The D-Day Experience: From the Invasion to the Liberation of Paris [Hardcover]

Richard Holmes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in history, took place on June 6, 1944. The subsequent battle of Normandy involved over a million men from America, Canada, Britain, France, Poland, and Germany, and helped seal the fate of Hitler¨s Third Reich. This book, published to celebrate the 60th anniversary of D-Day, is a graphic account of the planning and execution of Operation Overlord, as well as the campaign that effectively destroyed the German forces in France and opened the way for the Allied advance to Holland, Belgium, and into Germany itself.Written by one of Britain¨s best-known and respected military historians, Professor Richard Holmes, and including a wealth of firsthand accounts, The D-Day Experience contains 30 facsimile items of D-Day memorabilia integrated into the pages of the book. The reader can relive this momentous period of 20th century history by holding and examining maps, diaries, letters, sketches, secret memos and reports, posters, and labels that up until now have remained filed or exhibited in the Imperial War Museum and other North American archives. In addition, the accompanying CD contains 60 minutes of firsthand veteran accounts from American, Canadian, and British troops.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professor Richard Holmes is general editor of The Oxford Companion to Military History and the author of The First and Second World Wars in Photographs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740745093
• ISBN-13: 978-0740745096
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 11 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,354,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost there, March 21, 2005

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The D-Day Experience: From the Invasion to the Liberation of Paris (Hardcover)

Put 'D-Day' into Amazon's book search and you'll come up with over two hundred titles and I expect most will be about the momentous events in June 1944. This book covers them as an 'experience' and I think it does it rather well. Don't be put off when you see it only has sixty-four pages because it includes a lot of other things as well. There are fifty plus printed items which are facsimiles of maps (one is a German map thirty by twenty-two inches) military reports, logbooks, posters, soldiers diaries, a newspaper page, letters and more, they are either stuck on the pages or in envelopes to be removed and examined. One of the nice things is that the reproduction of these extras is particularly good and they do really help to create the experience.

Each spread covers one event with a mix of text, photos (with good captions) a map and other graphics all beautifully presented in a scrapbook format. If I have a criticism it is that the maps, which have a lot of information, are rather small so I had to use John Man's Atlas of the D-Day and Normandy Landings to fully understand the flow of events. While looking at this treasure of printed material you can also hear on the included CD (seventy minutes) the voices of men who were there and made it happen.

This is almost a unique publication but while looking through the Amazon list I came across 'Our finest day: D-Day: June 1944' (ISBN 0811830500) which also presents historical documents as reproductions to be handled but I'll stick with this D-Day experience, I don't think it can be beat.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular History Book, April 23, 2004

By 

S. T. Pratt (Guilderland, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The D-Day Experience: From the Invasion to the Liberation of Paris (Hardcover)

The title of this book doesn't lie. Flipping through it is truly an "experience". Never have I seen a book that packs in so many replica items that you can actually pull out, handle, read, and examine. Fold-out maps, soldier diaries, letters, propaganda posters, and written orders are just a few of the things you'll find tucked inside this book. There is also an audio CD included with first-hand accounts from veteran German, American, British, and Canadian soldiers.

The soldier diaries are accurately reprinted in the original soldier's writing and makes you feel as if you were reading through the original. The same goes for the written orders and letters. There are a couple of massive fold-out maps that depict the D-Day landing areas and inland towards Paris. You can spend hours looking at these alone.

The quality of the information is top notch, with black and white original photography printed on full-color pages. The written information reaccounts the background info leading up to the invasion as well as the following 80 days leading up to the liberation of Paris. While this information can be garnered from many other D-Day books (such as Stephen Ambrose's), being able to handle and examine facsimile reports/logs/diaries/maps that relate to that information makes the experience much more enjoyable.

With items previously only available in museums, excellent audio information, and informative written information, this "book" should find a home in every D-Day enthusiasts collection. I highly recommend it!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Historical Information for the Value, May 12, 2004

By 

C. Corwin (Port Washington, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The D-Day Experience: From the Invasion to the Liberation of Paris (Hardcover)

I literally sat for hours combing through this book. I felt as if I was reading a scrap book, and not a historical text. As I turned each page, I was simply astonished by the removable facsimiles of original documents that were contained within the books pages. This is one book you will have to see and experience in order to believe. The CD contains oral accounts from the veterans who were there. Each track features a different veteran focusing on a different hour of the invasion...priceless to hear their accounts, especially the U.S. soldier who was wounded five...yes five...times on D-Day and still kept fighting. Take my advice...buy one and read it...buy a second copy and put it on the shelf. This will make a great hand-me-down or gift.