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Citizen Soldiers : The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the
Surrender of Germany, June 7, 1944-May 7, 1945
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours.
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published by Simon & Schuster
Publication date: November 1997
Dimensions (in inches): 1.51 x 6.47 x 9.55
ISBN: 0684815257 |
Buy This Book Now! |
From Kirkus Reviews , 09/01/97:
A worthy sequel to Ambrose's 1994 D-Day. Bestselling historian Ambrose (Undaunted Courage,
1996) uses firsthand recollections of combat veterans on both sides to flesh out his
well-researched narrative. He picks up the epic drama by following, almost step by step,
various individuals and outfits among the tens of thousands of young Allied soldiers who
broke away from the deadly beaches of Normandy and swept across France to the Ardennes,
fought the Battle of the Bulge, captured the famed bridge at Remagen, and crossed the wide
Rhine to final victory in Europe. Ambrose observes that the US broke the Nazi war machine
with massive aerial bombing, artillery, and the great mobility of attacking tanks and
infantry. But, he argues, it was not technology but the valor and character of the young
GIs and their European counterparts that ultimately proved too much for the vaunted German
forces. While generally approving of Allied military leadership, Ambrose faults Eisenhower
and Bradley as too conservative and believes the great human and materiel cost of victory
could have been reduced by adopting Patton's more innovative and bolder knockout
movements. He deplores the sending of inadequately trained 18-year-olds as replacements on
the front lines, where they suffered much higher casualty rates than the foxhole-wise GI
veterans. The troops fought under the worst possible conditions in the Ardennes, during
the worst winter in 40 years; Ambrose describes the long, freezing snowy nights; the
wounds, frostbite, and trench foot; and the fatigue and the tensions of facing sudden
death or maiming. The troops rallied to drive the enemy back to the Rhine and into
Germany, but took some 80,000 casualties. With remarkable immediacy and clarity, as though
he had trained a telescopic lens on the battlefields, Ambrose offers a stirring portrayal
of the terror and courage experienced by men at war. (109 photos, 9 maps, not seen) (First
printing of 250,000; Book-of-the-Month Club/History Book Club main selection; Quality
Paperback Book Club alternate selection) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP.
All rights reserved.
Amazon Customer Comments
bert@publicnews.com from
Houston, Texas , 12/16/97, rating=9:
a superb book
If you are a student of military history at all, or for that matter just interested in
World War II, this book is an outstanding addition to your library. Ambrose is a master of
oral history presentation and has a demonstrably keen grasp of the larger issues of WWII
and, more importantly, of the ultimately quite human aspects of modern warfare. I could
not recommend this book more highly. I'll treasure my copy and read it again. I'm also
getting my father, a WWII/ETO vet, this book for Christmas. Bert Woodall, Houston
Louinc@earthlink.net from
Florence, S.C. , 12/04/97, rating=10:
Stephen E. Ambrose Hits a Homerun!
Stephen Ambrose takes us into the trenches of the ETO WWII, through the rain, mud, cold,
snow, hunger, and hedgerows. The American soldier faced incredible odds against the
heavily fortified and defended German army. From the Normandy Invasion to the race to
Berlin the reader can almost hear the barrage of artillary, snipers shooting and tanks
rollings through this epic documentary of a war almost forgotten by today's generation. A
must read that will be enjoyed by all. Kudo's to Stephen Ambrose once again.
Reardom1@Leav-emh1.army.mil
from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, USA , 11/15/97, rating=4:
Not for the Serious Military Historian
Having sat enthralled through Ambrose's D-Day book, I eagerly snapped up "Citizen
Soldiers" without browsing through it. When I did sit down to read it, I thought that
although the text flowed well, it was filled with factual errors that indicated a hurried
job of indepth research which so characterized his previous works on D-Day, Company E
506th PIR and Pegasus Bridge. My overall impression was that Ambrose's publisher hoped to
capitalize on his reputation when they printed this book. Some interesting vignettes and
previously unpublished first person accounts, but much more could have been done with this
subject.
peavine@ix.netcom.com
from Ringgold, GA , 11/15/97, rating=10:
Ambrose brings WWII home to a 30-something
I found reading Citizen Soldier to be an experiance that keeps popping back up in my mind
day after day. At 39 I have had little exposure to stories or conversation with GIs that
participated in the ETO. The personal accounts presented by Ambrose, placed into a larger
context by the historian brought to life a scenario much more horrible than I had ever
considered. At the same time I felt an incredible sense of pride in our fathers and
grandfathers for the job they did and the way they went about the work. Like every
generation, I found the question of how I and my contemporaries would respond in similar
settings one that I return to frequently. I think I can understand why Dr. Ambrose doesn't
'want to study war no more' - it became way too personal in gathering the accounts that
are presented here. I have a 12 year old son and rest assured this will be on his
'required reading' list at about age 15 or 16. Thanks
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