[.ca] Battle: The Story of the Bulge (ISBN 0803294379)

You can feel the cold, hear the chaos, and taste the blood:
John Toland's "Battle: The Story of the Bulge" is a wonderful piece of story telling. As I read this book about a year and a half ago (it was winter) I could literally sense all the emotions Toland conveyed to paper. His style is wonderful and despite the fact that this book was first published in the 50's, he uses the third-person narrative (told from the GI's who were actually there) - something quite fashionable in recent years - to tell much of the story. Using these stories Toland weaves a wonderful tapestry that has more than expected texture for a literary source of this genre. I found his style exceedingly easy to read and hard to put down. "Battle", while not as steeped in cold hard battle-field fact and numbers as other Bulge books, is a much better read with ample facts and told by survivors not simply a repackaging of after-reports by a historian-writer. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Toland like Ryan:
Battle is one of the more accesable books on the Battle of the Bulge. It has been around long enough that I own it in a 0.75 paperback. Like Ryan's Longest Day this book is a collection of focused stories within the frame work of a battle narrative. It's main virtue is it's readability.

Gripping Account:
John Toland puts readers squarely on the front lines with this blow-by-blow account of the Battle of the Bulge. We hear from dozens of surviving veterans, most of whose lives were ruled by terror, confusion, cold, and dumb luck. We also read about trapped civilians, frigid battle conditions, and the opposing commanders. I_d have liked better maps from this 1959 edition, but the few provided were useful. Toland shows how the U.S. army was caught off guard, and then rallied under adverse conditions. He confirms that Eisenhower, Bradley, and the GI_s they led were skilled; sadly, so were their Nazi-inspired opponents. One thing Toland never really explains is why the Allies were so short of reserves during the battle - perhaps too many of America_s 12 million servicemen in December, 1944 were stationed elsewhere. Toland is a non-academic historian whose gripping style far outsells the stuffy outputs of many academics (with exceptions like Stephen Ambrose). This is a chilling account of a horrific battle.

Freezing around Bastogne.:
My first contact with Mr. Toland's writings was "Gods of War" and found it a great WWII novel. At that time I wasn't aware Mr. Toland was a professional historian on war themes. Researching in Amazon, for bibliography on the Bulge subject, I was gratefully surprised to find this non-fiction book. Mr. Toland collects hundreds of testimonies from the actors of this war drama, ranging from generals to privates; medics, nurses, peasants, priests. Blend all of them in an overwhelming and coherent picture. His prose is entertaining and informative. The reader has the sensation of "being there". He gets in touch with the suffering of the confronting soldiers, their acts of desperate bravery and gallantry, but at the same time having a look into the planning of higher levels of command. Both sides in conflict are researched, their actions scrutinized and compared. This edition contains very helpful maps, allowing the reader to follow up the progress of the actions. Even if this book was written in 1959 and many documents were not available for investigators at that time, it stands as milestone on the subject. A great stuff to read for historians, students or casual readers. Enjoy!!!.

Dramatic and spectacular telling:
Toland wrote a masterpiece, and while not as detailed as some texts, and certainly not as complete due to the fact that many official records were still locked up tight, it delivers the flow of this massive battle and delivers all the cold and terror associated with Wacht am Rhein. This book is a quick and easy read and general enough for unfamiliar readers. It captures the human side of the story from both sides of the front. My only complaint about this book is that it could have been much longer! Toland also avoids long lists of unit designations but does deliver the relevant facts when necessary (for example, when dealing with the ill-fated 106th Division). Usually the politics of the generals are written in an uninteresting and dry fashion, but Toland captures the dynamics of Bradley, Ike, Patton, and Monty very well. It is hard to decide who has the biggest personality disorder among this crowd, but Bradley and Patton seem to come out as the most matter of fact and concerned with strategies and combat rather than politics. Monty comes across as a pompous blowhard, even when he makes a feeble attempt to praise his Allied counterparts. There is a little less about the German High Command, Model, Rundstedt, and Hitler, but a large part of that information was not available at the time of Toland's writing. It is telling of human nature that while thousands bleed and froze those at the top are issuing statements to clarify their political positions. Overall, a fabulous book, well written and captivating to read.