludes that the Red Army stopped Hitler cold in july 1943 at Kursk, the germans suffering "horrendous losses" and the Russians few. Well in truth the battle was a draw. The Red Army suffered 200.000 casualties and 3000 tanks and another 400.000 in their following counter-offensive. German losses were about 50.000 and 500 tanks! Neither is it correct that the US Army had weapons that was superior to the german army. In small arms they had nothing to compete to the german MG-42, in tanks nothing against the MkVI Panther and Tiger tanks. In fact, the standard US tank (Sherman) was considered so Inaduquate that the US Army reckonened it took five shermans to kill one Panther - which proved relatively correct. Fortunately America produced 50.000 Shermans against 5000 panthers (of which the great majority fought in the East) This book is without doubt one of the worst WW2 books ever, and without question a book I will never recommend to anyone (even an american). If readers wants realistic views of world war two, consult Lt-Colonel E. Bauer's World War Two or anything else in fact!
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Summary: Ambrose Delivers In Excellent Treatment of D-Day
Review: Having thoroughly enjoyed Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day", I wondered if Ambrose's "D-Day" would seem repetitive. Although the great story is the same, Ambrose approaches it with totally fresh first person accounts and does great justice to the saga of the Allies landing on the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. This is a story of high drama. The fate of the world may really have been in the balance when Eisenhower decided to send thousands of young Americans, British and Canadians ashore during a break in what was very bad weather for an invasion. Their mission was successful and Hitler's Atlantic Wall was breeched. The opening that the Allies needed to insure that Nazism would be removed from Eurpope was paid for with the blood and bodies of young men on D-Day. For Ambrose fans, this book does not disappoint. His success here is in weaving what is a big story with the impressions of the individuals who gave this big story a good ending. The big story consisted of the face off of the Germans and Allies over where and when an invasion would take place, the planning and preparation for an immense invasion, the weather factor and the pressure on Eisenhower who had responsibility for unleashing the attack. The individual sagas of infantrymen who met the enemy and sometimes death on the coast of France give the book majesty and poignantcy. Ambrose has taken many memoires from the ranks and from junior officers. These first person accounts make the book extremely gripping and personal. He weaves his elements together well. Even one familiar with the story of DDay, whether from Ryan or Keegan or another excellent chronicler will find much to like in Ambrose's take on the Sixth of June, 1944.
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Summary: Terrible
Review: I hope Mr Ambrose dosn't call himself a historian. This book was one of the most biased and inaccurate books I have ever read. Ambrose seems to convientintly forget fundamental facts such as; 75% of the German Army was on the Eastern Front on the 6/6/44 - where they were being soundly beaten by the Soviet forces, and that Americans made up only half the forces that landed on D-Day. In short, this book is rubbish history designed for ignorant Americans.
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Summary: One of the best D-Day books written!
Review: This is truly an impressive book. While not overwhelming for a novice, it's not dull for the WWII historian. Ambrose's writing style is very personal and extremely easy to read. If you like this book, try "Bodyguard of Lies" or "The Longest Day."
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