Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: CITIZEN SOLDIERS : THE U S ARMY FROM THE NORMANDY BEACHES TO THE BULGE TO THE SURRENDER OF GERMANY by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0-684-84801-5 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 24 September, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (225 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Great Read
Comment: Citizen Soldiers is a great book to read for people wanting to understand what WWII for ordinary civilians who fought in the war, not career military personnel.
Ambrose closely examines the leadership qualities of the men who fought on the front lines who were making decisions that resulted in life or death. Ambrose effectively uses his in-depth knowledge of Eisenhower and his generals to contrast their attitude of the war with the men who were having to actually fight it out.
Ambrose also incorporates his son's interviews with German soldiers and gives their personal accounts of the life and fighting on the Western Front. Another asset of the book is its broad nature. Instead of just writing about the heroes of Europe, Ambrose also devotes chapters to theives and war profiteers that existed in the ETO. This book is a great testament to those who sacrificed everything to preserve our liberty, and the liberty of millions held in Occupied Europe.
I consider this book to be an excellent read and an invaluable piece of any WWII literary collection.
Rating: 3
Summary: A very well written book by a very mediocre historian.
Comment: Whether you loved the film "Saving Private Ryan" or hated it, there is no doubt that it had a major cultural impact in reviving public interest in WWII. As a huge military history buff, I have not seen such a wonderful cornucopia of new and re-released books on a single subject, WWII, since the big Civil War craze that followed the success of Ken Burns' documentary.
Like that Civil War craze, the current popular interest in WWII has seen the release of some truly great books, some mediocre ones, and just plain wasted pulp. "Citizen Soldiers" fits somewhere in between great and mediocre. It is well-written, has some terrific stories, and provides a nice introduction to people who are new to the field of military history.
The problem with the book is Ambrose. Ambrose has become the unofficial "WWII expert" in American popular culture. His name will be seen on the forwards of new WWII books. His face and pleasant voice used for documentaries or interviews. He has, in fact, become the WWII equivilent to the Civil War craze's Shelby Foote. Ambrose is a good writer; but an average historian. "Citizen Soldiers" is nothing more than a collection of secondary source material and the recollections of old veterans. Interesting reading to be sure; but lazily researched history. Also Ambrose's jingoism and hero worship(especially of Eisenhower which is seen in virtually all of his WWII books) can get a little tiresome, especially knowing that he is a professional historian and not a novelist turned amateur historian like Foote. If a reader really wants to know what it was like to be a combat soldier in the ETO check out "Company Commander" by Charles MacDonald or "The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo" by Glover Johns. Both of these books were written by combat veterans less than five years after the war. Also both were used heavily as source material for "Citizen Soldiers." Johns' book is, unfortunatly, out of print, but available through many libraries. MacDonald's book, though, was just recently reprinted- thank you, Steven Speilberg.
Rating: 4
Summary: Citizen Soldiers
Comment: Before reading this book my understanding of Stephen Ambrose was that he could write about history in a way that anyone could enjoy and understand. I am a high school student, and one who does not particularly enjoy reading or history. However, I was able to pay full attention to most of this book. Ambrose did a good job of letting those who were on the front lines in Germany during the second world war tell the story as they saw it; afterall, as Ambrose stressed, he wasn't there and they were. The book starts with June 7, 1944, the day after D-day. Ambrose not only gives factual accounts of the events from D-day to VE Day, but he also captures the personal side of the war. Ambrose even compares and contrasts life of WW2 to life during the Civil War and the Great War.
Ambrose records the stories of hundreds of soldiers who tell of their accounts from paratrooping through the air, getting drunk off the champagne of Reims (champagne capital of the world), and living in foxholes. After reading this book there was a picture painted in my head of what life was really like living in a foxhole through bitter nights of subzero temperatures. I felt like I could relate to the men who were there. But most of all I developed a great sense of gratitude that I was born 42 years later than these guys because they went through hell and lived to tell about it. Overall Citizen Soldiers is a good read. It's not just for history buffs and it doesn't read like your normal history book. I would recomend this book to just about anyone who is just a little intrested in life of a WW2 soldier and i give it four out of five stars.
 |
Title: D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 068480137X Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
 |
Title: Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0743216458 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 06 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: PEGASUS BRIDGE by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0671671561 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 15 November, 1988 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
 |
Title: The VICTORS : Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0684856298 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 28 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: Currahee! : A Screaming Eagle at Normandy by Donald R. Burgett ISBN: 0440236304 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 12 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
