D-Day Books???? (1 Viewer)

[Lo1863]

Hello all,
I was wondering what books are great for covering the D-Day/Normandy landings? I am really thinking about starting to study WWII more in depth like I do with the American Civil War. I spent most of my childhood with my grandpa and have always been inspired by those wonderful men I grew up around who serverd that were his friends. I have looked on amazon and two that caught my eye were "D-Day: The Battle for Normandy" by Antony Beevor and "The Longest Day" by Cornelius Ryan. I know Stephen Ambrose has a book out as well, but I would like to stay away from that one. Thanks for any help on the matter!

 

[theBaron]

"The Longest Day" is an excellent account of the landings and recommended for anyone's library, as are his other books, "A Bridge Too Far" and "The Last Battle", about the fall of Berlin. Ryan compiled a lot of info from eyewitnesses. They're not the be-all, end-all, of course, but very worth having.

Prost!
Brad

 

[jazzeum]

I'm not a huge fan of Ryan's and even less of Ambrose's although I liked (and own) Ryan's Longest Day movie. I read Ryan when I was a kid but I don't think it holds up well over time.

In my opinion, there are only three books that are musts: Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este, Overlord by Max Hastings and Beevor's book (although not as good as the other two). A companion volume to Overlord is Hastings' Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944-1945. It's a must.

Rick Atkinson's last book in his trilogy The Guns at Last Light will be sure to emphasize D Day and if it's anything like his first two books it should be outstanding.

 

[lancer]

I think John Keegan's excellent book 'Six Armies in Normandy' could be added to Brad's excellent list. Might also add Paul Carell's 'Invasion, They're Coming', an excellent treatment from the German POV. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

I forgot Keegan's book. That is quite good. I haven't read Carell's book but will need to pick it up.

This is not exactly on point but Paul Kennedy has come out with a new book called Engineers of Victory, which looks at the men and women who helped to implement the visions and strategies of the leaders; in other words the people who did the hard work (other than the fighting men and women). The reviews I've read give it very high marks.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi There,

Some good suggestions here but there are many more that haven't been mentioned however it would be helpful to understand what you are looking to learn. My question would be do you want to read a bunch of general books about the battle or are you looking for specific units or first hand accounts by the men who fought there. If you can answer this question I am sure we can suggest some good books for you.

Dave

 

[jazzeum]

Hi There,

Some good suggestions here but there are many more that haven't been mentioned however it would be helpful to understand what you are looking to learn. My question would be do you want to read a bunch of general books about the battle or are you looking for specific units or first hand accounts by the men who fought there. If you can answer this question I am sure we can suggest some good books for you.

Dave

That's a good point Cameron and it all depends on what or how much you know about D-Day. If it's little, one of the books that Al or I mentioned would be a good starting point before delving into unit histories. If you already know a lot but want to read about specific units, then I'm sure Dave and others can help.

Brad

 

[Lo1863]

Hi There,

Some good suggestions here but there are many more that haven't been mentioned however it would be helpful to understand what you are looking to learn. My question would be do you want to read a bunch of general books about the battle or are you looking for specific units or first hand accounts by the men who fought there. If you can answer this question I am sure we can suggest some good books for you.

Dave

I would like some suggestions on some "general/overall" histories of what took place. I do have some knowledge on the operation, but I would like to just start from scratch. I do enjoy books that are able to add in first hand accounts along with the general history as I have read several civil war books like that. Hope this helps and thanks for all the suggestions so far!

 

[glossman]

My recommendation for a concise "general/overall" account of D-Day is:

"Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy 1944" by Max Hastings ; first published by Michael Joseph (1984). It is now available on Amazon in paperback for about USD $12.00.

I thought the maps were insufficient, so I supplemented with "The D-Day Atlas" by Charles Messenger.

Raymond

 

[jazzeum]

I would like some suggestions on some "general/overall" histories of what took place. I do have some knowledge on the operation, but I would like to just start from scratch. I do enjoy books that are able to add in first hand accounts along with the general history as I have read several civil war books like that. Hope this helps and thanks for all the suggestions so far!

Cameron,

Please see my suggestions above: D'Este and Hastings.

Brad

 

[glossman]

Cameron,

Please see my suggestions above: D'Este and Hastings.

Brad

To clarify, I believe the book by Max Hastings that I have recommended is the same as that suggested by Brad.

The three title contenders for your reading objectives are likely to be: Max Hastings, Antony Beevor and Carlo D'Este (in random order) as was listed by Brad in Post #3.

Raymond

 

[Lo1863]

Thanks so much guys! I will check all these books out for sure on amazon.

 

[larso]

I second/third 'Overlord' by Hastings. It has many powerful contributions by soldiers from all the armies that fought in Normandy. I think he might even have been criticised for having too much from the German point of view. I've read it several times but more often, just opened at a random page and lapped it up. There are passages I can recall clearly even at this minute. I thought Keegan's 'Six Armies' was a bit dry by comparrison. Another with a focus on the Germans is 'The Germans in Normandy' by Richard Hargreaves which I have but haven't read, but it is highly spoken off in a military history site I frequent.

 

[swalterh]

Not exactly a book on D-Day, but IMO probably the best true military analysis of US Army opertations in the ETO is "Closing with the Enemy" by Michael D. Doubler.

Contains a lot of information on the Bocage fighting.

 

[binder001]

One problem with some "overall" histories is that the Overlord operation was HUGE. It's hard to get a full account in a single book. I recommend using some of the general books like "Ambrose's "DDay", Ryan's "The Longest Day", etc. Then you can look into the books that focus on the intelligence "games" such as "Bodyguard of Lies", or the US Army's units and equipment, such as Gawne's "Spearheading D-Day", or the armored equipment such as Anderson's "Cracking Hitler's Atlantic Wall", and so on. There are books on the air operations, the airborne landings, the US units, the British Commonwealth units, the naval operations, etc.

 

[Terp152]

Cameron,

 

[Terp152]

Cameron, consider the official US Army histories available thru the GPO, Omaha Beachhead, and United States Army in WWII: European Theater of Operations, Cross Channel Attack. Both are available in paperback, so not cost prohibitive. Stephen Ambrose's D Day, June 6, 1944 is also very good and contains a lot of info regarding participants. Already mentioned, Rick Atkinson's The Guns at Last Light: The War in Europe, 1944-1945, the final volume of his Liberation Trilogy, will be a must read with a lot of info regarding the Normandy operation, due out in May. Chris