Beyond the Beachhead by Joe Balkoski, PB, ISBN 0811726827, $14.95. There is no finer book on the role of the 29th Division at Omaha beach. It also is one of the finest volumes on the transition of a National Guard unit. The author has done ground breaking research with veterans for many years before it became a popular subject. His interviews were done years before any of them had a chance to have their memories clouded by movies or TV shows. Order it here.
Reflections on Courage on D-day by Marcia Moen, PB, ISBN 0964992264, $15.95. These are the memoirs of Ranger "Ace Parker", commander of Company A, 5th Ranger Bn. The emphasis is on the D-day landings, and the rarely documented exploits of Parker in bringing his Ranger's through German lines to help out at Pt. du Hoe. The book mentioned other aspects of the 5th Ranger Bn war in Europe. It contains Lt. Edlin's account of his famous capture of a pill box at Brest, as well as details on the Battle of Irsch-Zerf. This is an important memoir for those interested in the actions of the Rangers on D-day. Order it here.
The Liberation of Point du Hocby JoAnna McDonald, ISBN 1888967064, $18.00, Paperback. This is a disapointing look at the famous Ranger assault. Mainly a re-hash of what's in previous books on the subject, along with a handful of interviews with vets, it adds little to our understanding of what went on. I shuddered to realize the author does not know what a thermite grenade really is, and called HBT's "paratrooper pants." So you have take details with a grain of salt. I'd only recommend it if you MUST own every book on the Rangers and want to check each account with the other for possible variations fromt he story. Order it here
The View from the Turret: the 743rd Tank Bn during WW2, by William Folkestad, ISBN 1-57249-001-2, $24.95. Written by the son of a 743rd vet, this book covers the history of the 743rd through the entire war. The 743rd was one of the amphibious tank battalions on Omaha Beach. There is some very good firsthand info obtained fromt he vets in this book, however I must warn that there are also some repeated errors from older sources(the erroneous landing chart from Cross-channel attack is one). Still, a must have for anyone into armor and D-day.Order it here.
Strike Swiftly: the 70thrd Tank Bn during WW2, by William Folkestad, ISBN 0891416102, $24.95. Written by a 70th vet (a cook no less!), this book covers the history of the 70th from North Africa through Germany. This was the amphibious tank battalion on Utah Beach. It landed in much better shape that its Omaha cousins, but never seems to get as much respect. A good all around view of a Tank Bn in WW2, and again, a must for those into armor and D-day. Order it here
Note: I find most books on the German military to be poorly done. You just cannot write on a subject in which you can't read, or have access to the original records. In particular I also warn against some of the more popular books on the Germans from authors such as Paul Carrel, which I feel are chock full of errors.
Normandy 1944, by Niklas Zetterling, ISBN 0921991568 . For the first time, that I know of, someone has gone to the German Army records and looked at the original reports from units in Normandy. Be warned: most of this book is a hardcore reference book on the strengths of various units, so not for casual reading. The author does include a few interesting essays. The best of which is his take on the effectiveness of allied air power (it was not what we thought). He does venture into the whole "statistical evaluation of military might" which I don't agree is so easy to solve. However, this book is invaluable for anyone doing serious research on Normandy. Order it here
Spearheading D-day, by Jonathan Gawne, ISBN 2908182783, $29.95. I can't really comment on this book as I wrote it. I can only say that if you ANY interest in D-day you really owe it to yuorself to at least take a quick look at it. Its in most major bookstores. I've studied the invasion for many years, and there's stuff here you will not find elsewhere. Organization of the boat teams, the history of the assault jacket, the real reason the first waves were mis-landed at Utah, and stuff like that. Go read the reviews at www.militaria.com and see for yourself. Order it here
Omaha Beach: Flawed Victory, by Adrian Lewis, ISBN 080782609X, $35.00. The author is a former Army officer, and examines the development of the plans for the invasion of France as they developed. The general D-day buff will probably be bored by the discussion of how the Allies decided what to fdo, but I recommend it for anyone with a serious interest. The author's main idea is that the invasion was poorly planned and, while the Allies won, it could have been better planned. That being said I have to say that while I find much of the book well done and he's found a lot of obscure documents, I do disagree with a few minor points. I think he missed boat (pun intended) on the use of boat teams (he claims they broke up unit integrity- I disagree as they were little more than reworked platoons and they seemed to have enough time to get used to the slightly different organization). He also makes the claim that the Allies should have used more Navy bombardment before the invasion and failed because they refused to use lessons from the Pacific. (I agree in some respects, but feel he has not factored in the whole fortitude deception strongly enough, and also feel he missed some records that show the Americans really wanted to extend the bombardment but were overruled by Monty). In any event I highly recomend this book to advanced D-day enthusiasts (who may or not may not agree with some conclusions) but should find it interesting. Order it here
After D-day, by James Carafano, ISBN 1555878857, $29.95. This book looks at the actual breakout from Normandy, not the landings. I wanted to menion it as I felt it was probably the best look at Operation Cobra I've seen. If you think they dropped bombs and the Yanks walked through, well, read this book. Order it here
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