You know it was bad, but just how awful? It is tough to read some of these stories. I knew about trench foot, but our own army not supplying men with warm enough clothes? It was truly shameful. I enjoyed the first 250 pages, but the real, true suffering starts after that and I will never feel the same about what happened after D-Day and how difficult it was for those that chose to stay the course. I found his writing riveting and couldn't put it down at times. Page 54 on Ike's decision making: "He did so with the certainty that he had taken everything into account, gathered all relevant information, and considered all possible consequences. Then he acted. This is the essence of command."Ike in a letter to Mamie: "War demands real toughness of fiber- not only in the soldiers that must endure, but in the homes that must sacrifice their best." page 61I think this quote says so much about our intent:It shows a picture of a soldier talking to a little girl in Normandy and says: "He(the G.I.)came to liberate not to terrorize."I am so grateful to these brave men and for how they enriched our country afterward. Bless them.
An enjoyable read - basically an elementary history of the European campaign from D-Day to surrender, fle3shed out with lots of personal accounts and narratives that personalize combat in Europe at the front line level. I would consider this an abridged version of his previous book "Citizen Soldiers". Ambrose is almost hagiographic in his admiration for the front line soldier - the infantryman, his NCOs and his junior officers - justifi9ably so. The vast losses they suffered are almost unimaginable today - and the courage they displayed in the face of savage, and unrelenting, combat exacerbated by questionable command decisions and policies (pointedly explained and critiqued by Ambrose) - justifies his great admiration of them. This is an excellent introductory history for those looking for an easy read about the ETO -- sort of a World War II course level 101...
The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose is essentially a cut and paste compilation of D-DAY, Citizen Soldiers, Eisenhower, and Band of Brothers. If you have read any of Stephen Ambrose's works on World War II, then this one is not worth the time. It has so much material covered in his lengthier works.It is better to read D-DAY, Citizen Soldiers, Eisenhower, Band of Brothers.and The Wild Blue and to skip this book altogether. Read in 2005 by Jimmie A. Kepler.
—Jimmie Kepler
Stephen E. Ambrose has written some of the most important histories of our time, and his documentations of WWII and in particularly Eisenhower have been both historically important and poignant. For readers already engrossed by Ambrose's works, The Victors may be a bit repetitive, especially if one has read Ambrose's other works about WWII. But for those looking for a good encapsulation of Eisenhower's war years, this is an important study, and like all books about Eisenhower, it gives further background on the man who would become one of the most patriotic, least-partisan Presidents of the 20th Century.NC
—Nathan
Another spellbinding work from the stable of one of the most authentic military historians of our time. In this glittering patchwork gleaned from his earlier works such as"Citizen Soldiers"; "Band of Brothers" and "Pegasus" Ambrose relives the remarkable resilience characterising the millions of young and brave Allied soldiers - the resilience that ultimately led to the world being a better place to live in. Every page resonates with vitality and reverberates with vibrant emotions. The unparalleled deeds of the men of World War II will take some forgetting!
—Venky
