Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily July-August 1943

Rating:
Summary: Very good military history of the Sicily campaign
Review: Bitter Victory is an excellent portrayal of the Sicily campaign of WWII. It shows the battle as both the great victory it was, and as a series of mistakes and missed opportunities. The campaign as a predecessor for D-Day is presented also. I would have liked to have seen more names of officers and more information about specific units. The author is capable of being very technical, but for the most part stays away from military technical jargon. This is not a teaching treatise for West Point; nor is it fluff for an ABC mini-series. Overall, I recommend this book to those interested in the second World War. It is very unfortunate it is out of print.

Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Work
Review: I strongly agree that it is unfortunate this title is out of print. This is the book that turned me on to D'Este's writing. He has an excellent knack for enlivening his very detailed but smooth reading narrative with colorful anecdotes not often seen elsewhere. His account of the fighting around Primosole Bridge (darkly foreshadowing Montgomery's later, very similar failure during Operation Market Garden) is particularly good. There is a lack of coverage of the air and naval war around Sicily, and how operations on the Eastern Front (where the Battle of Kursk was raging) affected the German conduct of the battle, if at all. However, these are very minor criticisms, and I view this book as a classic.

Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Work
Review: I strongly agree that it is unfortunate this title is out of print. This is the book that turned me on to D'Este's writing. He has an excellent knack for enlivening his very detailed but smooth reading narrative with colorful anecdotes not often seen elsewhere. His account of the fighting around Primosole Bridge (darkly foreshadowing Montgomery's later, very similar failure during Operation Market Garden) is particularly good. There is a lack of coverage of the air and naval war around Sicily, and how operations on the Eastern Front (where the Battle of Kursk was raging) affected the German conduct of the battle, if at all. However, these are very minor criticisms, and I view this book as a classic.