[.ca] Six Armies In Normandy (ISBN 0140235426)

From Amazon.com:
John Keegan's innovative approach to the invasion of Normandy correctly observes that the invasion, while colossal, was merely the beginning of a series of furious battles in northern France, and Keegan accordingly tackles not only the actions of June 6, 1944, but the subsequent Normandy campaigns by five Allied nations and their German opponents. Focusing on specific actions, such as the U.S. 101st Airborne night drop into France and the British infantry battles surrounding the city of Caen, he provides an exciting chronological account of the action in Normandy with considerable depth about tactical decisions. Keegan is a skilled writer and his battle accounts are stirring. But beyond the vivid battle stories, this is also a book that will engage intellectually those who study battles and tactics, as well as the diplomatic activity that was necessary for the Allied victory in the Second World War's European theater of operations. --Robert McNamara

fun, with fascinating digressions, but not really complete:
This is less of a comprehensive history of the Normandy invasion and its aftermath, and more of a series of fascinating essays on aspects of the action. Keegan happily goes off on a series of digressions about Canadian and Polish and French military history, and mini-bios of all sorts of figures, including Stillwell, who was on the other side of the world when Normandy went down. It's all riveting, and well worth the read, but if you're strictly interested in what happened during the battle, you might be a little disappointed. Further, Keegan doesn't go out of his way to make this accessable. The book is full of references to British military history -- I'm not sure that comparing Normandy to Waterloo and the Balaclava (The Charge of the Light Brigade, et al) really helped me very much. Keegan is the kind of guy who'll mention _le Serment de Koufra_ rather than simply refering to an earlier description of Leclerc's speech at Kufra. Finally, the feel I get from Keegan is that the British did the Americans an awfully big favor by allowing them to equip and accompany the British and French and Canadians and Polish on this big adventure. This isn't a real big deal, and it is probably a useful antidote to some of the more nationalistic US histories, but it still struck me as an odd note. All in all, this is a really fine book that goes well beyond simply laying out the actions of the units involved, and manages to give some insight into why they took those actions, based on the histories of both the units and thier leaders.

60th Anniversary of D-Day:
As the 60th anniversary of D-Day approaches, a revisit to Keegan's excellent book recalls those tumultuous days. The landings, and the subsequent battle for Normandy, have no parallel in history - or ever will. It needs a skilled historian to unravel the strategy, tactics - and the politics - that surround the momentous events. And Keegan does it with skillful scholarship, embedding the details of conflict into the broader aspects of logistics that decided the fall of Hitler (despite his determined, experienced armies) and the victory of the Allies, with their superior air power. Keegan covers all aspects of the combatants, including the roles of the Poles, Canadians and French whose valiant efforts in Normandy are, regrettably, often overlooked. Neither does he ignore the role of the individual in history: the pressures on Montgomery to deliver a victory without the horrendous casualties he had seen during the First World War; the demands on Eisenhower - which hw resisted - to fire Montgomery; and the intransigence of Hitler, who, imbued with a fanatical self-belief following his deliverance from an assassination attempt, stubbornly overrules his generals to hand a crushing victory to the Allies. Keegan tells all this - and more- with a use of English rarely seen nowadays. He uses the full panoply of his art to tell the story of this immense, complex and unparalleled chapter of history. Many writers have told the story of the definitive moment in twentieth century history, but none better than Keegan.

text book:
There is alot of information in this book, but it does not read very easily. There just is no emotion. If you want a personal account of a few battles then this is it. Overall there is not enough to keep me interested. Though it is packed with info, it lacks any kind of depth.

simply magnificient:
Keegan is one of the foremost military historians of the present. Masterful writing and detailed analysis as in his _Six Armies at Normandy_ is one example of why he is so highly regarded in the field. Keegan examines the military build up prior to the invasion, but spends much of the book discussing the British and Canadian landings, with less attention to Utah (and much less attention to Omaha) beaches. Of particular interest was his discussion of the Polish brigades in the battle, which I had previously never heard of, and his excellent treatment of the Falaise Gap. The only criticism I have is that it is a military history - and as such, is written in a style that may be off-putting to some. Furthermore, it is much more detailed than many books on the Second World War, which is both a boon and a burden - for those who are interested in the minutiae of the Normandy landings and the immeadiate aftermath, I cannot recommend another book more highly. For some, however, it may be a bit much, in which case I recommend "A Short History of World War II"

Look elsewhere:
Keegan's an overrated historian and this isn't one of his better efforts. He does detail certain figures well but, as with his WW II survey book, the book jumps around and there really isn't a comprehensive flow to it. In addition, he deliberately skips many central points of the invasion and it's aftermath in order to include information on other units smaller scale exploits. This book should only be read along with a much better account, such as the book by Carlo D'Este.