D-Day: The Lost Evidence -Above the Battle (Hardcover)

~ Chris Going (Author) "By June 1944, the Second World War was already five years old in Europe..." (more)
Key Phrases: naval bombardment, D-Day The Lost Evidence, Pointe du Hoc, Air Force (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

On the night of 5th June 1944, the greatest armada the world has seen sailed into the stormy waters of the English Channel This bold gamble could easily have ended in the worst military defeat in history. The risks were enormous, the potential for failure unlimited. As dawn broke on 6th June, the allied generals and leaders waited for news. There was only one way the true state of the battle could be seen - from above. The task of bringing back these pictures fell to an elite band of pilots and the contents of their cameras would unveil the true story of D-Day. To a privileged few, these images depicted the life and death struggle below: the bloody slaughter on Omaha beach: the daring capture of Pegasus bridge: the taking of Pointe-Du-Hoc. Even individual actions such as the attack by 'Easy' Company of the 506 on the gun battery at Brecourt Manor - later immortalized in the book and TV series 'Band of Brothers' were captured on film - as they happened.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Crecy Publishing Ltd (May 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859790975
• ISBN-13: 978-0859790970
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,431,851 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entralling visual window into a great moment of history, July 28, 2004

By	Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Obviously, opinions about books - and reviews of them - are highly subjective, and two different people can look at the same work and come away with honest, but diametrically opposed views of the book's merits. I found Going and Jones' presentation of the aerial reconnaissance photographs of the D-Day invasion to be strongly compelling. In a very real sense, in my opinion, readers are transported back to a "you are there" moment, looking far down upon men desperately fighting for their lives, unaware of the observation. Those tiny dots are individual soldiers. Tanks and combat engineering vehicles are slightly larger dark blocks. We see smoke drifting across the land, the white wakes of landing craft making their runs to the beaches, shell and bomb craters scarring the fields, discarded parachutes ... all from a literally bird's eye view, albeit a very high flying bird. There is an immediacy to these aerial reconnaissance images that I personally found enthralling. I do not claim that this is a book for everyone, not even for every military history enthusiast, but I do know that for some of us, such photographs provide a powerful link to this momentous event. As for the criticisms expressed in another review ... yes, it would have been good to have some larger-sized photographs, although I am not convinced that the limitations imposed by original image resolution would have supported greater enlargement in any meaningful way, but might have instead yielded merely larger blurs, perhaps even more difficult to visually interpret. The authors state quite clearly that they have already passed these images through modern computer enhancements, so apparently what we face are limits stemming from the originals. For me, what Going and Jones have done is to present us with an enthralling window into an important and dramatic moment of history.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars TOO SMALL!, June 25, 2004

By	T. Dungan "tracysrocket" (OKC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Do not WASTE your money. If ever a book needed to be large format, this is the one. I was extremely disappointed with the quality and size of the aerial photos. The dot-resolution is so low (about 85 lpi) that the detail is deminished in these already small images. Most photos are on average 1.5 to 3 inches on the page making if impossible to see the subject that is highlighted. Some photos are scanned from other books and have a pattern morray showing the dot on dot distortion. I would have done better to spent my money on the History Channel DVD.