Customer Reviews

The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II

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4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Steel Wave" by Jeff Shaara is the second novel (following "The Rising Tide") in Shaara's planned Second World War historical fiction trilogy. The theme of this novel is the planning and execution of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Northern France. In this piece Shaara uses his now-familiar technique of examining the time period in question from the perspective of historical figures -- some eminent indeed, such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, others less exhalted, i.e. a sergeant of paratroopers. In this novel the approach works superbly, because this novel passes the first critical test--it is one extremely engaging read. The novel moves along at a brisk pace, never loses the reader's interest, and has the ring of realism about it.

The other notable trait of this novel is that once again, Mr. Shaara appears to have done his homework. Shaara's insights into the problems faced by General Eisenhower, the various political leaders, and the men in the field, go well beyond the superficial. Here, the reader truly appreciates the risks and uncertainties that faced the planners and fighters of Operation Overlord. Shaara takes us into the infighting, indecisions, and ultimate risks with which the Allied generals had to contend. My sense is that here, Shaara is fairly evenhanded, although *very minor spoiler* partisans of British General Montgomery will probably not be pleased. And of course, Shaara does a creditable job showing us the invasion from the perspective of the incredibly brave men who actually undertook Operation Overlord and made it a success.

Overall, this is excellent historical fiction about a great subject, that is very well told. Highly recommended.

Jeff Shaara is unequaled in his ability to turn the dry stuff of history into compelling fiction.

In "The Steel Wave", Shaara turns his attention to the WWII D-Day period, the time leading up to and shortly after the invasion of France over the beaches of Normandy.

He tells us the story through eyes of only a few protagonists: Eisenhower, Rommell and to lesser extents, other leaders such as Churchill, Bradley and Patton. But the bulk of the story rests on the shoulders of Sergeant Jesse Adams, a soldier of the 82nd Airborne Division, whose troops were the first to drop into occupied France.

Shaara's skill is taking the dry stuff of history and turning it into fiction. Here we have Eisenhower in the well documented meeting with meteorologist Captain Stagg deciding whether or not to launch the invasion fleet on June 5, 1944 despite the awful weather. Every one of us who has studied WWII history knows this scene well. But what Shaara does is infuse emotion to Eisenhower that we don't read in the histories. Invented? Yes. Plausible? Wrapped in Shaara's words, very much so.

And so we see things through Rommell's mind as he attempts to carry out his orders to make all of Western Europe's coastline into an impregnable barrier to Allied invasion. Again, the obstacles Rommell faced are well known to history buffs, but it is Shaara's dramatization of Rommell's thoughts that makes for compelling reading.

When Shaara deals with Patton, although to a lesser degree, every student of history will recognize the words and deedsa of Patton as published in a number of books, but what makes this different is Shaara's treatment of Eisenhower's thoughts as he deals with his brilliant, but difficult to handle general. Likewise, Shaara joins with contemporary historians in deflating the balloon that was built around Montgomery, the British commander. Montgomery here comes across as a sniveling, whining leader who was promoted past his competency, protected surprisingly by Eisenhower against Churchill, Bradley and others.

But the bulk of the story rests on the shoulders of Jesse Adams, introduced in Shaara's first installment of his planned WWII trilogy. Adams is the ground soldier, smart, recognized for his potential, but a man who prefers to be sergeant, slugging it out on the battlefield.

Through Adams, we see the horror of war and its attraction to men. Through Adams, we feel the rain, the heat, the dust, dirt, mud of the slog from one engagement to another. We see the terror of leaping out of an airplane into the darkness of night over a land where the enemy is waiting to kill you.

Jesse Adams is an Everyman: through his thoughts, we experience the nature of battle, the nature of real soldiers. And it is a searing experience, leaving the reader to wonder how men could do so much, endure so much in the name of an abstract idea like "freedom".

This is, indeed, a wonderful work of historical fiction. Shaara brings to life the spirits and beliefs that animated tens of millions of Americans to support the war, though it ultimately cost us the lives of over 400,000 Americans. As we sit here almost seven decades later with so many of the participants passed on, we may well wonder if the nation can ever again raise a generation like the one chronicled in these pages.

A marvelous book.

Jerry

Beginning of the End
The Steel Wave is very good historical novel about D-Day. Mr. Shaara does a creditable job of covering the general events surrounding the WW2 D-day invasion of Europe that signaled the beginning of the end for Germany. His use of real historical persons interspersed with fictional characters was excellent at developing the massive problems, difficulties and chaos surrounding those eventful days in June, 1944. In essence, it was all one giant Allied crap shoot. A successful landing spelled the beginning of the end of German hegemony in Europe. A failed landing spelled disaster for the Allies and meant Germany was secure in Europe, and could turn its military power to fight the advancing Russian hoards in the East. The stakes were monumental. The pressure for success huge. Failure was NOT an option. BUT, what if the Allies failed? Mr. Shaara highlights all this with powerful prose, and grapples with the entire picture from the "grunt" level to the highest levels of command on both sides. He expertly discusses the complex interpersonal relationships of the various political leaders and military commanders and how they affected the eventual outcome. All in all a good superficial, broad brushed look at one of history's climatic moments.

I can't help but think back to Herman Woulk's epic series concerning WW2. It was a masterpiece of sorts. Mr. Shaara's WW2 epic is excellent but lacks the subtleties of Woulk's human interaction. The overall character development in The Steel Wave generally lacked depth, although Mr. Shaara did an excellent job in regards to General Eisenhower and Field Marshal Rommel. The minor characters appeared to be there to simply flesh out the novel. The battle scenes were adequate but seemed to lack punch.

All in all I liked the book and am looking forward to the final installment next year. Can you read this work without reading his first novel on WW2? Yes, but it would make it all the more pleasurable to read them in sequence. Mr. Shaara is an excellent historical fiction writer. Good read.

Informative and captivating in parts, this is not up to Mr. Shaara's very high standards. What makes Shaara so good is the integration of the actors' personal perspective and dialogue into the historical narrative. Steel Wave seems to have more text-book style background information (this is based entirely on perception rather than an empirical analysis) then in some of Shaara's best works. Nonetheless, "Rising Tide" readers will certainly want to read this installment in the WWII story and will enjoy the book. It's just not as consistently compelling as the work we have come to expect from Shaara. That's OK. They can't all be home runs; sometimes, you have to be happy with a double.

Jeff Shaara's second installment of his planned four part World War II series, The Steel Wave, picks up steam from where A Rising Tide left off. While I found Rising Tide not up to Shaara's high standards, The Steel Wave contains more battle scenes than its predecessor, and thus more action to describe, which plays to Shaara's strength of character narratives.

Aside from Shaara's almost unrivaled ability to blend historical facts with fictitious components, it hit me when I read Steel Wave that his true genius is keeping your attention focused on an event about which you already know the outcome. In all of his books, we all know who won the wars. We can all recite the heroes of these wars. Yet, when I read his novels, I find myself ripping from chapter to chapter trying to get to the end as fast as I can to see how it all turns out...even though I know how it turns out.

The Steel Wave's first chapter draws you in. The opening chapter describes an Allied commando raid on the beaches of Normandy months prior to the invasion. Shaara's ability to describe the scene, the emotions, the thoughts of the men through whose eyes we see this event is amazing. I found myself constantly thinking, "Is this guy going to make it?" From this opening chapter, Shaara does a wonderful job of keeping you focused on the characters. His books are always about the characters.

Of note in all of Shaara's books, but especially in The Steel Wave, is his ability to tell parts of the story from one character's perspective and then in the proceeding chapters to rewind the story to tell you it from someone else's perspective. With so many moving parts to an event like the landings of Allied troops on D-Day, Shaara's style is like a yo-yo. He brings you out on a story line, pulls you back to the start, and lets you continue the same story line from another character's viewpoint.

The only negative of The Steel Wave, in my opinion, is Shaara's choice of the composite character Jesse Adams, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne as one of the lead characters. In most of Shaara's books, he tells you in the preface that many, if not all, of the quotes in his books are taken from primary sources (e.g., diaries, memoirs, transcripts, interviews, etc.). In The Steel Wave, however, he backs off from this standard by telling the reader in the preface that this is not the case for this book. Because he needed a character present in all of the major scenes, he created Jesse Adams, a sergeant, as being the omnipresent character. Adams is there for conversations with generals, majors, captains, and lieutenants. I found this a stretch, no matter how many times Shaara tried to sell Adams's unique friendship with a general as the reason for this type of access. It stretches credulity.

Overall, I found the book highly entertaining. In the pantheon of Shaara novels, I'd rank this one somewhere in the middle. Considering that I recommend all of his novels as "must reads," being "average" for Jeff Shaara is well above average for every other historical fiction author.

World War II is a frequently mined swath of history. Writers and historians have trod back and forth across those fields of battle, physically and figuratively, churning out a neverending stream of books on the subject, all with varying perspectives, opinions and conclusions. Hollywood has added its visual representation on many aspects of the war. One section that always draws major attention is the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. With the considerable coverage of this event, one would think that nothing about it could be compelling or inspiring in any further exploration.

Jeff Shaara proves everyone wrong with his brilliant novel, THE STEEL WAVE. Continuing on the heels of THE RISING TIDE, this latest volume in his World War II saga covers January through September of 1944 and is such an engaging piece of work that one must continually remind himself or herself that the events are true. Granted, the specific conversations contained within are conjecture, but Shaara's meticulous research of personal diaries and letters gives these fictionalized discussions the weight of authenticity to go hand in hand with the historical facts of the machinations of the varied war strategies.

THE STEEL WAVE, like its predecessor, is more than just a dry look at the battles and outcomes of the time. Instead, you are with General Dwight Eisenhower as he lays the groundwork with the Allied commanders for Operation Overlord while trying to keep General Patton on a tight leash. At the same time, you follow Patton and his frustrations at not being free to engage the enemy as he sees fit. Sit alongside Field Marshal Erwin Rommel as he struggles to gain Hitler's attention and build his defenses for the invasion he knows is coming. Yet, while you get to cozy up with such historical icons, Shaara also throws in a few fictional everymen by which you can really connect and become embedded into the action.

Jesse Adams, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne, drops behind the German lines and into the very heart of chaos. Meanwhile, you run alongside Tom Thorne as he and his infantry division gallantly struggle to make their way up the beach under the watchful and deadly eye of the German gunners. These two men, the enlisted commoners, allow you to be engulfed in the hell that is war, but Shaara spares the ghastly scenery and the carnage that ensues in such times because THE STEEL WAVE is not so much about the combat but about the men within.

Shaara's gift is in making every single character and figure in the book vivid and alive, and he delivers them to you in such a way that, as you see the problems of one man's situation unfolding, you get cut away to see the meticulous planning and problems from the other side. Together they fold into a dramatic and astounding piece of history and literature. In particular, Shaara's presentation of Rommel is exceptional, especially with his own personal struggle to fulfill his obligations as a soldier and a man of war, and his sense that Hitler is losing touch and that Germany needs to be spared. Shaara's work makes Rommel more than just a pastiche or a textbook cliché of the enemy soldier; the author makes him animated on the page for you to witness, and makes him human.

If you've ever avoided embracing World War II history for fear of dry facts and figures, you have nothing to worry about. THE STEEL WAVE practically sings with the beauty and the simplicity of its writing. Should you choose to take it up, you will be rapt and find yourself pushing to finish just one more chapter as the hours tick by. This novel is guaranteed to keep you engaged, from the opening pages until its surprisingly touching and solemn conclusion.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

Shaara's second book of a trilogy succeeds in providing another light on one of the most written about campaigns of WWII. He succeeds in telling the D-Day story at several levels.
"The Steel Wave" covers the campaign from January '44 to the suicide of Rommel (Sept. '44).
By interweaving frontline soldier stories with the major commanders personal interactions, he has presented a holistic view of D-Day and gives the reader a real appreciation for that momentous event.
The personal conflicts of the major commanders on both sides highlights the difficulties that are often lost from knowing the outcome. Too often most people forget that success in the last good war was not a forgone conclusion.
A good read by itself only becomes better by reading "The Rising Tide" first.

I'm about halfway though The Steel Wave after having finished the previous volume, and as much as I want to like the book I just cant. Generalizing about both The Steel Wave and The Rising Tide here - I think they are both just OK at best. An entertaining read for those whose knowledge of WWII history is limited to "Saving Private Ryan" but likely a huge disappointment to anyone who has read serious history.

Things that bug me:
- All the technical innacuracies in both books. Both big issues that have been detailed by prior reviews and small details when talking about handling small arms that show the author probably has never seen or handled these weapons first hand. "The Germans have smokeless powder" - is he serious? Does he think we fill .30-'06 cartridges with black powder?? Or "the smell of diesel" in a gasoline engined Sherman tank? I'm not suggesting Shaara should go drive a Tiger tank, but it would not be hard to get some range time on a Garand or a Thomson as part of the research. Maybe he is getting too much of his info from the history channel...

- The flat presentation of historical characters. I didn't realize it at first myself until reading a few other reviews just how much Eisenhower/Patton/Bradley/Rommel all sound the same. Having read Ike's Crusade in Europe years ago I just cant wrap my head around Shaara's take on him... And to portray Rommel as the naive victim of circumstance with no knowledge about any of the war crimes his fellow Germans were committing all around him? C'Mon!

- Among both the fictional and real characters, dialog between the ranks seems WAY to casual. Sgt. Adams seems to get away with addressing senior offices by first name all the time. Makes the dialog hard to believe..

THE STEEL WAVE picks up where THE RISING TIDE leaves off and takes us right into the planning and execution and aftermath of the Normandy invasion. Jeff Shaara writes historical fiction better then anyone and his meticulous research really shows. I never doubted or found any contradiction in the characters voices, especially Ike, Montgomery, Churchhill, Patton and Rommel. Their words and actions are always credible and coincide with everything we know historically about these characters. This is a novel and gives you another perspective about D-Day and Operation Overlord which did not start and end with June 6. No military operation has been written about more then June 6 so to come at it with a fresh perspective is a difficult challenge. Mr Shaara not only does that but he gets it "right" so to say. There are literally hundreds of books which will give you every bit of historical detail and fact but this is a novel not a history book. A fascinating, absorbing, page-turner which leaves you anticipating the third in this trilogy. This is a fine tribute to the men who participated and gave so much of themselves. Indeed, the greatest generation as written by one of our greatest historical fiction writers.

Jeff Shaara's father famously authored the historical novel, "Gettysburg." Since, fils has written a prequel and a sequel to his father's opus, as well as similar historical novels about the Revolutionary War, the Mexican American War, the First World War, and the Second World War. This is the second of a World War II trilogy, the first having focused on the American war in the Sahara. The focus here is D-Day.

Much has been written about D-Day--fictional and historical. Is there still room for yet another work? In this case, the answer is in the affirmative. Not that there is a great deal new here. One will read images and characterizations vaguely similar to other renditions of this bloody assault on Fortress Europe. But the end result is still capable of capturing one's attention.

As usual for this series of works, we see the invasion and its immediate aftermath through the eyes of several key figures--from the top leaders (Erwin Rommel among the Germans and Dwight Eisenhower) to lower level officers (such as General James Gavin to Captain/Major Edwin Scofield) to the foot soldiers themselves (such as Jesse Adams, Tom Thorne, and Wallace Unger). There are other characters well portrayed. One gets a sense of the raging but trapped general, George Patton, trying to behave for just one more chance at war and command--and, once unleashed, creating a picture of drive the defeat the Germans.

It is, perhaps, as a series of character studies of the cast here in the almost unbelievable Hell of combat that is the focus of the narrative. And there is humanness to that narrative that, ultimately, makes this a successful fictionalization of the desperate struggle at Normandy.

So, the tradition of the Shaara's--pere et fils, continues, with yet another solid historical novelization of war. A focus on characters, of course, means that much of the battle--outside their experience--goes unmentioned. In the end, though, a compelling piece of work.