Normandy 1944 (The Road to Victory)

Rating:
Summary: This account is as good as they get.
Review: The invasion of Normandy was the greatest military operation in history involving servicemen from Great Britain, Canada and the USA. It could so equally have been the greatest disaster - and had that happened, nobody would have been celebrating it's 60th anniversary. Instead, what commenced with an assault on 5 separate beaches eventually led to the surrender of Germany. As I write this review, the 60th anniversary of those D-Day Landings has come and gone. For those who took part in the operation itself there will always be the memories which have been a part of their lives ever since. For others there are a plethora of books on the subject - and this one is just about as good as they get.

Normandy 1944 - The Road to Victory, is a hard back book measuring approx. 9½ x 6½ inches and contains 300 pages plus two Appendices, Bibliography and Index. In addition 60 carefully chosen photographs are placed together in the middle of the book. A quick glance at the 10 pages of Bibliography will give the reader an insight into the incredible amount of information accessed by the author in researching this exceedingly worthwhile account. The first 5½ pages list no fewer than 129 books published at various times from the end of WW2 to date. These are followed by 3½ pages of unpublished reference material from the National Archives at Kew. The remaining page lists further unpublished material from private sources.

In short, this author has done his homework and the result is as fair and accurate an account of an event which set those gallant Allied Forces on the road to victory - and that was the journey which lead to the final surrender of Germany.

With an easy-to-read style of writing, this book is a must for anyone who wants to know what "Normandy" was all about but doesn't know which book to choose and an indispensable addition to the bookshelf of any serious historian.

NM