Customer Reviews

Neptunus Rex: Naval Stories of the Normandy Invasion, June 6, 1944, Voices of the Navy Memoria l

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This slim volume is based on material drawn from oral transcripts and from numerous unpublished manuscripts written by participants in the D-Day landings and subsequent operations in Normandy. The focus is on American naval personnel, from those serving on the capital ships and destroyers to the crews of LSTs and detached squads operating as beach masters or in support roles.

There are probably some fascinating stories to be found about the various naval actions, but the selection of sources is very poor. Often, the contribution from a sailor will be about one paragraph long, saying "I sure was there on D-Day". And there's a lot of repetition in these accounts, centering on the preparations for the invasion, which could have been edited out. And honestly, a lot of the tales are not very gripping in any way.

However, there are some nice illustrations, and there are a lot of photos of various ships, particularly the landing craft. The handsomely designed book at least has some value for its pictorial content. Overall, though, it's a disappointing effort.

I was looking for research items for the US Navy involvement with the Normandy Invasion, Operation Neptune. A graduate of my high school was killed-in-action on an LCF on the 6th of June and I thought the individual naval stories would have insite.

Neptunus Rex is a melting of individual stories of naval personnel who were at the forfront of the naval action on the 6th of June. Although the stories are short in nature...they give a first hand account thru the enlisted and officers eyes as to how they saw the operation go down.

Very good research book and very interesting reading.....just wish they would have had more from the individuals on boats that were attacked and sunk, destroyed or managed to get back to England....

This book is an excellent historical reference on the often unheralded role of the Navy and the Naval Beach Battalions in the invasion of Normandy. Like many works on the subject of D-Day that have appeared recently, the narrative draws upon interviews with and personal journals written by the D-Day veterans themselves. The stories range from simple statements to highly detailed, gripping tales, and the author does a good job of organizing them, and then staying the hell out of the way. I've personally met and researched many of the veterans who are featured in the book, and I can tell you that the accounts written by these brave and heroic men are absolutely true. While they might not all write like Shakespeare, their stories are very important to the overall history of D-Day, and are worthy of the merit they deserve. They, after all, were there, while the naysayers were not.

Great Book!! However, very special to me because my great uncle is featured in the book. I was a little distraught by the previous reviews doubting the credibility of the author. I can assure you that the accounts are real and the pain it caused some of the veterans to recount the horror of D-Day was very tramatic. I hope that everyone who reads this book appreciates it for its meaning and not as a literary work of art. This book screams appreciation for those that fought and hope that those who haven't never will. Also, the account written by Leo H. Scheer is especially riveting.

Seemed like a very badly written account of a very historic event in our nations history. Makes you wonder if the author was really present. Did he really interview credible veterans? Maybe he should try his hand at writing novels.