I looked forward to reading this book immensely, and I was disappointed.
I highly recommend to read the following "CENSORED" books:
1) "THE HOAX OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY" by Arthur R. Butz.
2) "NOT GUILTY AT NUREMBERG" by Carlos W. Porter.
3) "FLASH POINT, Kristallnacht 1938. Instigators, victims and beneficiaries" by Ingrid Weckert.
4) "ALBERT SPEER: The End of a Myth" by Matthias Schmidt.

I found Beevor's Stalingrad and Fall of Berlin books to be gripping, compelling, erudite, readable, objective and unforgettable. D-Day continues this tradition. I enjoyed it immensely.

I buy a new history of D-Day every few years; there is always more to learn. I found myself wishing for many more maps with the detail to follow the individual allied and German operations; and the division/brigade-level battles.
As always, narrative on the detailed logistics of the fight once the allies were ashore was sorely lacking...this should be the exclusive focus of the Next History of the Normandy campaign. Just how did the allies manage the buildup; absorb their heavy losses; and overwhelm the Germans; just how did the Germans manage to supply their battlefront in the face of enemy air supremacy. What were the total losses in men and equipment for each day/week/operation. Some detailed divisional TO&Es would have been very useful. Contrast the standard US/UK armored and infantry division with the SS Panzer, Wehrmacht Panzer, and Infantry Divisions. Withal, I enjoyed Beevor's book immensely.

OK, so we have yet another book on D-Day, this one not keyed to any anniversary (as Max Hastings' Overlord was to the 40th, and Stephen Ambrose's was, to the 50th, of the invasion). Antony Beevor is a well-known historian, with his primary work (that which has been instrumental in establishing his reputation) mainly involving battles on the Eastern Front. This book then is something of a departure for him, in that it covers what's probably the most important battle on the *Western* Front, the D-Day invasion of France. While the book's title implies a "Longest Day" focus on the events of June 6, 1944, the book actually continues right up until the Allies capture Paris. This is the traditional stopping point for those books which don't stop at the end of June 6.

Beevor constructs his book differently, though. Most authors, writing a book like this, spend a hundred or so pages backgrounding the main narrative. You get thumbnail biographies of the main participants, especially the generals, and a discussion of everything from terrain to weapons, weather, military organizations, etc. Beevor for the most part skips all of that, and heads straight for the fighting. The first paratroopers are on French soil on page 51, with the narrative continuing right up to the end of the book. There's an aftermath chapter of half-a-dozen pages, but the main heart of the book, the combat narrative, takes up almost all of the space in between.

This is an interesting idea as far as I'm concerned. It allows the author to concentrate on the battle, the motivations of the participants, and the results of the actions they took, in a way that few historians have done, or tried to do, since. The closest book I can think of to this method is Carlo D'Este's Decision in Normandy, and there the author doesn't work as hard to get the personal accounts from the actual soldiers into the narrative.

As a result, Beevor comes to some interesting conclusions. For one thing, he thinks the almost-disaster at Omaha Beach was the result of the fortifications on the beach, the rogue currents that disorganized the landing forces, and so forth. He pretty firmly discounts the idea that the 352nd Division's presence made the problem worse, citing the fact that most of the division was on a wild-goose chase behind the beach, looking for phantom American paratroopers.

It's also interesting to read a book that's written by a Brit, but relatively objective about Montgomery and Patton. In Beevor's mind, Patton was good soldier somewhat handicapped by an alarming personality, while Monty was worse, and almost got himself relieved a couple of times during the course of the battle. Apparently there were proposals at several points to relieve him, during the battle, and he somehow always dodged the bullet. Beevor is especially critical of Monty's insistence that the battle went according to plan (which he tried to push during the latter part of the battle, with people who had been briefed on the plan when it was in its inception stages. No one's ever been able to explain to me, at least not convincingly, why the man was so obsessed with the plan, as opposed to winning the war.

Eisenhower he mainly dismisses as a colorless administrator, while Bradley he generally treats well. Dempsey is more evenly treated than typically happens in such a book. Typically, the only general in the British Army in Normandy who gets much attention is Monty; every one else is treated as a bystander, almost. Apparently Dempsey was more than that, and the author goes to great lengths to let you see who he was and what he was about.

So, all in all, this isn't an incredibly ground-breaking book. The author goes over a lot of territory that's been covered in the past, and only a few of the things he puts forward are completely new. That being said, his views of the events are new, and the analysis he puts on the events is very interesting. I would recommend this book, especially to someone interested in military history.

Although I haven't finished this book (I'm about 3/4 through), it is a fitting followup to Beevor's other books: "Stanlingrad" and "The Fall of Berlin 1945". I think they should be read in that order, as each one explains actions in the later one(s). This is not an "easy read", but is exceedingly well researched and seems to be unbiased, at least as far as I can tell. All of them are very well written and also very detailed. Highly recommended by me -- I'm 82 and remember the newspaper and film stories as they were unfolding.

The book was received in a timely manner and in good condition. The author is British, and I found his point of reference different from American authors on the same subject. However, I'm sure that British citizens reading a book on the same subject but by an American author would probably feel the same difference.

A recommended pick is Anthony Beevor's D-DAY: THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY, narrated by actor Cameron Stewart who lends a lively voice to this first major account in over twenty years to cover the invasion in its entirety, describing not only the American and British experience but those of Canadian and German soldiers.

Purchased this book for my 88 year young dad. He is a WWII veteran of Normandy and the battles of Europe. His remarks were of wonder because he now views the battles from a different perspective. It enlightened the former soldier to the mishaps of their leaders. He rates the book as a valuable resource that should be read.

This is a great narrative of the D-Day campaign and goes over some of the previous books on the subject and deals with some of the previous known facts of the battle which turn out not to be true even though they have achieved almost a legend status. That the victory was a great achievement can not be denied. This book does a wonderful job of explaining how the job was done and what it cost to achieve the victory.

Beever also does a good job relating how politics impacted the campaign from the start all the way through to the liberation of Paris. He notes that the French agenda did not always match up with that of the Americans and British. He relates how the French generals (and DeGaul) had to be reminded that they need help to get back to their country and that they had to contribute to Allied victory and not just establishing themselves in power.

I would recommend this book to any who is interested in the campaign and wants a balanced write up. It is good for someone who has not read much (or anything) on the campaign all the way up to someone like myself who has read a great deal on the topic.

This is a great informative book. Alot of detail packed into these 500+ pages. I have already read several books on D-Day & thought I knew alot, but this book proved me wrong. I was a little ambilient reading a book by a British author. I was afraid he might lean towards a British point of view. On the other hand; I've read where many Brits think American authors favor the Yank way of thinking, especially on their thinking of the controversial British general "Montgomery". Anthony Beaver lays it all on the line. Tells how the Americans & the British see things, as well as the Germans, without any bious on his part. I like that this book; not only covers each of the beach landings, but goes on to detail the battles, all the way to Paris. Anhony Beaver has covered everything; including the French Resistance Fighters; The German code intercepts,German solders life & way of thinking. It's All here! Of all my D-Day books; this is my favorite.

I expected a good read, and I was not disappointed. I have read all of Anthony Beevor's non-fiction works; including those in collaboration with his wife Artemis Cooper - who must have the longest name in literature, and I have enjoyed everyone. In fact, when I had finished D-Day, I promptly read it again. With a desire for full disclosure, I have to say that I served with the 11th Hussars just before Beevor did, but I never met him unfortunately.
The value of this book lies in its evenhandedness. Beevor is steeped in literature, and one has the feeling that he writes because he has a story to tell, not a purveyor sensational disclosures to secure a place on the New York Times bestseller list. I hope my naivety is not showing here.
I own and have read many books on the Second World War. In too many of them, the authors have aimed their work at a particular audience, and attempted to feed the prejudices of that audience. That is not to suggest that what they say is untrue, it is what they do not say that distorts history. Beevor's book tells the whole story, warts and all. If you come from the "The Russians did all the fighting' school of thought, you are in for some surprises.
The book starts during the days prior to D-Day, and then carries the reader through to the liberation of Paris. His descriptions of the action on the Normandy beaches are masterful. No detail is left unexplored. You will learn about allied bombers bombing their own side and navy gunners shooting down their own planes. The civilian casualties will appall you, as will the obduracy of generals, and the self-interest of politicians.
D-Day is a testament to the frailty and heroism of the ordinary soldier, and a reminder of the obscenity of war. If you are a student of WWII, you must read this book. If you have no interest in the subject; you should still read it.

I like many other readers of World War II wondered how there could be enough new material for another book on this subject where so many good books have been written. Well, Beevor came up with really good book well worth your time. I enjoyed his narrative style and the range of subjects from the leading generals to the ordinary infantry units, including all the participants. It jumped around a lot but that was not too distracting. I have the feeling that there could be several more books from the material that Beevor no doubt has since it is clear that he has done an enormous amount of research. The fact that the scope of the book took the entire battle of Normandy all the way to the taking of Paris made it so interesting. THe only thing that frustrated me was the maps. All the maps should have been in the front of the book since you are most likely wanting to look at them regularly since there are so many different place involved. More and clearer maps
would have been helpful. I highly recommend this book.

This is one of the best books I ever read about WWII.
The style is clear, concise, direct. Antony Beevor gives us the details
not only about the strategy, tactics, political events and the battle itself
but also tells us about the experience of common soldiers and civilians.
I very much like the fact that this book tells us all the destruction
and french civilians that died as a result of the allied bombing on Normandy,
a fact that is often overlooked.
I got the sense that I was reading a book on operational military history
and a novel at the same time. The reason is that war and human beings are
so well described in this book.

The author does a fine job of explaining the background of D-Day preparations and the landings and subsequent battles, although in my mind Omaha Beach is given short shrift compared to other landing points. Put another way, the focus seems to be a bit more on the actions of the British, and to a lesser extent the Canadians, than the Americans. He also does an excellent job of explaining the difficulties of moving armies through a theatre of war when the countryside is that of an ally, albeit an ally without any significant armed forces. (Oddly, what I found interesting with respect to the invasion was the repeated fear by the allied troops of French female snipers [presumably girlfriends of the occupying German forces) taking potshots at the allied forces, which was apparently more fantasy than reality but which I do not recall being studied or written about in such detail before.)

Overall, I found the book a bit slow going, even tedious, until after the bridgeheads in Normandy were established. There were too many technical facts about troop movements and such crunched into too few pages without enough elaboration on the human element. After the bridgeheads were established, however, the pace of the book and my interest picked up.

In comparison with other treatments on the invasion itself, I found OVERLORD by Max Hastings to be a better read with respect to human interest stories but seemed to agree more with Antony Beevor on his analysis of military strategies and tactics, and the allied commanders.

This is both an educational and entertaining book to read. Beevor has blended battle facts with episodes of experience the foot soldier or civilians have had. This makes for a personal story. You also get to know how the top officers make the strategic decisions and also their opinions of each other.

This book is RECOMMENDED.

I ordered this very late for Christmas and it arrived so quickly. My husband is now reading it.

Gave book as a Xmas gift -- he enjoyed the book very much, said it was factual and interesting.

Beevor's book is well-researched, clear and engaging, but it adds little to what many others have said about the operational history of the campaign. The book is a narrative that ably blends operational history with the "worm's eye view" of those who suffered through the actual fighting (somewhat emphasizing the latter over the former). It does draw attention to seldom explored aspects of the fighting (such as the French experience) or to other factors not so fully discussed by others (such as some issues affecting the British Army).

Beevor's discussion of the French experience has much greater depth than is typical. He gives unusual detail on how much the fighting cost French civilians. The contending armies simply smashed everything and everywhere they fought over without concern for what damage was done to the French or their country. Immense personal and material suffering resulted.

Beevor also illuminates the politics that beset France before and after D-Day as DeGaulle struggled to insure France's national future. DeGaulle strove to control the resistance movement and prevent the strong Communist elements from dominating it. He also insisted on sending French Army units into battle as Allies reporting politically to DeGaulle's "government" (then unrecognized by the US and Britain). DeGaulle was equally adamant that French forces must liberate Paris even if this entailed some risk of major fighting in the city and even if the available forces had to disobey contrary orders from Allied superiors.

Beevor is good at describing the unusually savage (for the West) fighting in Normandy, fighting that produced heavy casualties and atrocities on both sides. Beevor is knowledgeable about the Nazi-Soviet war, so his suggestion that Normandy was often comparable to the Eastern Front in savagery carries weight.

Beevor narrates the famous operational dilemmas, but does not often analyze them in depth. He seems to spend more time analyzing the problems and performance of the British (perhaps because he is himself a Brit) than that of the Americans. Thus he is good on the intractable manpower problems that so deeply affected the British and on the great war weariness from which famous British units and commanders suffered when pressed into combat again after (for many of them) four years of unrelieved hard fighting.

Beevor sharply criticizes the British Army for its failure to develop effective doctrine for employment of armor generally and for armor-infantry cooperation in particular. He is also no fan of Montgomery's egoism and inability to cooperate smoothly with the Americans.

He criticizes Americans as well, especially with regard to the Falaise pocket and regarding the Americans' particularly ardent belief in the efficacy of the use of heavy bombers in land battles. Beevor does not hesitate to criticize (politely) American generals either, especially Bradley whom he seems to consider overrated and an egotist in his own right. Beevor is in fact more objective than many writers in a field where sympathy seems to follow nationality rather closely.

The book is a good overall view of the campaign, but it offers little new except as discussed above. This book would be enjoyable especially for someone coming new to the subject.

Great book. Beevor does a splendid job describing the events of D Day. Though keeping all the regiments and battalions straight was daunting, the book is fast read and hard to put down.

I've read a lot of books on this subject, and this is one of the best and worst of them. The research is incredibly well done and a lot of long accepted myths are corrected here. For that it's indispensable. It was horribly frustrating, though, because 1) it jumped back and forth in time without any clear tie-ins to help it all make sense, and 2) the author seems to have assumed we all speak multiple languages. Even though there are many footnotes, Beevor didn't include any for the many references to comments made in German and French. I don't have the book with me so I can't give an example. He'll say something like the bombing of the battlefield was so intense the Germans called it [insert German words here], but he doesn't bother to translate. I understand why he would want to use the correct names for all of the German units, but some of those names were incredibly long, and Beevor packs so many into a single sentence it becomes hard to follow. Not to mention next to impossible to remember. If you don't have the ability to remember everything you read word for word, you'll probably get lost over and over reading this book. The amount of information to be gleaned is astounding, but if you manage to get through the maze with the whole story intact in your mind you're a better man than I.

PS - This will tick off anyone who considers General Montgomery to be a great hero of WWII. I already thought he was a terrible general, so it didn't bother me. Besides, Beevor points out the errors and the egotistical attrocities of many other top officers, so ol' Monty doesn't stand out as the only fool on the hill.

Beevor's D-Day is an impressive account of the campaign in France from D-Day to the Liberation of Paris.

I like this book's style. It smoothly shifts from grand strategy (what this General wanted to do) to personal anecdotes (Private so-and-so's fate) and all levels in between. If you're more interested in the big picture, it's easy to skip the low level stuff. On the other hand, if you prefer the details of the personal experience of battle, it's just as easy to bypass the grand scheme. And if you want it all, it all comes together in a comprehensive way.

For example, in Chapter 16 (which covers fighting south of Cherbourg and NW of St. Lo in early July) he interrupts the chronological narrative to devote a few pages to the nitty-gritty on infantry tactics in bocage country. Well timed, since this was peak of fighting in that terrain. Then he goes into how intense the fighting was and the problems with the American replacement system and battle shock (what we know now as PTSD). Then, back to the chronological narrative. Breaking up the narrative this way makes the book easier to read and it's very well done.

I'm a military history buff and still learned a lot from this history. So I can recommend it to those who know a lot about WW2. And those who are new to this study will find it a great starting point.

I have a number of books on the Normandy campaign - Max Hastings & Stephen Ambrose - plus have read innumerable journals & articles on the battles. There was little room here for Beevor to move in adding new material and I actually wondered why such an esteemed author would tackle such a heavily documented theatre of operations.

However, the book is an excellent read. Beevor's style (I own four of his books) is not dry but continues rapidly, intermingling divisional & corps movements quite seamlessly with personal and intimate accounts. The lead up was excellent - not too long before hitting the action - but with enough lead in information for the first time reader to become acquainted with the situation at hand. Each Normandy beach-head was discussed in kind. I particularly enjoyed the endeavours of the US troops in the south around the Brittany region - I got so annoyed at the stupid decisions by Hitler & his commanders who were 2 countries away! I actually felt very sorry for the badly led Wehrmacht soldiers. The Falaise Gap section was gentle in comparison to what I have read before in other books - not as gruesome as it could have been. By the time I finished the book I was exhausted...actually finding myself mentally re-living what these troops on both sides must have experienced. Considering the German Army was an 'old man' by mid June 1944 thanks to the Russian Campaign (as well as Africa, Sicily & Italy campaigns) and the Allies had total superiority of Air & Sea, the fight was much tougher than expected and Beevor makes sure you feel every punch.

I was amazed at how honest this British writer was about the British forces - especially Montgomery. The key leaders knew they were making history and wanted the glory more than I realised.

Excellent: The book had plenty of maps

Reasonable: The book lacked a higher number of photographs - although there won't be many new ones anyway. Most of those included I had never seen before.

Mediocre: The high level of attention paid to the atrocities of the German SS units. There were equally as many atrocities mentioned from both sides, yet the SS troops were singled out over and again because they were killing civillians. Whilst we agree that killing non-coms (women & children also) is not on, there was very little attention paid by Beevor to the destructive efforts of the Resistance. I am against the Resistance - they were not heroes in my opinion. They are no more than terrorists! They are local people, not in uniform, hitting their enemy with tactics I believe are incompatible with WWII principles. If the Resistance are allowed to wander out of uniform and then hit officers in town cafes or blow up communications posts - then their families and townsfolk can expect reprisals!

In my opinion - the Resistance fighters were no better than terrorists like those we see supporting Al Quaida or the Taliban today (suicide bombers, hidden IEDs, local snipers, etc). Beevor tended to salute them for continuing their fight under tough circumstances but if you or I were those German troops in those days and we saw our best friends blown to bits by a group of undercover locals...we too would probably resort to violence (as US & Coaltition troops have done at times in Iraq & Afghanistan).

This book was read in less than 4 days and is easily one of the best books on the campaign.

Recommended.

Beevor has written a fairly comprehensive book about the D-Day invasion, but there are better ones out there. He has a bad habit of making a statement and not following it up with any further information. It jars the flow of the book when he does that.
There is a tremendous mount of details in this book, but emotionally it could be an after action report for the military archives.

This book has great details of the D Day invasion. A must read for any history buff.

Though the information has been seen before in various forms...Beevor's authority on the subject is clear and his efforts to provide a balanced perspective give the reader the opportunity to explore all points of view -- Allies, Axis, and Civilian in one telling. As a result, Beevor's account easily surpasses other excellent works on the same subject and I found it difficult to put down.

I'm far from a WWII expert or even a fan of war books. But a friend mentioned this book to me in passing, and I bought it a little impulsively to read. From the moment I started the first page, I couldn't put it down. I carried the book with me everywhere and read it whenever I had snatches of time to spare. I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in WWII, D-Day, and the Battle for Normandy. True WWII experts won't be disappointed either.

Beevor offers an exemplary look at the major and minor players in the planning and execution of the largest invasion the world has ever seen. His ability to tease out the human-interest elements of a military history are unparalleled. Readers become quickly swept up in the non-stop pace of the battle, almost as if one is right alongside Ike, Cota, Patton, Montgomery, Rommel, Guderian, and even Hitler. Beevor shows a true historian's fairness in his exploration of French, Allied, and German experiences of this monumental day and battle. Beevor doesn't overly emphasize any one particular takeaway, but the reader can't help but finish the book with an awesome sense of gratitude, patriotism, and awe for the sacrifices made by so few for so many (to paraphrase Churchill).

Read this book now. You won't regret it. In fact, you'll wish Beevor had just kept on writing all the way through the end of the war. I'm hoping for a book on the December battle in the Ardennes next.

The hardback version of this costs $21.75 whereas the kindle edition is £$35. This makes absolutely no sense. Can anyone at Amazon explain it?

The book is full of interesting stories but lacks any glue to tie the events to the big picture!

This is a great book. Unfortunately I will have to return it because our son gave it also to my husband and his is signed be the author !

Being a WWII historian myself, I enjoyed Beevor's book. Not only does he reveal the high price the French population had paid for being liberated, but he also exposed the atrocities the Allies committed, which most historians refuse to even mention. My only criticism of his work is that I wish he had of spend more time describing the conflict between the Allied generals.

Just what else can be written about "D" Day in 2010? Alot. Beevor's research and writing bring new light to the Normandy (post D-Day)Campaign. Field Marshall Von Rundstedt considered the pre-invasion Atlantic wall but a shell. And at least one senior British General wanted "Monty" relieved. Montgomery's halting manner bordered on negligence in the early Normandy campaign. Beevor's authoritative narrative and historical retelling of many diverse events in the campaign will keep your head in the hedgerows of France, long after you've turned off the Kindle. Best appreciated if you've read Keegan, Clark, Ryan.

We first heard of this book when a French friend recommended it. She had read the French edition, with the perspective of having lived through the German occupation and the liberation. The author tells the Normandy story, warts and all, and seemingly with an even hand toward each of the nations involved.

You'd think that everything there is to say about World War II must have already been said a thousand times before in a thousand different books. But Antony Beevor's //D-Day// is the first book in over 20 years to exhaustively detail the events from June 2, 1944 (just a few days before D-Day) through the battle for Normandy and the liberation of Paris. || Mr. Beevor used both new and old, previously overlooked sources to give a comprehensive picture of this pivotal period in the conflict, including letters, diaries, and U.S. Army combat historian interviews of soldiers and officers that were conducted minutes following battles. He strives to look at the war from all perspectives, from the wide-angle - the overall strategies of the various armies - to the tight-angle - the experiences of the soldiers and civilians. || This book is weighty. It's a tome for serious-minded World War II enthusiasts, not something to read, half-awake while lazing in front of the fire on a rainy Sunday afternoon. But the combination of the text, pictures, and map end-papers together make for a triumph of research, clarity, and the love of history.

As an avid reader of WWII history, I would rate this as one of the best accounts of the history-changing battle. Antony Beevor takes the reader through the build-up to the invasion, the landing itself, and the subsequent battles in France. Not a re-hash of other accounts, the author seems to have found yet unpublished accounts including insights to the major players: Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley, and Patton and their counter-parts as well as the grunts and civilians in harm's way. It often reads like an exciting novel. I highly recommend it to other serious readers of WWII and readers of casual interest.

A different look at the battle, more behind the scenes, how, what, where did it come about.
very interesting

Mr. Beevor brought it on himself. Having read Berlin, Stalingrad, The Battle for Spain, and Paris After the Liberation, I had extremely high expectations for D-Day because his previous efforts were just so damned good. I am happy to report he has done especially well here given the fact that the subject has been covered so many times before. Beevor's style of writing is a great mix of on-the-ground narrative, big picture strategy, and requisite facts and figures. The result is always compelling, convincing, and entertaining which is no small feat when writing history.

This treatment of D-Day is the most logical as it spans from preparation of the invasion to the liberation of Paris. June 6th itself will always be an incredible day in history but including the bocage fighting, the breakout, and entering Paris provides greater context and understanding to D-Day overall. I read The Longest Day about thirty years ago and approximately twenty other books on D-Day since and believe that Beevor's is the most holistic and balanced especially his insights into German strategy and response.

As a proud Canadian, I appreciated his treatment of the Canadian contribution. Many of the histories have given the subject short shrift. The 'what-ifs' Beevor explores regarding the taking of Caen breaks new ground. Obviously mistakes were made and his new theories are incredibly interesting and valuable for the debate. I also appreciated the photographs included because many I had not seen before. And facts like most allied tanks were knocked out by artillery and close order anti-tank weapons rather than the vaunted and feared Tigers and Panthers add more texture and insight.

I highly recommend this work along with his others mentioned at the top of the review.

Excellent history of DDay. It was so detailed though there were not enough maps to follow the timeline. This made it difficult to follow.

I have read many books on D-Day and always amazed how they usually go no further in the war. This book not only describes the D-Day landing superbly but then traces the following days and the incredible troubles we had in over taking the Normandy region. Does a great job telling both sides and our many screw ups that caused so many needless deaths. But also tells of heroic actions of our fighting men that gave of themselves so selflessly during this dreadful war. If you want details of many battles and interesting tidbits of our soldiers and the Germans as well as an accurate assessment of what really happen then this the book for you.

Ever since the twin mega-hits of Saving Private Ryan and the Band of Brothers, interest in D-Day has (appropriately) grown, and with it more studies and battle portraits.

Anthony Beevor's well done book clearly adds to the literature, and sheds new, and often neglected, insight into the German side, with a review of the the strategic and tactical decisions, as well as some first hand view of on the front line experiences.

At times the book gets a bit bogged down in the overall strategy and troop movement, and the reader can yearn for some good, simple entertaining stories. But all in all, a very good addition to any serious collector's D-Day bookshelf.

A comprehensive, insightful history of the Normandy Campaign, written by one of the finest military historians working the field today.

From the moment I picked up this book, it captivated me. The writing style and the scrupulous research bring this pivotal moment in history to life. Nobody has written about D Day in this way. You can sense the panic and almost smell the hedgerows. Without question my favourite WW II book.

Beevor has singlehandedly helped transform military history by drawing out the worst of human behavior during war. Whereas oldtime military history focused on the movement of troops and the leadership of generals, Beevor focuses more on the human element under stress. Beevor has carved out a niche for himself by telling the conflict from both sides and sparing none of the nastiness and inhumanity that is war. When you finish the book you are fully aware to what depths human beings do sink in a military conflict where revenge, deceit, cruelty are all laid bare. Hopefully, his books will help steer mankind away from the insanity that is war.

It is a well-known truth, that with every passing year old wars become more adventurous and their heroes more audacious. To some extent this observation may be attributed also to Antony Beevor's newest book. But regardless of interesting and spicy details, with every passing chapter a reader is bound to realize that a vast majority of warriors on both sides of the front line were only human beings. People, who desired to live and survive and who felt usual chill up the spine and empty feeling in the guts at the prospect of battle. Gruesome indeed, that they had been facing the fact, that from the day they joined their battalion, their life expectancy was precisely three weeks. Some had to come to terms with insignificance of their naked lives at the moment they were told not to worry if they didn't survive the assault, as there was "plenty of back-up troops who will just go in over you" (p.77).

On the other hand, the author skillfully accentuates the differences on both sides of the front line. At the initial phases of the battle, the essentially civilian soldiers of a democracy could not be expected to show the same level of self-sacrifice as indoctrinated members of the Waffen SS, who were defending some of the strongholds. He further emphasizes this by saying, that even in the Red Army officers were certain that six out of ten soldiers never fired their rifles in battle. So, no wonder that after landing on Normandy beaches, some Allied soldiers felt that they had earned the right to a cigarette and a mug of tea, which they started to brew up on the beach, even though it was still under fire. At the end, however, slowness of the Allies in first two months worked in favor of France, which was spared from battle of attrition.

The book leaves no doubt that one of the key factors, which determined as much the outcome of separate operations, as the battle of Normandy as a whole, was the flail of fabulous Allied air superiority. The bombing occasionally had been done with a bestial frenzy and German soldiers went saying "If British planes appear, we duck. If American planes come over, everyone ducks. And if the Luftwaffe appears, nobody ducks" (p.291). The statistics offered by the author in the last chapter are most revealing. Seventy thousand French civilians killed by Allied action during the course of the war exceed the total number of British killed by German bombing. In this regard, Beevor also illustrates countless cases, where the Allied planes bombed their own infantry (p.345;347;429;442). Horrible, but some soldiers thus obviously ended the war and their lives without having enemy ever either seen or heard.

All in all, an excellent book, which allows to a reader himself to make far-reaching conclusions about the nature of war. As Beevor puts it, quoting the Duke of Wellington's famous observation - "next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained".

Havent read the book yet. It is a Xmas present. But it shipped quickly and I assume is in good condition. I havent removed it from the box yet.

The maps alone, and their tight connection to the narrative, make this one of the most accessible and useful histories of the D-Day operations available.

Having just visited the beaches of Normandy, it was interesting to get Beevor's take on it. enjoyed it. Robert Blakey

I would recommend this book to all interested by this period as one of the definitive accounts of the events that took place.

I agree with the author of the recent Time review which found the book interesting and factual. I was especially interested in the increased amount of detail which the author compiled from various sources from both sides of the conflict. The maps of the battle scenes were appropriately placed. What made me realize that the author was British was the use of certain words such as "stick" for platoon and other turns of phrases. He along with other observers felt that Monty was a poor leader in that he refused to use available information in making his decisions. The inter-relationship among the leaders on both sides gave an indepth overview which previous authors lacked - perhaps because of lack of release of pertinent documents. Having visited the Normandy graveyard and seeing the extensive crosses, I could more easily appreciate his accounting for the numbers of casualties.

This is a well-written, reader-friendly but richly-detailed account of World War Two's Normandy Invasion. It provides the reader with novel-like intimacy. Just about every aspect of D-Day, if not actually every aspect, is covered in depth.

The author and celebrated historian obviously had to climb a steep mountain of huge piles of research, as evident in the 43 pages of supportive endnotes, to write this 523 page book accurately.

To me, though, a historian worthy of the name has to do more than just describe events and their details in chronological order. Getting your facts and names right is a challenge, always. But there's more to meaningful history, and that is an intelligent evaluation of all that material into conclusions about what it means. Interpretation, in other words. History is also about people, and I fell this author excels at describing and depicting the many personalities in this complicated story. And, he covers the experiences of not just the American, British, Canadian and German soldiers, but also French civilians killed by Allied bombing. He even includes the failed attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb.

Highly recommended to all interested in the history of World War Two.

Anthony Beevor is a great historian.
I have read all his books,but this one is very special to me as it happened in Normandy,where I,partly, grew up. I am very familiar with all the small towns,villages and hamlets mentionned in the book . I have travelled the small roads in a region which is today so quaint and peaceful.

Anthony Beevor ,as with his other books ,Spain,Berlin and Stalingrad, has the knack to intertwine the historical military ,sometimes rapid and brutal events, with the daily ,personal lives of the people,alive and dead.Being an American ,gives him the impartial ,objective view :
A. the ugly part of the liberation of Normandy,that is the crimes commited by the french on other french.
B.the true,MANY,french collaborators with the German army during the allied landings.Very few ,if any,french historians will tell the truth,about them.
C.last ,but not least, The Allies had to fight a very tough ennemy,and it was far from the revised french press articles of to-day which try to portray the liberation of France a jolly good ride.
D. General de Gaulle was not warmly welcomed upon his arrival after the landing.
It is refreshing to see an historian who finally tell like it was. How refreshing!
Great Book ,easy reading and very historically accurate.