Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion, Told by Those Who Were There (Eisenhower Center Studies on War and Peace) [Paperback]

Ronald E. Drez (Editor), Stephen E. Ambrose (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A project conducted by the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans, this selection of oral histories (augmented with excerpts from published memoirs) comprises the recollections of the Normandy beachhead on June 6, 1944, by American, British, Canadian and German soldiers plus a handful of French civilians. Pathfinders, commandoes, airborne troops, glider pilots, landing-craft coxswains, infantrymen, combat engineers, men of all ranks, recall the confusion and disorientation of that dreadful 24-hour period with its shocking tactical confrontations, unexpected terrors and impersonal slaughter. Through these vivid, succinctly spoken accounts, readers experience vicariously one of history's great military moments. Drez is assistant director of the Eisenhower Center. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A no-frills oral history of Operation Overlord that, for all its considerable virtues, falls short of the high standard set by other books commemorating the 50th anniversary of the invasion. Drez is assistant director of the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans, which for more than 10 years has been collecting memoirs from lower-echelon veterans of the Anglo- American and Canadian forces who participated in the mid-1944 invasion of occupied Europe that signaled the beginning of the end for Hitler's Third Reich. He has used excerpts from the biographical material supplied by approximately 150 of the archive's 1,440-odd contributors to stitch together a vivid if limited version of the D-day story. His roster of sources, which encompasses Wehrmacht defenders and members of the French resistance as well as Allied troops, is at least representative, but Drez offers barely enough background information to keep the narrative comprehensible. In their set-piece testimony, the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who assaulted coastal France's strongly fortified beaches (in many cases after rides across the English Channel on landing craft whose violent maneuverings left them seasick) or dropped behind German lines under cover of darkness provide graphic accounts of the horrors experienced by combatants at the sharp end of the bayonet in Normandy. Without a big-picture perspective from Drez, however, readers unfamiliar with events could come away with precious little sense of the occasion that demanded such fearful sacrifices. Nor does the editor offer even a summary briefing on what happened to his valiant subjects in the European theater of operations or elsewhere after their first 24 hours ashore. Affecting reminiscences from the survivors of a famous victory afford a kaleidoscopic first-draft reckoning of its appalling costs. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807120812
• ISBN-13: 978-0807120811
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #844,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Present Voices Speak about the Past, September 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion, Told by Those Who Were There (Eisenhower Center Studies on War and Peace) (Paperback)

"Voices of D-Day" is the powerful testimony of some 150 different participents of the Normandy invasion. This book is a thouroughly facinating read, and the relaxed manner in which these stories are told, makes the D-Day experience come to life. However, Drez does not go far enough. Although he starts off by giving accounts of how and why soldiers joined up to fight, he does not follow up by revealing how their post D-Day experiences fared. There are a handful of old pictures of some of the soldiers discussed but there are no new photos. There is no mention of how these guys got home, what they did after the war, and where they are now. There are even a few pictures of soldiers who are not at all mentioned. Drez includes one personal account of a French girl who came out on to the beach to help with the wounded. He mentions at the end of her segment that she ended up marrying an English soldier, but he neglects to explain how they kept in touch during the war, when they got married, or where and how they lived. It is (I assume) quite unusual for two people to met, and eventually marry, right in the middle of history's largest invasion. What a story! Yet Drez doesn't tell you the whole story; no details. He doesn't even include a picture of the couple. This book is an excellent companion as a follow up to the movie "Saving Private Ryan", but it does not go beyond that point. I would like to know more about the lives of the men who fought and died for freedom and democracy. Voices of D-Day does not give you more; it only gives you the basics.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Testimonial to D-Day, April 12, 2000

By 

Scott Anderson "Sharpsburg" (Shepherdstown, WV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion, Told by Those Who Were There (Eisenhower Center Studies on War and Peace) (Paperback)

The story of the invasion is laid out beautifully before the reader as seen through the eyes of those who were there. The accounts are quite vivid and give the reader a succinct discription of D-Day.

Men rose up and took charge while others shirked their duties. Young boys barely men, lost their lives and friends witnessed comrades being blown to bits before their very eyes. Yet, the will of the men was to persevere, and on they came.

The accounts take us back to that fatefull time and allows the reader to see into the horrors of war. The only addition, if any to this work, would be stories of those from the Axis side of the battle; along with a few smatterings of what took place in the lives of these men after 6 June 1944.

A enjoyable book to read that flows quite nicely. Highly recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sobering insights into the carnage surrounding D-DAY., February 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There (Eisenhower Center Studies on War and Peace) (Hardcover)

Wow! Voices of D-Day (Ronald Drez) offers us incredible insights into the D-Day battlefields, and described the bravery of the soldiers that fought and died there. Truly one of the most insightful books I've ever read about war. Transcends typical military history books by taking us into the landing crafts, gliders, transports, and the enemy's bunkers and fully describes the horror and reality of battle.