Our Finest Day: D-Day, June 6, 1944

D-Day is one of the significant turning points in wartime history and was the largest single military operation ever launched. In Our Finest Day, best-selling author Mark Bowden reveals the human faces behind this brutal battle, using reproductions of original documents. Included in these pages are personal letters and poignant journal entries from soldiers, secret dispatches and pages from code books, and strategic battle plans and maps. These removable artifacts-from the collection of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans-allow readers to hold a piece of history in their hands. Imagine holding a replica of the last letter written home by a soldier as he waited nervously for the attack to begin, or the message sent to Allied headquarters in England informing them that the beaches had been taken. From the commanders of Operation Overlord to the airborne troopers and resistance fighters, Our Finest Day introduces readers to the brave men who risked their lives and triumphed over Hitlers Germany.

Mark Bowden is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and the author of the best-selling Black Hawk Down. A staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 20 years, he lives in Pennsylvania.

Stephen E. Ambrose is a distinguished historian and the author of many best-selling books about World War II, including Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers. He lives in New Orleans.