The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany

Ambrose has done several of this books and after awhile you see that he does repeat himself now and then but this is such a powerful account of the regular soldiers view of WW2 that is should be mandatory reading for all.

Many reviewers gave this a better rating than I did, most likely because they knew better than I what type of book it is. I haven't finished it yet mostly because I read for pleasure. this book is, to me, disjointed and seems to jump from one situation to another with no common thread. Perhaps later on it will change but I grew tired of waiting for a story to emerge. Many parts were familiar to me in that I had read the same thing from other authors about the same time period. It seemed to me the author took interviews from individuals and put them together in a book. If this is of interest to you then it may be good for you, if you want a story line not so much.

Ambrose captures the atmosphere and the details of the bloody fighting that followed D-day. It is especially illuminating to read the testimony of the German soldiers. Unless a person has participated in a real war, it is impossible to visualize what it is really like; but Ambrose brings us closer.

In reading this book it brought to light the struggles of the soldiers and the heroism of many to accomplish victory . The life of the soldier especially in Dec. 1944- Feb. 1945 was a difficult one but the comradeship expressed in the book reveals the togetherness needed to win the war. Comments I concerning the generals and their thoughts regarding how the war should have been run also sheds light upon the struggles that existed., The book beings to light my childhood days during the war when our house was an air raid warden headquarters. I remember driving through downtown Baltimore one time and we were the only vehicle and upon arriving out our house there were many people because a u boat had been sighted off the east coast. Thanks for such an entertaining and factual account.

If I were in charge, this would be required reading in our schools. Stephen wrote a comprehensive report that tells more about WWII than any other place I've seen. He notes in the end that writing this brought many soldiers to write more and send to him.
Excellent book!

If I were in charge, this would be required reading in our schools. Stephen wrote a comprehensive report that tells more about WWII than any other place I've seen. He notes in the end that writing this brought many soldiers to write more and send to him.
Excellent book!

Ambrose is an excellent storyteller. The stories of these ordinary men (like Deacon) kept me interested to the end. Made me even more appreciative of the tremendous sales sacrifices made by this generation. One drawback for me: at times, I did get lost in some of the details.

It is difficult to describe the fear, boredom, inconvenience and suffering front line soldiers go through but this book gets as close as it gets. This should be required reading of every American but especially those who were raised in the era of prosperity and now have the gall to burn the American flag. The picture of the homemade American flag being raised over the Polish POWS camp is in stark contrast to the flag burners of today both domestically and foreign.

Captures the horror of war unlike any other book I have read.

I read this book and The Longest Day after I visited the Normandy beaches. Ambrose is an excellent historiam. As I read this book it dawned on me on reason why there are few recountings of battle fatigue or PTSD with these Citizen Soldiers. The attrition rates for front line units were often over 100%, simply most of those soldiers did not survive to be afflicted.

With the Russians attacking from the east and the US, English, French and the rest of allied forces attacking from the west, WWII became a battle of attrition that the Germans could not sustain.

This is the second copy that I have purchased for my older brother. People keep borrowing it and never returning it because it is such a great read! Love the soldiers letters and stories that are included in it.

Citizen Soldiers has a wealth of eye witness info about the battles in Europe from D-Day to the surrender of Germany. And when looking at life basically through a straw, the view is good. The problem with this attempt is that Ambrose has a thesis, which I will quote from a caption of one of the pictures, and which summarizes his thesis: "But in the end , what beat the Wehrmacht was not so much equipment as men. The GIs had proven themselves; here was the fruit of their victory.

Well yes, the GI was a great instrunent in WWII. But Ambrose likes to attribute all of WWII Europe from D-Day to the fall of Berlin to US GIs, well, pardon me, but there was another story here, and it's not so feel good. Montgomery's idiotic adventure to glorify himself with Operation Market Garden, which ended in disaster. Ambrose devotes a few pages to an epic disaster that was eventually made into an epic film (A Bridge Too Far--also the book by Cornelius Rryan). In sum, Ambrose, of the Eisenhauer Center, has a definite ideological bent, namely making US look good and wonderful and everything look like they deserved to be taken. His intense focus on the grunts is good and something that needs to be reiterated about every war so as to remind the rest of us that war is hell. Still, this book is a piece of feel-good propaganda so narrow in its focus that we can't get out of the trenches between Normandy and the surrender of May 1945.

As usual Dr. Ambrose writes an excellent piece of history from a usually untold point of view. It was an immersive experience. My father was in WWII
and entered Europe 2 weeks after D-Day and was there until after V-E Day. I got a mere glimpse of what he must have seen through his eyes.

Great history of the US Army in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) without reading like a history book!
It is riveting an engaging and gives insights at all levels from privates in foxholes to Colonels and Generals in the rear.
Gave an even deeper appreciation for the "Greatest Generation!"

Very hard to put this book down. Obviously Ambrose's works on World War 2 are more focused on D-Day and the northern Western Front, but you can't find a much better work that details the grittiness of combat in this theater of operations. I would definitely recommend this to ANY student of World War 2.

Based on thousands of interviews with survivors from both sides, this book is much more than just an outline of the progress of the U. S. Army in Europe after D-day - the author includes discussion of strategic errors, treatment of prisoners of war, etc. Recommended for the library of anyone who is interested in WWII.

An absolutely stellar retelling of the war in Europe from the soldiers' point of view, not that of the generals. I highly recommend this book to anyone with even the remotest interest in World War II, and to those who don't have an interest.

Great read. I've read several books on the Battle of the Bulge & this is by far the best. Comprehensive, brings you to the front line, and organized to allow the reader to follow the chronology & understand the strategies of the allied & German armies.

I was putting up with misspellings an grammatical errors and the now barely acceptable use of "gauntlet" meaning "gantlet", but "shank mechanic" (For giving out salt pills??!!) instead of "chancre mechanic" (Because the medics treated venereal disease.) was downright dumb.

And, the maps were unreadable on my Kindle.