The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys The Men of World War II (Hardcover)

by Stephen E. Ambrose (Author) "AT THE BEGINNING of World War II, in September 1939, the Western democracies were woefully unprepared for the challenge the totalitarians hurled at them..." (more)
Key Phrases: beach obstacles, trench foot, World War, Third Army, Easy Company (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Victors is like a compilation of Stephen E. Ambrose's greatest hits, drawing heavily from his biography of General Dwight D. Eisenhower and several military histories that recount the events of the Allied push across the European continent in 1944 and 1945 from the frontline trooper's perspective. The narrative is vintage Ambrose, full of engaging yet workmanlike prose that conveys the epic scope of its subject while paying careful attention to the details of the often inglorious lives of the GIs. Eisenhower looms large over this book, but it's the ordinary soldiers and their experiences who give the story real life. Readers who have already dipped into the Ambrose library may find sections of The Victors redundant, but for those who want an adept overview of what Ike and his men accomplished, this is a great place to start. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly
Ambrose has established himself as both a major biographer of Dwight Eisenhower and the definitive chronicler of America's combat soldiers in the D-Day campaign of 1944-45. But after Citizen Soldiers, he'd sworn off war and given away his WWII books. Then his editor convinced him to do "a book on Ike and the GIs, drawing on my previous writings"Asuch as Citizen Soldiers, D-Day and The Supreme Commander. "Alice Mayhew made me do it," Ambrose writes here. Readers familiar with Ambrose's work will find familiar set pieces, familiar anecdotes, even familiar phrases, but this is more than a clip job. It stands on its own as the story of the GIs who fought their way from Normandy's beaches and hedgerows across Europe. Few were prepared for combat against a Wehrmacht that was dangerous even in decline, and both enlisted men and officers learned through hard-earned experience. While admiring Eisenhower's character and generally affirming his performance as supreme Allied commander, Ambrose is sharply critical of such costly slugging matches as the one in the Huertgen Forest, which continued during the fall and winter of 1944 on orders from senior officers unaware of conditions in the front lines and unable to develop an alternative to frontal assault. But by the final thrust into Germany in the spring of 1945, the U.S. Army's fighting power was second to none. Once more, Ambrose does what few others do as wellAvividly portray the sacrifices and achievements of democracy's army.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition/First Printing edition (November 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068485628X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684856285
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #359,497 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding narrative., January 11, 2000

By	Hector (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The VICTORS : Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II (Paperback)

This is the first book that I've read from Stephen Ambrose and I thought it was remarkable. Ambrose takes us from the battles in North Africa all the way to the German surrender on May 7th 1945. One thing that I truly enjoyed about this book is; Ambrose gives a complete picture of the war, from the orders made by Eisenhower and his staff, to the captains, sergeants and privates who had to carry out those orders. I'll end this review with a passage from the book, which most touched me.

"At the core, the American citizen soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn't want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed. So they fought, and won, and we all of us, living and yet to be born, must be forever profoundly grateful."

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good narrative history, June 30, 2000

By	James T. King (Chagrin Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The VICTORS : Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II (Paperback)

Stephen Ambrose's "The Victors" is mainly a showcase for the reminiscences of those involved in D-Day and the campaigns which followed, ending finally with the taking of Berlin. As a historian, Ambrose's voice and expertise are most apparent in detailing the early stages of the assault's planning, as he provides insights into the personalities (and distinct styles) of Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, et al. The telling is most poignant when it reveals -- in tired, frightened messages composed in the fields of battle -- the plain truths of war for the loved ones back home. My single complaint about this book is its lack of maps; only two are provided, with the second one being an impossible hodge-podge of all the Allied movements between D-Day and VE Day.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It Had Been a While, September 6, 2000

By	Phillip Russom (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

Having not read a history book since the time that I had to, this was a great way to get reintroduced. I had heard good things about Stephen Ambrose, and I was not disappointed. This was a book that taught me a great deal about war, and the price that was paid by so many.

I enjoyed seeing things from the perspective of the soldier, through the pen of Ambrose. I also appreciated the way that Ike was portrayed as one who was a good leader, but also made mistakes that were costly. This has served to whet my appetite for further history genre reading - maybe!!