D-Day June 6, 1944: the climactic battle of WWII by Stephen Ambrose

D-Day June 6, 1944 by Stephen Ambrose (abridged)
6 hours - read by the author

I kind of stumbled onto this title while waiting for one of my OverDrive holds to become available.  Before I talk about the content, let me say that I had no idea it was abridged until it was mentioned at the end of the recording.  It would have been nice to know on OverDrive's general description page without having to read the "Details" section.

That said, it was very well done, and gave a good overview of the D-Day operation.  Ambrose is a master at personalizing history by introducing the reader to individuals at the same time he is relating the overall view.  He also includes little-known facts and behind-the-scenes details that make the story come alive.  I gave it five out of five stars, however, I've not read much on the subject so it might be too general to entertain an avid reader of WWII history.

The Americans at Normandy by John C. McManus

The Americans at Normandy by John C. McManus -439 pages

This book covers the costly, but decisive campaign that opened seventy years ago. Many do not realize that taking the beaches on D-Day was only the first step in a tremendous eighty day battle with German paratroopers, Waffen SS, and armored divisions amid nearly impassible hedgerows in the Norman countryside. My own grandfather served as a rifleman in the 29th Infantry that helped capture the important towns of St. Lo and Vire in July and August, and this book covers those events very well. The author has done a great deal of research to incorporate personal stories from front line soldiers and balances those with the overall view and the strategic decisions by the commanders.