D-Day: The Battle for Normandy - Hardcover

Beevor, Antony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067088703X ISBN 13: 9780670887033

Publisher: Viking, 2009

Synopsis

The definitive account of the Normandy invasion by the bestselling author of Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin 1945

From critically acclaimed world historian, Antony Beevor, this is the first major account in more than twenty years to cover the whole invasion from June 6, 1944, right up to the liberation of Paris on August 25. It is the first book to describe not only the experiences of the American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers, but also the terrible suffering of the French caught up in the fighting. More French civilians were killed by Allied bombing and shelling than British civilians were by the Luftwaffe.

The Allied fleet attempted by far the largest amphibious assault ever, and what followed was a battle as savage as anything seen on the Eastern Front. Casualties mounted on both sides, as did the tensions between the principal commanders. Even the joys of liberation had their darker side. The war in northern France marked not just a generation, but the whole of the postwar world, profoundly influencing relations between America and Europe. Beevor draws upon his research in more than thirty archives in six countries, going back to original accounts, interviews conducted by combat historians just after the action, and many diaries and letters donated to museums and archives in recent years.

D-Day will surely be hailed as the consummate account of the Normandy invasion and the ferocious offensive that led to the liberation of Paris.

About this title

About the Author:

Antony Beevor is the bestselling author of five nonfiction books, including The Battle for Spain, which won the La Vanguardia Prize, Paris After the Liberation: 1944-1949, Stalingrad, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Wolfson Prize for History, and the Hawthornden Prize for Literature, and The Fall of Berlin 1945, which received the first Longman-History Today Trustees' Award.

From AudioFile:

After briefly treating the buildup to D-Day, Beevor examines the invasion and subsequent liberation of Paris in a mix of sometimes-dry strategic overview and often-ghastly personal details. Simon Vance gives it all proper weight, without extravagance. He has a likable voice and pleasant English accent, which he varies, at times from one word to the next, to suit the large number of quotations. His American accent is good, and he even does Canadian. Other accents make one wonder about the convention of presenting foreign speech as accented English, but it works. It's easy to lose track in complex audio histories (especially military); Vance's clarity and excellent pacing help. A fascinating and well-read book. W.M. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 067088703X
• ISBN 13: 9780670887033
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 632
• Illustrator: Illus. With Photos