America's Forgotten Army: The True Story of the U.S. Seventh Army in WWII - And An Unknown Battle that Changed History [Mass Market Paperback]

Charles Whiting (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2001

Some forces got the glory

In Normandy the great invasion had begun. In the Pacific, the U.S. Navy went toe to toe with Japan. And far from the spotlight-but right in the heart of World War II-the U.S. Seventh Army was charging "up the gut" of Nazi-held Europe. Overlooked by the press and historians, the Seventh would battle its way from Sicily to France and into Germany itself.

Others won the war

In this thrilling chronicle, Charles Whiting captures the men who risked their lives to fight for the Seventh, from Patton-charismatic, ferocious and flawed-to a hardscrabble Texan named Audie Murphy, America's most decorated fighting man. Here are blow-by-blow accounts of courageous charges against dug-in German machine gun nests, of horrific battles through the bloodied snows of the Alps, ferocious Panzer-led counterstrikes, sniper attacks, and finally an assault on Hitler's own mountaintop retreat, the Eagle's Nest.

America's forgotten army

Capturing war in all its vivid horror and courage, America's Forgotten Army is an unforgettable testament to American GIs-the ordinary men whose blood and bravery crushed the powers of the Third Reich.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The U.S. Seventh Army has never had a volume devoted to thoroughly documenting its actions in WWII. Charles Whiting rights that wrong." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Charles Whiting, a premier historian of World War II, served with a reconnaissance outfit in the war. He is the author of several bestselling books, including Patton, The Last Assault and Death on a Distant Frontier. He currently lives in York, England.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312976550
• ISBN-13: 978-0312976552
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Standard lackluster read from Whiting, June 19, 2006

By 

Mannie Liscum (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: America's Forgotten Army: The True Story of the U.S. Seventh Army in WWII - And An Unknown Battle that Changed History (Mass Market Paperback)

As a historical writer Charles Whiting, in the parlance of our favored American pastime, is a solid hitter with a decent average of ground-rule doubles and an occasional triple with little evidence of a power stoke. Fortunately, "America's Forgotten Army: The Story of the U.S. Seventh" keeps up Whiting's average but does nothing to suggest a reader will see him hit one 'out of the park'. The title and subtitle alone suggest something more impressive than the reader gets. Whiting is certainly a prolific writer but maybe he should concentrate more on quality than quantity. Like so many of his books "America's Forgotten Army" is quite mediocre in its presentation, in this case leading to little improvement on the 'forgotten' nature of the Seventh's time in WWII (as suggested by the subtitle). As is also common of Whiting's works, he doesn't really do justice to the previous literature. For example, Whiting fails completely to utilize "Riviera to the Rhine", the official US Army history of Sixth Army group in the ETO, as a source of information. Whiting's minimal use of previous works also tends to leave the reader feeling as if Whiting is truly telling "the story of the Seventh" for the first time...don't be fooled. Aside from the official US Army accounts there are others, including one that uses essentially the same subtitle: "Destination Berchtesgaden: The story of the United States Seventh Army in World War II" by John F. Turner, published in 1975!! The conspicuous lack of reference to other secondary sources, and virtual absence of primary source works, is a common theme with Whiting's works. As such it is hard to see where he is contributing to the historical base other than rehashing 'old' stories. Fortunately for those of us happy to see important stories of WWII out in the public eye, Whiting has reached the popular press and viewing public, more so than earlier sources covering the same topics (that Whiting neglects to cite).

If you've never read anything about the Seventh US Army in WWII, "America's Forgotten Army" might be a good read for you, but be very aware that Whiting's accounts are not the first, nor the best. If the readers' interests are piqued she/he should search out some of these previous works. All in all, "America's Forgotten Army" is a 3 star effort (2 stars for historical content, 3.5 stars for readability).

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good history of little known WW2 campaigns with 2 flaws, October 30, 1999

By 

William B Murray (Escondido, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Forgotten Army: The Story Of The U.s. Seventh (Hardcover)

Charles Whiting has written an excellent,readable history of a very important segment of WWII in Europe that the press,the public and even many historians neglected. The book has only 2 flaws but they are major:In dividing the book into campaigns both in the Table of Contents and the Chapter headings , the Invasion of Southern France and the Vosges Mountain Attack are shown with dates in 1943! Obviously they took place in 1944 after the June 6 D-Day Invasion in Normandy.

The author deserves better than this. Either his editor or proof reader should be fired. I hope the 2nd edition corrects this.

9 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Book That Was O.K., December 13, 2001

By 

Josh (Madison) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Forgotten Army: The True Story of the U.S. Seventh Army in WWII - And An Unknown Battle that Changed History (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the book America's Forgotten Army by Charles Whiting. It wasn't the best or the worst book I have read. In my opinion the book is for people who are really into World War II books. It gave a good deal of information about the U.S. Seventh Army, an army that helped win the war but never got the glory. It talks about the soldiers and commanders who fought bravely in the war.
I personally did not like the book because to me it was boring. I did not understand half of what the book was saying. I also forgot what I read just two pages ago. Some parts I did find interesting though. I'll let you just read the book for yourself. The book, in my opinion, is for advanced readers. If you are into World War II books though, then you might not want to miss this book.