Rating: 
Summary: Good overview of D-Day, but a questionable conclusion
Review: I enjoyed reading this work, but found Mr. Ambrose' conclusions regarding battlefield performance of American vs German troops the one objectionable point of the book. The German Army will go down in history as the most tactically proficient military force in the 20th Century. By June 1944 it had sustained horrific casualties in almost 5 years of war and many of its units, several which faced American lines in Normandy, were made up of what most historians have regarded as second rate forces, particularly when compared with the elite Panzer units arrayed against the British and Canadians. The German Army operated against overwhelming Allied air and sea power in the Normandy campaign. Additionally, they fought an enemy who through Ultra decrypts could anticipate every significant German move (ie, the counterattack on Carentan which thanks to Ultra the US helped blunt by shifting the 2d Armored Division the threatened area.) American veterans I have known greatly admired the weaponry the Germans possessed, particularly tanks and machine guns, and the cunning with which they fought, singling out the German paratroops, Waffen SS units, and Panzer units. Indeed, in the last few years the US Army and Marines have built their combat doctrine around "mission oriented tactics", designed to allow greater initiative on the part of subordinate commanders to act in battle, which is in part inspired by the training methods pioneered by the German Army before and during before WWII. The Wehrmacht no doubt fought for an abhorrent cause, under draconian discipline, and under a national leader who repeatedly interfered in his army commanders' conduct of operations. To minimize the German Army's military prowess is wrong and doesn't appropriately acknowledge the accomplishments of the US forces which ultimately defeated them in Normandy and Brittany. For an alternative point of view about the Normandy campaign read Max Hasting's book Overlord
Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended for cross-country trips!
Review: Two thumbs up from disparate readers of this historical
and first-person account of D-Day. I am the fiction and
history lover in the family, and my favorite part was the discussion of the Higgins boats, the landing craft that made D-Day possible, and the inventor who thought them up. My husband, whose reading tends to be practical
in the extreme, favored the part where the destroyers pounded
the defense installations and made it possible for "our boys"
to get away from the slaughter on the beach.
The book is clearly and entertainingly written, new facts surface
on every page, and we now have even more appreciation for those who were there. As a side effect, it also gave us plenty to talk
about with our elderly relatives at a family reunion as we finished
the book. One aunt proved to be acquainted with one of the subjects
quoted widely in the book.
Highly recommended for cross-country trips (one reads aloud while
the other drives.)
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This book is a great history lesson on the defining battle of WWII. Very compelling style that takes you through many interesting details about the battle. Shines light on the many heros that served in battle for our country in a day when America and it's military were given their rightful respect
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting material, average implementation.
Review: After reading Band of Brothers, I came into this book with a confident expectation as to what I'd be reading. In D-Day, as in Band of Brothers, Ambrose did an excellent job of compiling oral testimonies from the soldiers involved, but his implementation is something to be desired. It's really too bad that Ambrose isn't as good of a writer/historian as he is an interviewer.The book begins through about 100 pages of introductory material which includes a synopsis of the political/war climate, some brief information about the respective commanders, an overview of the planning process, and other miscellany. This material is quite helpful in setting the background, though Ambrose asserts various things about democracy, totalitarianism, Britain, Nazi High Command, and Nazi strategy which seem questionable in truth (and in some cases, out of context). For example, Ambrose asserts in various ways and in various places that a democracy produces a better soldier than a dictatorship. Whether it is true or not, Ambrose was entirely incapable of proving either in a logical and objective way. He also challenged the commonly held notion that the German Army (in the entire spectrum of WW2) was not as effective as it is commonly believed to have been, despite having a kill ratio of 2 to 1 (his own words). This, too, was an assertion that he wasn't able to argue either way, as he dedicated only a couple sentences in this "persuasion," for what probably could fill an entire book. Unfortunately, this type of thing seems to be a recurring theme whenever Ambrose integrates his opinion. Overall, he sometimes tries to analyze things and ends up doing a poor job as the assertions are weakly, if it all, supported by argument, and I sometimes got the feeling that he was inappropriately overstepping his bounds in terms of context (surely some of the things he brought to the table deserve a much more exhaustive treatment than he was willing to give). However, These analyses are few and far between, and the subsequent 400 pages are very interesting and captivating, but that is solely due to the material itself. With laugh-out-loud sentences like, "That someone was spelled i-n-f-a-n-t-r-y," I sometimes thought that if it wasn't for the good testimony, I would surely put this book down in a second. Such is to be expected, I suppose, with the history factory that Ambrose was. He was known put many, many books out in a short amount of time, and one can only expect that they wouldn't be up to the caliber of, say, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, especially since Ambrose doesn't have a gift for prose. There is also the issue, as other reviewers have mentioned, of whether Ambrose was being too US-centric in his treatment of the history, but that is beyond my knowledge. While this book does give the impression that it was written for US audiences only (bad move for a historian, in my opinion), I didn't get the feeling that the Brits and Canadians were "cheated" in anyway.
So, if you're looking for an easy read that that concentrates mainly on the first person perspective of a soldier in the Normandy invasion and touches mildly on troop movement and strategy, then this is the book for you. Don't be too swayed by all my negativity, because despite all its shortcomings, it's still an interesting read. I, however, plan to supplement this book with one that concentrates mainly on strategy and troop movement.
Rating: 
Summary: Good first-hand accounts, highly biased history
Review: While the first-hand accounts of GIs hitting the beach make for exceptional reading, Mr. Ambrose's take on June 6, 1944 is highly biased and flawed and thus casts a miserable shadow over the whole text. Debate has raged in these reviews over his criticism of the British. The fact is, he treats the Brits unfairly. Anyone who has studied the Normandy campaign knows the British at Caen faced the vast bulk of German armor in Normandy at the time of the landings. This enabled the Americans to break out in the west. In no way does this suggest one nation's contribution was greater than the other. It is a shame, however, that Ambrose writes with such jingoistic gusto. He covers all the British and Canadian beaches in just one chapter -- nevermind the fact this constitutes three of the five invasion beaches. Mr. Ambrose's assertions that the British were "gutless" insult an entire generation of Britons. Let us not forget: Britain withstood the Nazi onslaught for more than two years by itself. Without Britain, perhaps there would not have been a D-Day. Furthermore, the United Kingdom is the only country to have fought both World Wars in their entirety. The study of D-Day should include the contribution of all participants. This is far from the definitive account of that glorious day. For a more all-inclusive read, check out "Six Armies in Normandy."
Rating:
Summary: Narrative History With a Hammer
Review: Stephan Ambrose's "D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climatic Battle of WW II," is a work of immense power. This history of D-Day has to be read with the understanding that it is mostly a history of the U.S.invasion forces and sheds less light on the British and Canadians (Though they are mentioned). Ambrose writes clearly and intellegently, while backing up his story with sound research. The great power of the book is the personal perspective of the particpants from private-on-up that the reader gets (Ambrose is able utilize the methods of Social history with great power). This comes from Ambrose's ability to incorporate the thousands of veteran's oral histories he compiled in the Eisenhower Center. "D-Day" provides a sound explanation for the Allied planning and preparation for the invasion while showing the rational behind Hitler's Atlantic Wall. I found most interesting the analysis of the fragmented German command structure. We learn that Hitler's insistance on personal control of units undermined the Wehrmacht's ability to launch timely counter-attacks against the invasion. The narrative power of the book is incredible. The reader is essentially with the 101st and 82nd airborne as they make their jumps and struggle for survival behind enemy lines. Toward the end of the book, the reader comes face-to-face with the brutal combat on Omaha Beach. Ambrose takes the reader into many of the Higgin's landing craft. We are truly with many of the men who were really there when the ramps came down and all hell broke lose!
Rating:
Summary: Over zealous biast account..
Review: Having read many books covering WWII and D-day, I had picked up Stephen Ambrose D-Day book, and from the start it paints a very bias opinion relating to the Allies, Canadian and British. He starts off comparing Winston Churchill to a sick old man with waning influence, could this possibly be the same man who kept the morale of the british alive through the despairing dark days at the onset of the war and carried the people through with hope and belief to the end of WWII, there are various other paragraphs that scream to be contradicted but obviously Mr Ambrose lived in the American world of History ( here comes the calvary )and not Europe's.
Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasure
Review: I enjoyed this book very much despite the sins of its historiography. Like many readers I was drawn to this book after seeing "Saving Private Ryan". As a trained historian, I quickly noted many of Ambrose's flaws. The book was highly predjudiced (America great, Britain laughable, all others inferior)and--like much military history--it often read like a propaganda piece. Still, I loved reading it and may read it again. Ambrose may not be a world class historian but he is a marvelous story teller and his narrative kept me in thrall. Despite ambrose's biases and omissions, I was deeply impressed by the amount of content and detail he produced. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in military history or who simply wants a good read. However, I would warn anyone who wants to learn about D-Day, World War II, or military history in general, to read this book carefully. Filter out as much of the nonsense as possible and absorb the gems that Ambrose provides. Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day", and any books by John Keegan, or T. N. Dupey would make a marvelous (and more intelligent) supplement to this one. Ah, but I enjoyed this book. Intellectually speaking it truly was a guilty pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: A great oral history when listened to on Audio...
Review: I listened to this book via CD. It was great. I have seen numerous D-day documentaries. The late Stephen Ambrose narrates this book himself.
There are numerous heroic accounts depicted in this book and many tales of the brutality and suffering of war. I found myself choked up at numerous points in the book... in sorrow for those who lost their lives and what they went through.
I would listen to any history as opposed to reading it. (more so because my commute is long and there are too few WWII titles available on CD.)
You won't be disappointed if you pruchase this audio book. The other amazon reviewers can give a better feel for the historical accuracy and lost vantage points in the book. It focuses more on the US contribution to D-day and specifically on Omaha beach and the paratroop landings.
However, it is a good tribute to all those who took part in the battle of Normandy. We should never forget that peace is a blessing.
Rating:
Summary: A Grunt's Eye View of D-Day
Review: Ambrose used over 1400 interviews to piece together a compelling history of the D-Day invasion. The strength of this "oral history" approach is that the reader is brought into the heart of the battle through eye-witness testimony of the facts and poignant expressions of emotion from a wide range of participants in this epoch-making event. Once the battle starts, the excitement and fear of the grunts sweeps the reader up into their personal histories. The weakness of the "oral history" approach is that with so many individual data points to connect the historian is hard pressed to find synthesis for all the details. Ambrose has done history a great service by collecting these memories, and the soldier's stories make for great reading. But Ambrose often fails to describe larger unit actions in full detail or to convey a sense of larger meaning of individual actions. In fact, little is said of the English and Canadian beaches, presumably because the participants were not as available for interviews. Ambrose's treatment of historical controversies is often short on factual background, and there is little if any theoretical or analytical context for these oral histories. These are simply good stories of many individual experiences. Don't read this book for lessons on strategic decision making or to answer questions such as Rommel's degree of responibility for the German defeat or Montgomery's total failure to achieve his D-Day objectives until after the American breakout. Ambrose touches on these larger issues, but that is not his focus. This is a book about the American achievement in Normandy, and here is where Ambrose excels. The individual courage and independence of the American small unit leaders is big story of this book and one of the great stories of the ETO. In portraying these Citizen Soldiers in all of their valor and toughness, Ambrose is right on target.
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