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The Longest Day: June 6, 1944 Hardcover – May 1, 1994

by Cornelius Ryan (Author)

358 customer reviews

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This classic bestseller--back in print to coincide with the 50th anniversary of D-Day--offers a brilliant, authentic, gripping account of the hours that preceded and followed the Allied invasion of Normandy.

The Longest Day: June 6, 1944

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A true classic of World War II history, The Longest Day tells the story of the massive Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Journalist Cornelius Ryan began working on the book in the mid-1950s, while the memories of the D-day participants were still fresh, and he spent three years interviewing D-day survivors in the United States and Europe. When his book was first published in 1959, it was tremendously successful, establishing many of the legends of D-day that endure in the public's mind. Ryan was enormously skillful at weaving small personal stories into the overall narrative, and he would later use the same technique to depict the airborne invasion of Holland in A Bridge Too Far. Not only is The Longest Day a pleasure to read, but subsequent historians, dutifully noting its accuracy, have relied heavily on Ryan's research for their own accounts. In short, the book is a "must read" for anyone interested in the D-day invasion. --Robert McNamara --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Ryan's classic military study, the basis for the 1972 film with John Wayne, is reissed for the 50th anniversary of D-Day.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product details

Hardcover: 350 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 1, 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0671891553
ISBN-13: 978-0671891558
Product Dimensions: 1 x 6 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 358 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1940 in Books > History > Europe > France
- #24520 in Books > History > Military

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358

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Top customer reviews

This book goes into great detail about both Allied and German pre-invasion planning and ...

ByR. C Lautheron August 7, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

In the last month I have read THE DEAD AND THOSE ABOUT TO DIE by John C McManus and this book. I am currently reading JUNO BEACH by Tim Saunders. This book is a classic and time has not changed the way this book is written so that reader wants to read on and even learn more details. This book goes into great detail about both Allied and German pre-invasion planning and activities. I have started to read other books that really focus on specific armies and actions. THE LONGEST DAY will give you a great start for those who want to delve into detail. For example, the book by McManus is about the 1st Infantry Division's experience at Bloody Omaha. JUNO tells the story of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division and its accompanying support units. Read THE LONGEST DAY and you may want more. I was at Omaha and Utah Beaches in May 2015 and reading this book enables me to correlate what I saw with what I have read. Buy it!

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Good albeit a little shallow overview of the "Longest Day" - D-Day invasion in Normandy

ByFlying Photographeron October 14, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The author wrote this book far back in the 50's, and the book's strongest and weakest points are due to this fact. On one hand, he had direct access to many direct surviving participants in the landings in Normandy (on both sides), and he performed many interviews comparatively close to the actual events, which without a doubt aids in having a fresher memory. On the other, lot of information wasn't publicly available at that time, and thus many claims by the interviewed were not easily (or at all) verifiable.

What comes out is a good overview of the planning and execution of the landings in Normandy, as well as the parachute drops in the rear areas. There is also a brief mention to the many diversionary attacks and other measures. However, with the current available information, it is easy to see that there was much more going on in France (and the World) during those crucial 24 hours than the author was able to present in this book.

If you read any of the later works by the author you will also clearly see that, while following the same episode-style, he probably sensed that he needed to expand the scope of the book and encompass more sources and viewpoints than in this book. Not to be misunderstood, this is not a bad book, but coming from the author and in comparison to his other works it looks slightly weaker.

While a classical in D-Day literature, and including some very interesting insights from the participants in the landings, this book looks a little outdated nowadays and as such loses one star - still a recommended reading for the ones interested in military history.

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Kindle version: very good

ByWilliam Meadon July 8, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

There is little to add about this classic book describing the D-Day landings in Normandy. The book itself is a landmark account of the action, with an effective mix of strategic, tactical, and personal information about the world-changing events. It's not the most deeply moving WWII account that I've read, but it is clearly and coherently told, and the chaos and horrors of war are well described. I would have appreciated a few maps as the action was described. In this review, I will focus on the Kindle edition. Since I have not seen the printed edition, I might be pointing to "flaws" in the Kindle presentation that are related to limitations of the print copy. Feel free to comment if you have read the print edition.

The Kindle edition is a solid version of the text. I detected a few typos, but, overall, the transfer to electronic form has been highly successful.

My reservations about the Kindle edition are in the placement and quality of the figures. The figures are grouped at the end of the text. I much prefer having the figures placed within the text at the points where they are directly relevant. Also, the figures are displayed too small to be appreciated in much detail. I would like to see a second Kindle edition with the figures enlarged, if the originals are of sufficient quality. You might want to check out the paper edition(s) to see if reproduction of the figures is better than that of the Kindle edition.

I highly recommend this 4.5-star book to all readers. The accounts of WWII in my high school history books were completely inadequate, and this book should be part of the education of all Americans (not to mention Europeans). The current Kindle version is very good, but the figures are too small and would be better if appropriately interspersed with the text.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Used as pretrip prep

Bypatricia nisleron May 1, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I will be on the Normandy beaches during a Seine Riverboat trip in May (70th anniversary of the allied invasion is this year), and I wanted to read about the invasion. I remembered the film of the same name seen in my youth, and not since. I found this book prefect for my purposes. and it was quite a feat by the author, who did arduous research, including interviews with all the principle generals and other officers, as well as servicemen who'd been part of it. This included not just Americans, but the other allied groups, and the Germans as well. I was astounded by the effort of Operation Overlord, and think anyone with an interest in World War II would get a great deal from this book.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great book

Bynanon June 26, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Still a clasic. No better account of the Longest Day.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great Read for D-Day

ByLouon June 6, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

C Ryan has captured the feelings of D-Day both from the Allied side and the Nazis. Great read, tremendous pictures, detailed maps of the beaches and special features of copies of various documents. There are terrific personal stories for both sides. Very enjoyable read This book was the basis for the movie in the 60s - The Longest Day. Any WWII buff or history person will enjoy this book. Perhaps the 2nd best book I have read after S Ambrose's D-Day. Recommend.

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Outstanding classic

ByTembekon August 29, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Written from over a 1000 first hand interviews, no other book about D-Day so completely covers the human element involved in this amazing endeavor. Startling to see the level of personal sacrifice and heroics the world considered normal in the 40s. Difficult to believe America today could rise to this level even if truly threatened. It really was America's greatest generation.