For years, Jeff Shaara has been blending fiction and history intocompelling and emotionally charged story devices for readers.Following in the footsteps of his father, Michael, the winner ofthe Pulitzer Prize for his historical novel THE KILLER ANGELS,Shaara has impressed common readers as well as historians with hisportrayals of the Civil War, World War I, the American Revolutionand the Mexican War. Now, with THE RISING TIDE, he begins a journeyinto the very heart of World War II, and his opening volley in thisthree-book series is explosive.May 27, 1942 is the starting point for this endeavor, buried in thesand of the Libyan Desert. German commander Field Marshall ErwinRommel is pushing across the dunes with his Afrika Korps andstriking against the British Desert Rats. Hitler overruns Franceand begins to set his sights on Russia. With the Germans focusingtheir attentions on two separate fronts, the Allied Forces makeready a strong blitz in Northern Africa with the ultimate hope ofinvading and overtaking Italy. This all builds up to a grandscheme: a decisive invasion of France in an effort to sweep intoEurope and destroy the German army.As with all his previous novels, Shaara weaves together solidhistorical fact based on tireless research and a vast array ofresources, and sprinkles in fictional men for us to relate to. It'sone thing to be in the presence of Roosevelt, Churchill or Hitler,seeing through their eyes on a level we as normal, everydaycitizens cannot fully comprehend. It's another to see the warthrough the eyes of Private Jack Logan, a simple tank gunner, orSergeant Jesse Adams, a simple paratrooper. Yet even these men arenot so simple, and they are saddled with great burdens and theweight of the world.The true beauty of Shaara's writing is that history isentertaining, enthralling and invigorating. His introduction, whichis an outlining of the elements leading up to war, the politicalpowerplays and maneuverings, could all come across as dry andheartless grade school textbook fare. Here, however, he infusesthat history with a passion in the telling that jumps from the pageand will captivate even those who previously bore no real interestin World War II.Once he gets into the heart of the story, the tale of the great andsavage battles, the life-altering and world-bending decisions beingmade behind closed doors and on foreign fields, Shaara's workshines. Reading about what Rommel did in a history book pales incomparison to Shaara's ability to get into his head, to study histhought process, and to actually be with Rommel as he maneuvers hisway through the desert. The challenges of Patton, Eisenhower andMontgomery are breathing moments instead of flat historicalregurgitation.THE RISING TIDE is, quite simply, a must read for anyone who caresfor quality work, for history, or for both. In reading this novelyou will learn as you are entertained, and you will not feel thatyou're being schooled as you turn the pages. The greatestaccomplishment, however, is that with this book, Shaara has takenthe momentous and the brave who have so greatly deserved ourrespect and gratitude, and made them human and approachable --- andin doing so has made them all the more extraordinary.
Jeff Shaara can write; I know he can. Gods and Generals was a great book. I also know now that he can' write, not very well at least. The Rising Tide, the first in a series of historical novels set during World War 2, is so bland and uninteresting it's not worth reading.There's a part of me that believes this book was written by a ghost-writer and the publisher simply slapped Jeff Shaara's name on it. Shaara is an important name in the historical novel genre because Michael Shaara, Jeff's father, won a Pulitzer Prize for The Killer Angels. The Rising Tide feels so disinctly different from Gods and Generals it's hard to believe they were written by the same person. (I've had similar feelings when reading some of Leon Uris's books). The Rising Tide's narrative structure is an absolute mess. Shaara introduces us to some historical characters, allows the reader to begin to understand them, and then never returns to them throughout the duration of the book. The dialogue between the characters feels the same on every page. There is nothing terribly creative about Shaara's insight into any of the several fascinating historical personalities that were key players during this instrumental and pivotal time. It's wasted material. I often thought about the excellent film Patton and how much I wished this book could have been more like it. But it's just not. The Rising Tide is not worth reading. There are plenty more historical novels to enjoy. Although Jeff Shaara has written at least one good book, Gods and Generals, The Rising Tide was so poor, in my opinion, I don't have much reason to ever go back to his other works. http://thethousanderclub.blogspot.com/
What do You think about The Rising Tide (2006)?
Jeff Shaara is the standard when it comes to historical fiction. The Rising Tide is just the latest example of his uncanny ability to bring history to life through the relationships between both real and fictional characters. In this first venture into World War II – and first book of a trilogy – Shaara brings the start of offensive operations in 1942 in North Africa, and the follow-up invasion of Sicily in 1943, into strategic perspective. A nation as woefully unprepared for war as America was on the eve of Pearl Harbor suffered tremendously as she sent her under trained and under-equipped young men to war in the African desert. Shaara profiles the participation of both grand and small warriors as he takes the reader on this historical journey. World War II buffs will particularly love this treatment of desert warfare and allied strategy in the Mediterranean theatre. Shaara does excellent research and the reader will learn of the habits and traits of great historical figures that are not common knowledge. The disappointment often felt when an excellent book comes to the end is somewhat mitigated by the fact that there are two more books to come.
—John Nevola
A fairly large book, I nonetheless devoured it in two days and for the first time understand at least something about the command on both sides of the lines and the experience of the tank battalions in North Africa and eventually the invasion of Sicily and Italy, not to mention the importance of the North African campaign to the success of the Allies in World War II.Maybe someone should have required reading like this as part of my high school curriculum because apparently historical fiction is the way to give me the perspective I never got from maps, documentaries or classes in my school years or since.Admittedly, this book was heavy on history and light on fiction, with little interest in manufacturing diversions from the story to throw some romance or drama into the mix that wasn't there already. That said, through the telling of the stories of individual's day to day experience however I found myself caring to understand something about the men behind the names: Patton, Rommel, Marshall and their staffs. Understanding their conflicts, problems with supplies and more, I was able to form a picture of what some of what happened before the invasion in Normandy, a topic I'd given little thought to before.
—Susan
An enjoyable, easy to read account of the beginning stages of World War II. Although historical fiction, and therefore not entirely fact based, I found Shaara's descriptions of the soldiers reactions to combat to be more natural and descriptive than anything I have read in a historical book.This book gave the reader a view into the historical events that you don't normally get with a history book. I found the focus on the individual soldiers to be an effective vehicle to tell the story of the war's events.
—John
