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larryerick's review against another edition
3.0
I do not intentionally try to diminish the qualities of this book by my rating. It IS a worthwhile read, especially if you don't know much about D-Day. It covers the lead up to D-Day and D-Day itself well, but it suffers from having too much to cover, and, as a result, through no fault of its own, can do no more than a widely scattered reporting of many different events and persons, resulting in a certain level of superficiality. (For a comparison, watch Ken Burns' The Civil War, and then read Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. The comparison reveals Burns' video to be so superficial as to be misleading and ultimately inaccurate at times.) Moreover, this is really just Chapter 1 of a much larger book, so to speak. You certainly have a feeling of being cut off from the story line when the book ends. "What happens next? Tell me." For that reason and for the quality of Ryan's scholarship, I intend to read more of his work, such as The Bridge Too Far.
apryde6226's review against another edition
5.0
Detailed examination of the D-Day invasion. As with all of Mr. Ryan's books there are so many details and the story is so thoroughly researched that it's easy to put yourself in the shoes of the Allies, the Germans, the French Resistance and anyone else who had a view into the Normandy invasion.
I'm sure most people have seen the "Longest Day" movie, the book fills in details that the movie left out. I've read most of the author's books at one time or another, and they're always educational and very good reads.
I'm sure most people have seen the "Longest Day" movie, the book fills in details that the movie left out. I've read most of the author's books at one time or another, and they're always educational and very good reads.
navut's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
ehays84's review against another edition
5.0
I first watched the movie version when I was probably in middle school. I am almost sure I came across it just while flipping channels (remember those days?) and it was on the classic movie channel. I was immediately hooked. I have probably seen the movie all the way through 4 or 5 times, and I have shown it to students for WWII units (it’s easier to do since it’s only rated PG).
I of course knew about D-Day long before watching the movie for the first time. There was even a family legend (which has been verified as not true) that my great uncle was killed on D-Day in a confusing mix up after a glider plane landing. He was killed in WWII (info at http://davidhays.net/dsagehays/dsagehays.html) but not at D-Day.
So I feel rather foolish for not having looked up the book that the movie was based on until fairly recently. It was just as good or even better than the movie. Of course, in a movie, there is a unique quality of actors bringing characters to life, but the book does such a great job of portraying D-Day from every side that you might want to hear it from that it is even better. And of course the fact that the book was completed about 15 years after the original events means that many of those involved were still alive and could be interviewed. Thus, the primary source lens very much shines through in this book. And a really fascinating part of it for me, as someone who studies history, was the author’s discussion of contradictory accounts between soldiers, officers, civilians, official war diaries, etc. I am sure that since this time, other historians have corrected certain elements of this version of the story of D-Day (I read Stephen Ambrose’s version back in college, but can’t remember enough about it to really know the differences), but that does not take away from the power of this book.
I guess I would sum it up that if there were a list of the top 50 books someone would need to read to understand the 20th century, this one would be on it. Don’t miss it.
I of course knew about D-Day long before watching the movie for the first time. There was even a family legend (which has been verified as not true) that my great uncle was killed on D-Day in a confusing mix up after a glider plane landing. He was killed in WWII (info at http://davidhays.net/dsagehays/dsagehays.html) but not at D-Day.
So I feel rather foolish for not having looked up the book that the movie was based on until fairly recently. It was just as good or even better than the movie. Of course, in a movie, there is a unique quality of actors bringing characters to life, but the book does such a great job of portraying D-Day from every side that you might want to hear it from that it is even better. And of course the fact that the book was completed about 15 years after the original events means that many of those involved were still alive and could be interviewed. Thus, the primary source lens very much shines through in this book. And a really fascinating part of it for me, as someone who studies history, was the author’s discussion of contradictory accounts between soldiers, officers, civilians, official war diaries, etc. I am sure that since this time, other historians have corrected certain elements of this version of the story of D-Day (I read Stephen Ambrose’s version back in college, but can’t remember enough about it to really know the differences), but that does not take away from the power of this book.
I guess I would sum it up that if there were a list of the top 50 books someone would need to read to understand the 20th century, this one would be on it. Don’t miss it.
simplymary's review against another edition
4.0
I really appreciate Ryan's thoughtful work that paved the way for so many historians to follow. Reading this helped me approach the D-Day beaches of Normandy more thoughtfully when I got a chance to visit this spring.
jhalloran99's review against another edition
5.0
Jesus, what a feat of research and reporting. Forever grateful for the sacrifice of our grandfathers and grandmothers.
tarmstrong112's review against another edition
3.0
This was good. It was interesting but not necessarily entertaining. I was disappointed that it spent so much time on the leadup to D-Day instead of focusing on the actual day which I felt was rushed near the end of the book. I was hoping for more stories from the beaches but instead the focus of the book seemed to me on activities behind the beaches. Again, interesting but not exactly what I was hoping for.
digitalgypsy66's review against another edition
4.0
Certainly a classic popular history of the invasion of Normandy, I found the book to be a quick read. Ryan wrote the book less than 15 years after the end of the war, so he had unprecedented access to the principal leaders of both sides. More recent histories have to use other resources to gather information from upper level officers and political leaders.
That being said, I enjoyed the perspective of the book but I prefer the "down in the trenches" style of more recent works (Ambrose's D-Day, O'Donnell's Beyond Valor, to name two such works.)
That being said, I enjoyed the perspective of the book but I prefer the "down in the trenches" style of more recent works (Ambrose's D-Day, O'Donnell's Beyond Valor, to name two such works.)