It was the longest, most miserable, horrible day
that I or anyone else ever went through.
~ Pvt. Felix Branham
The sixth of June, 1944, was an exhausting day,
a frightening day, an exhilarating day,
a sorrowful day, and a joyous day.
~ Lt. Charles Ryan, Company A
In addition to the inspiration that comes from reading about courage and bravery, I gleaned several principles from this book:
• The tactical difference between planning (offensive) and preparing (defensive).
• The power of exhortation; the more potent force of example.
• Isolation will cause loss of momentum.
• The failure to advance while they had the advantage was a consistent weakness of the Allied forces.
I can easily apply these lessons to the trivial-by-comparison struggle of losing weight. If my weekly weigh-in shows a loss, I reward myself and act like the soldiers who stopped to brew tea instead of moving forward.
This book is crammed with odd bits of information:
• The Tiger, the biggest and best German tank got 1/2 mile to the gallon!
• General Eisenhower did not give a single command on D-Day.
• The D stands for Day (also H-Hour). There are several D-Days in history.
• “We are asking rather a lot if we expect Russians to fight in France for Germany against the Americans.”
• The New York Daily News printed the Lord’s Prayer in place of lead article.
• My favorite sentence: “To see tanks coming out of the water shook them rigid.”
A Living Pencil 
I’m definitely adding this to my to-read list. I’ve enjoyed the few Ambrose books I’ve read – I need to read them all!Carrie
The movie, Defiance, is my only recent foray into the WWII dilemma. I enjoyed the storyline because it showed a community banding together for protection. All very plausible, albeit violent…. plus based on a true story.
Is this book suitable for a 12yo? My daughter is on a BIG WWII kick, and I think she’d enjoy this book if it isn’t too graphic. She’s an excellent reader, so that wouldn’t be a problem, but just because she can read something doesn’t mean she should, you know? I’d appreciate your opinion if you have a minute. Thanks!
@nnjmom – I’m with you Carrie. I’d like to read all of his work. And all of David McCullough’s. I think I’m about a third of the way with Ambrose.@hiddenart – I haven’t heard of Defiance. I’ll have to check it out.@womanofthehouse1 – I think it should be fine for a twelve year old. A lot of people die and there are sentences like, “the men on both sides of him were killed by gunfire.” But I didn’t think it was especially graphic. Does your library have it and you could give it a scan? I’ve already been exposed to a lot of WWII gore, so this one seemed tame. Compared to a holocaust memoir, I think it is fairly gentle. It all probably depends on your daughter’s ability to form mental images or not form mental images. You know, when I *read* Lord of the Rings, I didn’t care much about the battle scenes and did some mental hopscotch over them. When I watched the movies I couldn’t avoid seeing what I had not even imagined.
“Isolation will cause loss of momentum.” You have just defined my son’s homeschool day. Between your quote and God’s spirit, I may just develop some patience- THANK YOU!!
well timed. i just started weight watchers, and had a super first-week weigh-in. it was AWFULLY tempting to celebrate by going out for mexican…. :)This one’s on my list. thank you!!!5 minutes until radio silence,Steph
@magistramater – Thank you! I think I will check the library for this. I mentioned it to my daughter, and her eyes lit up! She’s read one Ambrose book already and really enjoyed it, so I think this one will be fine.
We posted your review on War Through the Generations.