Discoveries: D-Day (Discoveries (Harry Abrams)) [Paperback]

Anthony Kemp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994 | Series: Discoveries (Harry Abrams)

Well-written, loaded with information, and with a rich assortment of illustrations, each Discoveries "RM" volume is a look at one facet of art, archaeology, music, history, philosophy, popular culture, science, or nature. These innovatively designed, affordably priced, compact paperbacks bring ideas to life and amplify our understanding of civilization in a new way.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Abrams' Discovery series, now numbering 40 compact primers on the arts and sciences, relies on a winning package of text fused with photomontages on glossy paper, followed by contemporary documents on, say, Degas or Newton. As applied to D-Day, the formula opens with the famously surreal Capa pictures; Kemp's succinct narrative then wends its way around silhouettes of soldiers, commanders, their equipment, and newspaper headlines; and eyewitness excerpts round out this basic introduction. With a high density of visuals, this should certainly snare any reader just stumbling onto the wave of 50th anniversary titles. (See also the D-Day Focus .) Gilbert Taylor

Product Details

• Paperback: 193 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810928264
• ISBN-13: 978-0810928268
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative overview of the Normandy battle, December 9, 2006

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Discoveries: D-Day (Discoveries (Harry Abrams)) (Paperback)

This is one of those picture books that includes enough text to give you context for what you're seeing, and tries to inform you about the subject in a very general way without burdening you with too much minutae. In this it generally succeeds, but more knowledgeable readers should beware: there's nothing original in the thinking here. Kemp's merely interested in telling the story in as smooth a fashion as possible. He has about 130 pages to do it, with another 40 or so at the back for passages from various accounts by participants. The book is full of illustrations, including a fold-out panorama of the beaches with planes flying around in the foreground, and pics of the Bayeux/D-Day tapestry done some years ago.

This is a good book for a kid in junior high who wants to know about the battle, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone further up the ladder, unless they just wanted a cursory book on the subject.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very informative book on D-Day, September 20, 2003

By 

Starminister (Rockville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discoveries: D-Day (Discoveries (Harry Abrams)) (Paperback)

For such a slim volume, there was a LOT of information inside. Obviously we studied D-Day and Normandy in History class, but never this much in-depth; all the disparate operations related to the landing of American, British and Canadian troops in France were covered. I came away from the book with a sense of "Whoa. Just...whoa," becuase it's truly mind-boggling how much planning went into D-Day.

As far as studying history goes, I mostly prefer reading about the political events rather than individual military ones, so I often had to re-read pages to get a grasp on what was going on. Luckily, English author Anthony Kemp (whose writing revealed a tremendous respect for all the Allied forces who fought) provided plenty of pictures and maps, and best of all, original sources. Letters and personal writings from heads of state, generals, NCO's and civilians alike were provided in the back, which I found to be the best part of the book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, April 1, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Discoveries: D-Day (Discoveries (Harry Abrams)) (Paperback)

This book was in my opinion the equivalant of the bible. If you enjoy reading well written and beautifully illustrated books then you are in heaven with this book. Has alot of very good information and is very helpful in the researching field.