From D-Day to V-E Day (World War II Chronicles) [Hardcover]

Julie Klam (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Smart Apple Media (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583401911
• ISBN-13: 978-1583401910
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julie Klam grew up in Bedford, New York. After attending NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and interning at Late Night with David Letterman, she went on to write for such publications as O: The Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Redbook, Family Circle, and The New York Times Magazine and for the VH1 television show Pop-Up Video, where she earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Class Writing. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, daughter, and many dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The second half of the war in Europe for younger readers, June 7, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: From D-Day to V-E Day (World War II Chronicles) (Hardcover)

There are six volumes in the World War II Chronicles by Julie Klam and the fifth volume "From D-Day to V-E Day" tells the second half of the story of the war in Europe begun in the first volume, "Europe in Flames." After the introduction that you find in all of these volumes, which sets up the two sides and their leaders, Klam begins with Stalin pressuring Churchill and Roosevelt to open up a second front to relieve the pressure on the Eastern front where the Nazis were laying siege to Leningrad and details the Soviet counterattacks. The second chapter covers Operation Overlord and D-Day, which begins the final race for Berlin. Other chapters are devoted to the Allied Commanders, the breakout from Normandy with Operation Cobra, the liberation of Paris, and Operation Market-Garden. In most of the chapters there are notes on what is happening in the Pacific, so young readers have a sense of how the war is going in both theaters.

Klam focuses on both the larger successes, such as the liberation of Italy, along with the specific critical engagements such as the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of the Remagen bridge. The push into Germany covers the Rhine River crosses, the drive of Patton's Third Army through Germany, the Holocaust, the linkup of American and Soviet Troops. The final chapters are about the final drive to Berlin and V-E Day, as well as the war crimes trials at Nuremberg and a nice epilogue regarding the Marshall Plan, which gives the prime example of the United States engaging in rebuilding a nation after defeating it in war, a point that is particularly relevant today.

What young readers will find here is a bit more detail about World War II than they will find in their history textbooks. Klam covers both the big picture of what is happening in Europe and the key details (e.g., the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest). Those who have seen "Band of Brothers" will recognize Operation Market-Garden and other parts of the war. The book is illustrated with historic photographs from the period, mostly in black & white, including shots of a salt mine filled with Nazi loot and German citizens forced to view the bodies of Holocaust victims. The net result is that the World War II Chronicles provide a solid introduction to the history of World War II that will give young readers a good foundation for moving on to the next level of books on the topic.