This is an eminently readable book, one that most readers -- even those without interest in military or history books -- will find impossible to put down, even though the outcome is well known. Cornelius Ryan brings surprising clarity to the multi-faceted D-Day operation, allowing us to view the events of June 6, 1944 from many perspectives: German, French, British, Canadian and American. My only complaint with "The Longest Day" -- a quibble, really -- is that the soft-cover version I purchased lacked any maps, which would have been useful for a geographically-challenged reader such as me.
If you've seen the movie, I'd encourage you to read the book. If you haven't seen the movie, read the book and then rent the movie. You'll find it an enjoyable experience, worthy of all the 5-star ratings you see here.
There is a virtual cornucopia of information presented here, and Ryan's approach is scrupulously faithful to the facts, all of them, regardless of the source. Therefore, there is a great deal of attention paid not only to the recollections and experiences of the Allied assault troops, but to German defenders and French civilians caught in the terrible crossfire of the opposing forces. This was the book that originated the man-on-the-ground perspective that has been subsequently used to such advantage both by Ryan and number of notable others. There is little apparent effort here to color the results and make the Allies more circumspect and less provocative in making and activating their star-crossed assault. One gets the sense on reading this, as with each of Ryan's three books on the European campaign, that this is the whole story as best he could determine it, and he makes an extraordinary effort to include as much relevant information by way of using both recollection and contextual data to bolster a comprehensive picture of the battles as they unfolded all over Normandy and its environs.
The late author Ryan was one of a handful of masterful storytellers and historians who emerged from the Second World War to chronicle its events so masterfully. Like John Toland, William Shirer, and a number of notable others, Ryan illuminated and familiarized a generation of readers with the human stories of war and destruction, and brought these otherwise unbelievable and incomprehensible experiences home to a waiting world of ordinary and otherwise bewildered citizens. This is one of the best of the efforts, shining the light of truth on one of the greatest moments in modern history, when the Allies stood fatefully in the breach, about to take the European continent back by force of arms from the terrible totalitarian forces that had stolen it so cruelly and violently four years before.
What the movie lacks in detail, the book has. 3 hours of film cannot begin to scratch the surface the way the book does. Mr. Ryan plunges into details about everything involved with D-Day, and not just shooting and fighting. There are stories about newlyweds, converted gamblers, families at home, and from both sides of the beach. Somehow he manages to cover in a bit over 350 pages, almost all that is important about D-Day. What a daunting tast this must have been! But let me say this, Mr. Ryan achieves a level of wrting quality that is very rare.
This book goes from top to bottom of the chain of command, Supreme Commander to private soldier, all have their stories told in grand fashion, but never long winded. The reading flys by, and you'll have to hang on to the book, or so it'll feel. It never gets slow, but moves from page to page with a determination that most books don't have.
If you know the ground, this book will be a great pleasure. If you don't know the ground, then you will have a great picture of it when you get there. If you like history, this is a read that will be an event in your study and/or enjoyment of the subject. It's even better the second time.
Read it now!