D-Day

The Battle for Normandy

By: Antony Beevor

Narrated by: Cameron Stewart

Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

"Glorious, horrifying...D-Day is a vibrant work of history that honors the sacrifice of tens of thousands of men and women." (Time)

Beevor's Ardennes 1944: The Battle of the Bulge is now available from Viking Books.

Renowned historian Antony Beevor, the man who "single-handedly transformed the reputation of military history" (The Guardian) presents the first major account in more than 20 years of the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Paris. This is the first book to describe not only the experiences of the American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers, but also the terrible suffering of the French caught up in the fighting. Beevor draws upon his research in more than 30 archives in six countries, going back to original accounts and interviews conducted by combat historians just after the action. D-Day is the consummate account of the invasion and the ferocious offensive that led to Paris' liberation.

©2009 Anthony Beevor (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

"Absorbing... The reader finished this accessible history with the sense he has had a 360-degree look at Operation Overlord and its multinational cast... Terrifing reading." (USA Today)

"A dramatic, important, and instructive story, and Beevor tells it surpassingly well." (The Washington Post)

"Where the book really scores is in its eye for the operational detail and its vivid reconstructions of the experience of battle, as unavoidable courage mixes with arbitrary tragedy." (Lawrence Freedman, Foreign Affairs)

Outstanding!

Best book, best reader. Listened twice. Highly recommend it both to experts and novices. Endlessly informing and entertaining. Get it!

Well written and researched history

Aside from some minor errors regarding weapons and vehicles, this history is very thorough and detailed. It provides some interesting insights into lesser known aspects of the Normandy campaign and avoids triumphalist biases by recounting the horrors, tragedies, and atrocities as well as the heroic deeds. The narration is unfortunately a distraction, as the narrator switches back and forth between badly done accents. I would’ve preferred him staying with his own accent and allowing the book’s content to speak for itself. All in all, this is still a very worthwhile listen and deserves its place in the historiography of D-Day and the battle for Normandy.

Truly remarkable

Many books written on this subject, but not

With the detail of the diaries and officers

Great book but D-Day is not the main thrust

I enjoyed listening to this book but the actual D-Day was only a small portion of it. Most of the book was detailing the slow march to Paris. Again, very interesting stuff and it was read very well but not what I was expecting.

Great Coverage of a Famous Campaign

A rare, well-balanced account of the Normandy campaign from D-Day to the liberation of Paris. Drawing on sources from all the participating armies, Beevor provides an accessible and enjoyable retelling of the action, with enough new information to keep even a seasoned armchair general happy!

Mandatory Before You Visit St. Mere Eglise

If you could sum up D-Day in three words, what would they be?

Authoritative

What other book might you compare D-Day to and why?

Longest Day, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Two Sisters of Sinai

What does Cameron Stewart bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A careful read without passion

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO

Any additional comments?

This is the verve, the color, the five thousand and the twenty foot view. This is entrancing, careful,

A fantastic telling of the Normandy campaign

This audible of Beevor’s seminal work is beyond reproach with correct pronunciations of all French locale and French and German names and ranks. Should all works be this good! Even if you have purchased the book, especially if you have purchased the book, do yourself a favor and get this version also.

Beevor gets it right

I've read two of the author's books and part of a third. This would be the fourth book by this author. What I like about Beevor's histories is that he presents the subject from a broad range of perspectives. Like past books, in D-Day he examines the roles of the generals, the colonels and majors,and the grunts of both sides. Of equal importance, he brings to life the civilians and their roles and outcomes from this event. I came away appreciating the sacrifice, pain and desparation of the many who participated in D-Day. I recommend this book.

On the "con" side, the narration is weird in places. The narrator -- Cameron Stewart -- who is obviously English, sounds goofy and cartoonish when he tries to quote Americans in the narrative. He does a good job with all the other accents, but he makes all the US characters sound like warehouse workers from Brooklyn. The narration is the only reason I didn't give this book five stars.

Excellent

Narrator has got to better with an American accent. We all do not sound like we just had deviated septum surgery.

A good listen

This is auperior tk Beevor's other offerings related to Stalingrad and Crete. I enjoyed how Beevor used the full names of the divisions/battalions. This was a very thorough treatment of D-Day that appropriately included all of the necessary preceding information and took the listener all the way through to the liberation of Paris.