D-Day: The Battle for Normandy
by
Antony Beevor
Viking Adult (2009), Hardcover, 608 pages
I expected a good read, and I was not disappointed. I have read all of Anthony Beevor’s non-fiction works; including those in collaboration with his wife Artemis Cooper – who must have the longest name in literature, and I have enjoyed everyone. In fact, when I had finished D-Day, I promptly read it again. With a desire for full disclosure, I have to say that I served with the 11th Hussars just before Beevor did, but I never met him unfortunately.
The value of this book lies in its evenhandedness. Beevor is steeped in literature, and one has the feeling that he writes because he has a story to tell, not a purveyor sensational disclosures to secure a place on the New York Times bestseller list. I hope my naivety is not showing here.
I own and have read many books on the Second World War. In too many of them, the authors have aimed their work at a particular audience, and attempted to feed the prejudices of that audience. That is not to suggest that what they say is untrue, it is what they do not say that distorts history. Beevor’s book tells the whole story, warts and all. If you come from the “The Russians did all the fighting’ school of thought, you are in for some surprises.
The book starts during the days prior to D-Day, and then carries the reader through to the liberation of Paris. His descriptions of the action on the Normandy beaches are masterful. No detail is left unexplored. You will learn about allied bombers bombing their own side and navy gunners shooting down their own planes. The civilian casualties will appall you, as will the obduracy of generals, and the self-interest of politicians.
D-Day is a testament to the frailty and heroism of the ordinary soldier, and a reminder of the obscenity of war. If you are a student of WWII, you must read this book. If you have no interest in the subject, you should still read it.
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