The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II

Very detailed and well written. Would be most beneficial for people to learn about the sacrifices of this who served. It is not all hollywood extravaganza. Many of the decisions in the conduct of war are political and personality driven. Jeff Shaara does a terrific job of placing the reader in the middle of the events as that affected the WWII outcome.

Jeff Shaara is an extremely gifted writer
He is my favorite author and I'm grateful for his wonderful books that fill my bookshelf. In The Steel Wave I feel like I have been lifted to the battlefields and D-Day of WW11. I highly recommend his books to anyone ,especially those of us who are history buffs!

Thoroughly enjoyed this account of the events leading up to and immediately following D-Day. Provided an excellent perspective from key American, British and German participants. I was a history major in college, but this book clearly "schooled" me.

Received this used book in excellent condition within a very short time. Since I am now reading one of Jeff Shaara's books on the Civil War, I haven't moved on to the books about WWII yet. Am looking forward to reading The Steel Wave since I grew up during WWII & this is a "real" time for me.

My son-in-law (who grew up in Virginia & moved back there a few years ago) & I share a love for historical novels. Several years ago I visited their "library" & found they had several novels written by Jeff Shaara (perhaps I even purchased one or two as presents but had never read them). I got "hooked" when I began with the novels about the Revolution & the beginning of our country. The ones about WWI were very good & I'm reading some about the Civil War era now. Looking forward to these more recent ones about WWII.

The ability to buy used books through the store for a very reasonable price & in excellent condition has been a very good opportunity for me.

Once again Jeff Shaara provides his artistic talent to blend the lives of privets and generals, allies and enemies into a tome of the most horrific event of the 20th century! A great read for anyone interested in a superbly written history of WWII.

I always enjoy the Shaara family's books...all the way back to Killer Angels (Civil War) to this one. I like the way the author follows individual story lines for battles and campaigns we all know from history books.

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.

I enjoy Shaara's historic novels. He does a good job with the historical facts and adds personal stories as well. He does get somewhat redundant when describing the gore, but I suppose he is trying to portray how terrible combat really is. With that caveat, I gave him four stars. I have read most of his books.

A good read with solid historical background. If you enjoy history, but not overly dramatised novels then this novel will hit the right note. Shaara brings the events to life avoiding a boring recount of historical events. I will try more of his books.

Jeff Shaara can write history as only a novel can read and World War ll is a story we should all know about. It was the defining moment of civilization and only Shaara can tell how horrific the war was for our World War Two soldiers. And those men literally saved Western Civilization.

Great historical account of fighting and planning of WW2. Makes you think you are reading the exact dialogue and actions during the time the book describes. Great story and writing. Looking forward to the next chapter.

The Rising Tide
Jeff Shaara has intertwined real life people such as Rommel, Monty, Eisenhower & others along with fictitous
battle ready troops. The settings are real life.
I am halfway through the book & by coincidence my wife & I are going on a pilgrimage to the war memorial at El Alamein where my father was killed in 1942, in October 07. He was Australian.
Jeff has opened my eyes to how it all happened.
Thanks,
Michael O'Mara

Great historical fiction by an expert writer that gives the reader an insight into emotional and physical challenges experienced by command and subordinate individuals involved in D-Day and subsequent conflicts mostly in France.

It was very interesting, historically. I learned quite a bit about the months before and after D-Day, especially on the German side. The dialogue got a little tedious and repetitive. Too many "Dammit, Brad" and "Dammit, Ike" to count. Still a very interesting read.

If you are interested in the history of World War II, this is a great read. It gives you insight into the personalities of the warring generals and soldiers who fought in North Africa as well as the leaders of the Allies and Axis powers.

Mr. Shaara continued work started by his father with some very fine Civil War novels.
Now an excellent author in his own right.This first in a trilogy of WWII novels is extremely readable.
True to times and places as well as characters. For anyone interested in WWII this is a fine novel of
the North African campaigns and the portrayal of the major players is outstanding. I look forward to reading
the other two books in the series. Well written and fast paced.

The book provides a human feeling to the tragedies of wwII by giving accounts that resonate with the facts to provide a better understanding of what war is about. There are no heros just people doing their best with the abbility they possess

Historical novels are my passion. A friend recommended Shaara and specifically 'The Rising Tide'. Lotsa facts, and insight into the personalities that led the war. Starts before the Americans join the African campaign, and ends just as Operation Overlord is about to be implemented. Am now reading the sequel: 'The Steel Wave'.

The 2nd book of Shaara's trilogy continues the remarkable sense of being in on history. I've got the last book now and can't wait to keep turning the pages! I'm sure it will be kind of sad when I finish the last book. But, hey! we win in the end.

A well written narrative about the North African/Mediterranean campaigns of world war 2 with just enough artistic license to be gripping but enough historical consistency to be an excellent read for a history student. I always memorize facts better when I have a story and context to go with them. Jeff Shaara's books never cease to give me that story.

I continue to look forward to each book written by Jeff Shaara. He is a gifted author. He always provides insights to the major leaders involved in each of his novels. I enjoy getting to know more about the personalities and how decisions were made. He does such a good job of intertwining historical characters with fictional characters.

The author continues to impress me as a master storyteller. The style and formula of story building that his father developed is put to a quite effective use by the author. I am looking forward to continuing this saga.

Great insight into decision making and personalities. Didn't learn anything new but really confirms no plan survives first contact with the enemy. As both an Army and Air Force veteran I still wonder if we learned from WWII, that air power is awesome, but the only way to hold ground involves boots.

Jeff Shaara really likes the gory political details behind the scenes of the major battles he describes. Sometimes I had to slog through what seemed to be really dull to me. There was enough action to keep me interested, and Shaara does a good job giving both the big picture and the details on the ground.