The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II

Jeff Shaara continues to follow in the footsteps of his father, Michael ("The Killer Angels") with "The Steel Wave." The model is simple. Take a major event in military history and fictionalize it (slightly) by telling the story from the perspective of a revolving cast of characters from both sides, usually reflecting both the commanders and the low-ranking grunts. From the Civil War to WWI to the Mexican War to the Revolution and now to WWII, Jeff Shaara has turned out solidly entertaining, if not exactly exciting reads. Nobody reads Jeff Shaara for operatic thrills or brilliant stylistic twists. Shaara's prose is workmanlike, at best - he is no Steven Pressfield or Bernard Cornwell. What makes Shaara's books so much fun is his amazing ability to put himself in the minds of such disparate characters and capture their unique perspectives. Each character brings his or her (usually his) own motivations and goals to the story, and Shaara blends all this into a cohesive whole that makes the pages fly by. Shaara can do this because he knows his subject so well - the man has an amazing capacity for research. And while Shaara's prose may be workmanlike, it is also clear and precise, so the reader gets a terrific presentation of the chaos of battle. I might not want Shaara to write an angst-ridden novel about the troubles of an American suburban family over Thanksgiving weekend, but his style works for military historical fiction. In the pages of "The Steel Wave," Shaara tells the story largely from the perspective of General Eisenhower, General Patton, and two front-line soldiers, Adams (a paratrooper) and Thorne (infantry). The Eisenhower chapters serve as a reminder that Americans have largely forgotten what an amazing man Eisenhower was, although it must be admitted that the Patton chapters won't surprise anyone who has seen the 1970 movie. The most riveting chapters are told from the perspective of the Desert Fox, Field Marshall Rommell. On the "outs" with the German high command due to his brutal honesty and willingness to tell Hitler what Hitler does not wish to hear, Rommell is in a dangerous position. He learns of a plot to assassinate Hitler, and even though he believes Hitler is a monster, he is also a soldier, sworn to follow orders. Rommell's tale is the most tragic of the entire novel by far, and his fate provides much of the novel's emotional punch. This is a must-read for fans historical fiction of a military nature, but should be read after Shaara's "The Rising Tide," which is the first in this planned trilogy. "SW" is much more exciting than "RT," but both books are excellent.

Jeff Shaara did an excellent job of putting D-day and the following invasion together in `The Steel Wave', and you get a real sense of the immensity, the inefficiency, the losses, the heroism, as well as the enemy's lack of cohesion and spontaneity (due of course to the `leadership' of Hitler). I like Jeff Shaara's story-telling and the way he gets into the heads of the characters of his stories, both the commanders and the foot-soldier types. He gives the flavor of the experience instead of the rote recital of the events, the dates, and the names. Although you don't get the entire story, you get good slices of the events. For a moderate buff like me, that is just what I wanted. It was a treat for me to hear people like Ike, Patton, and Churchill talk in private and even think. You get the feeling that they are real people seeing things develop before their eyes. Historical fiction is dangerous and tricky, but I trust that Jeff Shaara is careful and accurate in his presentations. `Steel Wave' doesn't cover every inch of WWII, actually the late-middle portion of the war in the European Theater, including D-day and the battle for France. You get a flavor for what it was like to be on the front lines, the horror, the confusion, the heroes, the cowards; and you find out what it is like in Allied headquarters with Ike, and Monty, and Churchill, and Patton, and the others. You also get to see Hitler and Rommel, and other German generals in Hitler's headquarters. It impressed me that the Allied strategies were so political, important for keeping the Allies together. Montgomery, at least according to this book, was a sluggish warrior but a hero nonetheless to folks in Britain. The War could have been over quicker had he been replaced, but the political fallout would have been overwhelming. Ike even denied Churchill's request to fire his fellow Brit. You get to know the salty Patton, forever seeming like the George C. Scott character of the great 1970 movie. He was the one guy who actually seemed to love war! On the other side of the picture, you follow an American sergeant and his unit from the 82nd Airborne through their training and then combat experiences in Britain and France. Rommel is also given quite a bit of play. No question that he was a great general and a great man. It was a good thing for us that Hitler was his boss, constantly getting in his way with his poor judgement. These are remarkable stories. I highly recommend it for any moderate history buff like myself.

Jeff Shaara is unequaled in his ability to turn the dry stuff of history into compelling fiction. In "The Steel Wave", Shaara turns his attention to the WWII D-Day period, the time leading up to and shortly after the invasion of France over the beaches of Normandy. He tells us the story through eyes of only a few protagonists: Eisenhower, Rommell and to lesser extents, other leaders such as Churchill, Bradley and Patton. But the bulk of the story rests on the shoulders of Sergeant Jesse Adams, a soldier of the 82nd Airborne Division, whose troops were the first to drop into occupied France. Shaara's skill is taking the dry stuff of history and turning it into fiction. Here we have Eisenhower in the well documented meeting with meteorologist Captain Stagg deciding whether or not to launch the invasion fleet on June 5, 1944 despite the awful weather. Every one of us who has studied WWII history knows this scene well. But what Shaara does is infuse emotion to Eisenhower that we don't read in the histories. Invented? Yes. Plausible? Wrapped in Shaara's words, very much so. And so we see things through Rommell's mind as he attempts to carry out his orders to make all of Western Europe's coastline into an impregnable barrier to Allied invasion. Again, the obstacles Rommell faced are well known to history buffs, but it is Shaara's dramatization of Rommell's thoughts that makes for compelling reading. When Shaara deals with Patton, although to a lesser degree, every student of history will recognize the words and deedsa of Patton as published in a number of books, but what makes this different is Shaara's treatment of Eisenhower's thoughts as he deals with his brilliant, but difficult to handle general. Likewise, Shaara joins with contemporary historians in deflating the balloon that was built around Montgomery, the British commander. Montgomery here comes across as a sniveling, whining leader who was promoted past his competency, protected surprisingly by Eisenhower against Churchill, Bradley and others. But the bulk of the story rests on the shoulders of Jesse Adams, introduced in Shaara's first installment of his planned WWII trilogy. Adams is the ground soldier, smart, recognized for his potential, but a man who prefers to be sergeant, slugging it out on the battlefield. Through Adams, we see the horror of war and its attraction to men. Through Adams, we feel the rain, the heat, the dust, dirt, mud of the slog from one engagement to another. We see the terror of leaping out of an airplane into the darkness of night over a land where the enemy is waiting to kill you. Jesse Adams is an Everyman: through his thoughts, we experience the nature of battle, the nature of real soldiers. And it is a searing experience, leaving the reader to wonder how men could do so much, endure so much in the name of an abstract idea like "freedom". This is, indeed, a wonderful work of historical fiction. Shaara brings to life the spirits and beli

What makes Jeff Shaara's books so wonderful is that while he does an excellent job of providing an accurate historical account of the war he is covering - he can do so in an easily read and entertaining fashion. But even more important, in my opinion, is that he provides tremendous insights in the emotions that Soldiers go through while in combat and reminds us that all Soldiers - regardless of rank - deal with life changing decisions and experiences. Those who like to glamorize wars quickly learn of the sacrifices required of Soldiers when they are committed to combat - whether they be U.S. or enemy Soldiers. Highly recommend!

Shaara's second book of a trilogy succeeds in providing another light on one of the most written about campaigns of WWII. He succeeds in telling the D-Day story at several levels. "The Steel Wave" covers the campaign from January '44 to the suicide of Rommel (Sept. '44). By interweaving frontline soldier stories with the major commanders personal interactions, he has presented a holistic view of D-Day and gives the reader a real appreciation for that momentous event. The personal conflicts of the major commanders on both sides highlights the difficulties that are often lost from knowing the outcome. Too often most people forget that success in the last good war was not a forgone conclusion. A good read by itself only becomes better by reading "The Rising Tide" first.