Voices of Valor: D-Day, June 6, 1944 [With 2 Audio CDs]

For the vast majority of Americans, myself included, the D-Day invasion has faded into the shadows of history. We perceive it, if at all, as one of those many touchstones, or cultural icons, in the WWII story that helps us gain a viewpoint of what happened and what is about to take place. With retrospection we know D-Day was a resounding success. We are like a person who reads the last page of a novel, knows that the protagonist achieves success and then discounts all the trepidations throughout the text. This book is highly recommended because through the audio comments of participants on the two included CD's we are confronted with real trepidation and fear and anxiety. Success was not a predetermined conclusion. A note to those buying a used edition, make sure both CD's are included. Those disks tend to get misplaced and without them the book looses significance.

"Voices of Valor" is not only a very good account of the invasion of Normandy told by eye witnesses and participants, it is very useful as a reference to someone that might not be familiar with the importance of the event and how it was carried out. The pictures are, of course, a plus as well as the two cd's. Even after reading the book, the cd's are a great listen, while traveling especially.

This is a nice book of soldiers/sailors recollection of D-Day. The book explains the outlook of a sample of soldiers for each of the 5 D-Day beaches and reviews the obstacles which they had to overcome. Along with the written book, you get two fine CDs of the various soldiers relating their experiences on this famous day. The oral history along with the summary of the battles gives an in depth picture of what these men had to face on this day. In my viewpoint, all these men were heroes because of what they had to do. There are other books out there that portray the battle day with more detail (The Longest Day) and some who relate experiences better (most of Ambrose's books). This is an above average book and the CDs are great material. The book and CDs are great, but there are better books on this subject. This book will not disappoint.

This book is a great investment for your library. "Voices of Valor D-Day: June 6, 1944," by Douglas Brinkley and Ronald J. Drez is meticulously-researched, superbly written, features 116 brilliant black-and-white photographs and includes two great hour long audio CD's. The authors use veteran accounts of D-Day from the vast collection of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans. Brinkley and Drez skillfully place the accounts in twelve neat chapters that fully captures the military and logistic challenge of the Allies.In essence, General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, executed the first successful cross-channel attack since William the Conqueror pulled it off in 1066. It was a gigantic task. To this end, the authors put the puzzel together piece by piece and allow the first hand accounts of courage and carnage to explain how it was done.Still and all, luck played a large role in the success of the Allies. Nazi meteorologists forecast a period of disturbed weather that prompted General Erwin Rommell (Germany's best general) to leave France and proceed with a June 5 trip to see Adolf Hitler...German intelligence was convinced that the First United States Army Group positioned at Dover and commanded by General George Patton (America's best general) was poised to attack Pas-de-Calasis not Normandy...there was no German air or naval patrols during the first five days of June due to bad weather; the very weather the massive allied fleet moved through undetected...moreover what was left of the German radar system failed to pick up either the air train or the sea armada...and finally the first German reports from France of the attack on Normandy were ignored by top brass in Germany.However, the two greatest features of this book is to point out that there was no Allied back up plan...that surprise was the key to success. And secondly, that the German Army possessed the forces capable of inflicting a last-minute defeat on the Allies...that there were massive armored divisions within three days travel to the Normandy battlefield. And that there were over sixteen hundred panzers in the west that could have been sent speeding to the battle area if Hitler issued the order. It is incredible to think that if these forces had been brought into the battle area and dispersed in France before the British and American forces could build up...that the Germans were fully capable of delivering a devastating blow on the flanks and seams of the loose-knit Allied front. This book is a tribute to the men and women who contributed to the D-Day victory. Highly recommended.Bert Ruiz