Published to mark the 50th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, Stephen E. Ambrose's D-Day: June 6, 1944 relies on over 1,400 interviews...
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Aug 27, 2008
Megan
rated it: 
Wonderful. I highly recommend Ambrose for historical reading. He makes things interesting and detailed and you feel like you really get to know somewhat what it was like being there. I will definitely be reading his other books. It's embarrassing that it took me almost 7 months to read this one though!
This book was a testimony to me that Heavenly Father was with those soldiers that day. It reminded me of Captain Moroni and the title of liberty-when you are fighting for your liberty More...
This book was a testimony to me that Heavenly Father was with those soldiers that day. It reminded me of Captain Moroni and the title of liberty-when you are fighting for your liberty More...
Jun 11, 2011
Jimmie
rated it:
The late Stephen E. Ambrose used over 1400 interviews for his history of the D-Day invasion. This “oral history" approach brings the reader into the heart of the battle through eye-witness testimony. The tales of the front line infantryman sweeps the reader up into their personal histories. The story is told from the individual and small unit level often failing to describe larger unit actions or explaining how the individual actions fit into the total picture. Let is shared of what happene
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Apr 30, 2011
Bob
rated it: 
The book is a mix of big-picture analyses, a reference of details, and short testimonials from a large number of people who were there. Ambrose does a good but not great job at integrating these different scales and insights. Maybe that is I why I did not think this was a great book, but rather a very well-done book and a very practical reference about a profound event.
The author certainly conveyed some big picture perspectives successfully: the effect of complete Allied air and (ef More...
The author certainly conveyed some big picture perspectives successfully: the effect of complete Allied air and (ef More...
Mar 10, 2010
Don
rated it:
Probably one of the top three of all of his books concerning the war in Europe. It is a great place to start reading his series of books about WWII. It would be great to read this and Pegasus Bridge at the same time.
If you have an ability visualize, you will be moved.
I was in France in September of 2008. I'm not a tour guy, so we just go were and when we want to go. Chelly, my wife, and I went to the cemetery in Normandy. I was nearly overwhelmed at the sight. When We came to More...
If you have an ability visualize, you will be moved.
I was in France in September of 2008. I'm not a tour guy, so we just go were and when we want to go. Chelly, my wife, and I went to the cemetery in Normandy. I was nearly overwhelmed at the sight. When We came to More...
Aug 06, 2011
The word for D-Day is "overwhelming." The amount of men and materiel moved on that day: overwhelming. The death, destruction and waste of the invasion (especially Omaha Beach): overwhelming. The heroism and courage of men of all different types, nationalities and personalities: overwhelming. Along with Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day," this narrative is well crafted. Most of the sources were oral histories from the actual participants. The many tales told give one a sense o
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Oct 02, 2011
Maggie
rated it:
D-Day is a period of history I've heard mentioned, discussed, and studied most of my life. Reading this book gave me the basis to truly understand what went into the planning, organization, and implementation of that momentous period.
Stephen Ambrose did an excellent job of explaining what went into the planning and orchestration of the invasion. The construction of his book into chapters centered on either an event or a group in action made it easy to understand how each worked, More...
Stephen Ambrose did an excellent job of explaining what went into the planning and orchestration of the invasion. The construction of his book into chapters centered on either an event or a group in action made it easy to understand how each worked, More...
May 29, 2010
Garin
rated it:
Having just completed reading the excellent book titled D-Day, by Stephen Ambrose (audio book), on this Memorial Day weekend, my heart and mind are turned to those valiant soldiers, so young in life, who gave their ultimate sacrifice on June 6, 1944 in the effort to liberate France from the German occupation and secure the liberties of our friends in Europe and here at home in America.
This post has nothing to do with e-learning or business.publicly say Thank You. Having read this boo More...
This post has nothing to do with e-learning or business.publicly say Thank You. Having read this boo More...
May 14, 2010
Rhonda
rated it:
My father (Warner Hamlett -D-Day vet and still doing well) was interviewed and quoted in this book. He is 93 years old and relives WWII every night in his dreams. He still goes out to his homemade bomb cellar during thunderstorms and screams in his sleep.
Stephen Ambrose is an excellent author. He double checks his details and sources, using first-hand accounts of events. My father was in the 29 infantry out of South Boston, VA when they stormed Normandy Beach. The book tells the stor More...
Stephen Ambrose is an excellent author. He double checks his details and sources, using first-hand accounts of events. My father was in the 29 infantry out of South Boston, VA when they stormed Normandy Beach. The book tells the stor More...
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Mar 30, 2010
Susie
rated it:
Started 3/25/10.
Finished 3/30/10.
I listened to this on CD and found out when I was about half-way through the 5 CD recording that I had picked up an abridged version. Normally, I avoid abridged audiobooks like the plague, but in this case, I think it was just right for me. This was read by the author, and while I wouldn't recommend it to many people because of the extreme level of detail of the planning and execution of this one solitary invasion, I loved it for exactly that More...
Finished 3/30/10.
I listened to this on CD and found out when I was about half-way through the 5 CD recording that I had picked up an abridged version. Normally, I avoid abridged audiobooks like the plague, but in this case, I think it was just right for me. This was read by the author, and while I wouldn't recommend it to many people because of the extreme level of detail of the planning and execution of this one solitary invasion, I loved it for exactly that More...
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Mar 10, 2010
C. Benjamin
rated it: 
I'm roughly 120 pages into this tome...Operation Overlord is still gestating in the collective minds of the Allies.
My initial impression emanates from the writing style -- from some angles, given the intricacies of the events Ambrose recounts, it works well, for the admittedly pedantic reason of ease of digestion. Ambrose seems factual, straightforward, and almost conversational, and at the same time sincere in what seems to be admiration and, where appropriate, contempt for vario More...
My initial impression emanates from the writing style -- from some angles, given the intricacies of the events Ambrose recounts, it works well, for the admittedly pedantic reason of ease of digestion. Ambrose seems factual, straightforward, and almost conversational, and at the same time sincere in what seems to be admiration and, where appropriate, contempt for vario More...
Jan 05, 2011
Brian
rated it:
4/30/00 - 9/10
D-Day is probably the most interesting history novel I've read to date. Rather than being a dry re-telling of history, Stephen Ambrose relies heavily on personal accounts of soldiers' experiences on D-day. The book gives you all the events leading up to and including D-day. But it also gives personal stories from privates on Omaha Beach all the way up to General Eisenhower. From all the different accounts, you receive a good impression of what it was actually like to be on the beac More...
D-Day is probably the most interesting history novel I've read to date. Rather than being a dry re-telling of history, Stephen Ambrose relies heavily on personal accounts of soldiers' experiences on D-day. The book gives you all the events leading up to and including D-day. But it also gives personal stories from privates on Omaha Beach all the way up to General Eisenhower. From all the different accounts, you receive a good impression of what it was actually like to be on the beac More...
Jan 27, 2009
Marky
rated it:
This book is about D-day, the day America entered World war 2. I actually found this book quite emotional.
This book actually makes me want to visit Normandy France one day. I want to visit that beach, where thousands of men died in honor of freedom and in honor of America. I want to feel the presence of thousands of warrior spirits all around me.
This book made me feel sorrow for the young men forced to go and fight people they have never met. They were forced to sacrif More...
This book actually makes me want to visit Normandy France one day. I want to visit that beach, where thousands of men died in honor of freedom and in honor of America. I want to feel the presence of thousands of warrior spirits all around me.
This book made me feel sorrow for the young men forced to go and fight people they have never met. They were forced to sacrif More...
Jan 04, 2012
E.
rated it:
I liked it right up until the end. The book had been told from a primarily American perspective, and then, after finishing the report of the American's, ending on D-Day plus a day or so, the author suddenly switched back to D-Day morning from the British/Canadian POV. My issue is not with telling that part of the history, just that it felt awkwardly jammed on at the end. An afterthought....
The research is extensive, the book contains helpful maps and several narrative-assisting picture More...
The research is extensive, the book contains helpful maps and several narrative-assisting picture More...
Dec 10, 2010
Matt
rated it:
Another great read from Stephen Ambrose. D-Day was a vastly different experience from something like Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, as Ambrose spends 500+ pages on a single 24 hour period in World War II. It was interesting to go from a birds-eye view of history to ground level, but I don't know if I necessarily prefer it. While something like Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich barely touched many events, the level of detail in D-Day was at times a bit much for me.
There were so More...
There were so More...
Nov 22, 2010
Robertus
rated it:
satu lagi karya Ambrose!!! sayang, setebal apapun tulisan Ambrose, hanya bisa bertahan 3 hari sebelum selesai dibaca semua, padahal sudah diusahakan selambat mungkin membacanya. tetapi tiap lembar, tiap kalimat, benar-benar berarti sesuatu, sehingga membuant kita ingin mengetahui apa yang akan muncul lagi dihalaman berikut.
satu-satu pesaing dalam negeri kita yang bisa seperti itu saya rasa hanya Almarhum wartawan senior kita : P.K. Ojong!!!
five thumbs up for this book!! More...
satu-satu pesaing dalam negeri kita yang bisa seperti itu saya rasa hanya Almarhum wartawan senior kita : P.K. Ojong!!!
five thumbs up for this book!! More...
Mar 20, 2009
Brian
rated it:
I'm going to have to go against the world on this one: Ambrose is, indeed, a great popular historian, but this book is best for those who want every minute detail of every second of the D-Day invasion from inception to aftermath, and I'm not in that group. For those of us who crave historical narrative without a parade of interview data and historical trivia taken from SHAEF's "Weekly Intelligence Summary No. 11," I recommend Corneilus Ryan's "The Longest Day," composed in a
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Feb 04, 2012
Brian
rated it:
Stephen Ambrose provides an excellent narrative on the invasion of D-Day. The book is divided into three sections with the first two about 100 pages each and the last taking up the rest of the book. The first section is an introduction to the major players focusing mostly on Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Rommel. The next section focuses on the build up of forces and the special operations of the invasion. Finally the last section is an account of the four various beaches (focusing on Omaha and Uta
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Jul 28, 2011
Rob
rated it:
Seventeen years after it was first published, it's hard to conceive that there could be a better book about D-Day. Stephen Ambrose skillfully combines the "macro" and the "micro" into a narrative that moves fast enough to cover the entire scope of the battle without bogging down. And that scope includes the preparation as well as the assault on June 6.
Ambrose opens with a description of the strategic situation in 1944, and then proceeds with chapters devoted to or More...
Ambrose opens with a description of the strategic situation in 1944, and then proceeds with chapters devoted to or More...
Jan 26, 2012
Tony
rated it:
May 8, 1994
Dear Prof. Ambrose:
I have read most of your books and enjoyed them immensely. I was therefore eagerly awaiting the publication of your new book about D-Day. It finally arrived at our bookstore and I immediately began, greedily, to devour it.
As it turns out, last Tuesday, I journeyed to Altoona, one-hundred miles east of here, to take my father to a hospital for some exploratory surgery. My father was an army medic, helping to chase Rommel through More...
Dear Prof. Ambrose:
I have read most of your books and enjoyed them immensely. I was therefore eagerly awaiting the publication of your new book about D-Day. It finally arrived at our bookstore and I immediately began, greedily, to devour it.
As it turns out, last Tuesday, I journeyed to Altoona, one-hundred miles east of here, to take my father to a hospital for some exploratory surgery. My father was an army medic, helping to chase Rommel through More...
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Aug 28, 2009
Biar Menghayati ditambah membaca pidato Ike pada saat D-Day
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have
striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The
hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.
In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on
other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war
More...
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have
striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The
hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.
In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on
other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war
More...
43 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Nov 18, 2008
Kendallt2012
rated it:
Ever since I went to Normandy Beach in France, I have been obsessed with World War 2. This is when American fought Germany for the independent of France. When I was standing on the beach, I could feel the ghost of the warrior that fought that hard battle. It scared me; I was standing on the same beach where thousands of men died.
There is one special day that has been famous since the war. June 6, 1944 or D-Day. This day was important because When America sailed to Germany for attack More...
There is one special day that has been famous since the war. June 6, 1944 or D-Day. This day was important because When America sailed to Germany for attack More...
Sep 16, 2008
Bob
rated it:
Stephen Ambrose's writing style allows readers of all levels of understanding to access the importance, stories, and drama of D-Day. This book is an excellent read and will inform the most hardcore of historians as well as those just wading into the subject for the first time.
Ambrose spends a tremendous amount of time detailing the preparations, intelligence, and planning for the D-Day invasion. He spends some time on Operation "Fortitude" but not really enough to do it j More...
Ambrose spends a tremendous amount of time detailing the preparations, intelligence, and planning for the D-Day invasion. He spends some time on Operation "Fortitude" but not really enough to do it j More...
Aug 08, 2008
Bart
rated it:
In April and May 1944, the Allied air forces lost nearly 12,000 men and over 2,000 aircraft in operations which paved the way for D-Day.
Total Allied casualties on D-Day are estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. British casualties on D-Day have been estimated at approximately 2700. The Canadians lost 946 casualties. The US forces lost 6603 men. Note that the casualty figures for smaller units do not always add up to equal these overall figures exactly, however (this simply reflect More...
Total Allied casualties on D-Day are estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. British casualties on D-Day have been estimated at approximately 2700. The Canadians lost 946 casualties. The US forces lost 6603 men. Note that the casualty figures for smaller units do not always add up to equal these overall figures exactly, however (this simply reflect More...
Sep 18, 2007
Nathan
rated it:
Stephen Ambrose was an important historian for many reasons, not the least of which is his important contribution toward chronicling Dwight Eisenhower's presidency. But if he's remembered for one thing, it is probably his writing on WWII. There's a reason for this. As Band of Brothers and more importantly D-Day demonstrate, Ambrose knew the real history was in the boys who fought, not the officers who planned or the politicians who explained and talked and hoped. D-Day is about the boys who made
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Jul 30, 2011
Easily one of the best history books I have ever read. Where many histories go off and get bogged down in the minutiae, Ambrose maintains the reader's attention by relating the story of D-Day primarily through the experiences of the men who lived it. Manages to relate both the macro and micro pictures of D-Day. I especially enjoyed the anecdote about the Korean soldiers captured in German uniforms as part of an Ost batallion. Hilarious, but also typical of the inept German leadership.
Sep 30, 2009
Matt
rated it:
"I love it when a plan comes together" - Hannibal
Even at 600 pages, this is a quick read. It is more technical and tactical than "Band of Brothers" but Ambrose still puts a lot of personal stories of horror and heroism in there.
In a nutshell- Hitler made some BIG mistakes and the Allies had the benefit of luck and solid training on their side.
Read it with an atlas of the battle if you don't like flipping back and forth to maps.
Even at 600 pages, this is a quick read. It is more technical and tactical than "Band of Brothers" but Ambrose still puts a lot of personal stories of horror and heroism in there.
In a nutshell- Hitler made some BIG mistakes and the Allies had the benefit of luck and solid training on their side.
Read it with an atlas of the battle if you don't like flipping back and forth to maps.
Mar 03, 2009
Dave
rated it:
4-stars if you want to learn about the largest (still) single military event in history. I knew it was big but not this big of a deal. On that single day (June 6, 1944) 6,000 ships off the beach, 10,000 war planes, 20,000 paratroopers jumped behind the lines, and around 250,000 troops from U.S.A., England, Canada hit the Normandy coast. Gorey details in spots but what a commitment to stop Hitler!
I listened to it.
I listened to it.
Mar 08, 2009
Nicholas
rated it:
I keep returning to Stephen Ambrose's books on WWII. He personalizes the experience by presenting first person accounts intersperced with higher level strategic commentary. You will never forget that WWII was fought by people. D-Day is his best work. His style has beceom iconic but until Ambrose it was relatively rare to learn about WWII based on the experiences of individual soldiers.
Dec 28, 2008
Jill
rated it:
This is a fascinating book about the planning and execution of D-Day. I was particularly intrigued by the way our nation came together IN PRAYER when word of the invasion spread. Entire cities stopped to pray together; shops, theaters and sporting events closed so people could be home praying for the soldiers. I guess I didn't realize just how far we've come as a country - imagine what would happen if someone suggested that today? It's incredibly sad.
I enjoyed reading about Churc More...
I enjoyed reading about Churc More...
Oct 23, 2009
Logan
rated it:
I gave the book 4 stars because in the begining was the best part because when they got out of the boats the japan had machine guns unloading on them. So they put the generals in the back so the non important solders would get shot fist. I would of boomed the land first so when we went on land we would of had no one shooting at us so we would of not died
