On June 6, 1944, American, British and Canadian troops stormed the beaches at Normandy, France and commenced an ground war against Nazi Germany. The European Theatre was marked by brutal fighting that saw high numbers of casualties on all sides of the conflict. In the end, Nazi Germany fell to allied forces and accepted an unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945, commonly known as VE Day. The Japanese military continued to fight and remained defiant until two atomic bombs forced it too into surrending to Allied forces. VJ Day marked the end to World War II and the world breathed a sign of relief. For the United States Army, the European Theatre was a hard fought campaign that no one ever wanted to see again. Author Stephen Ambrose has composed a breathtaking account of the Army’s mission from the beaches at Normandy until the Allies seized Berlin in May, 1945.
It should be noted that this book is focused on the army in particular and not the other branches of the armed forces such as the Marines and Air Force. While the author does discuss air warfare during the conflict, the focus never wavers from the army. This is the grunt’s view of the war, in all of its horror and glory. Some readers may find the subject matter tough to read. The author pulls no punches and the descriptions of events that take place sometimes contain graphic details that bring home the horrors of war. But to accurately capture the gritty reality of the army’s mission, it is necessary.
As to be expected, the book follows the war’s timeline so that we can see the progression of the army’s efforts, their failurs and ultimate success. The Allied command are driven by the former General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) and General George Patton (1888-1945). Even General William Westmoreland (1914-2005) commander of U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam during the Vietnam War makes an appearance. But make no mistake this is Eisenhower and Patton’s show, with each serving as the focus of a significant portion of the book, in particular when the European Theatre reaches middle to late 1944. The story is exciting and the pace is quick, with a significant number of names and places that will require extensive note taking.
Ambrose does an incredible job of covering not just the battles but all aspects of life as an infrantry soldier commonly known as a grunt. Life in infantry is tough, thankless and also deadly. Enemy soldiers, shells, mines and even freak accidents are the constant array of threats faced by the grunts. Europe is revealed as vast landscape of different terrains, some favorable for combat and others such as the Hurtgen Forest, seeming to come out of a horror film. And as Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) let his paranoia consume him, both sides settled in for a long and brutal fight. But the Allies remained determined and during the Europeant Theatre, it soon becomes clear that Germany would lose the war. The author discusses the German war effort, providing critical facts as to how and why it was no match for Allied forces in a protacted struggle.
On the American side, there are areas of confusion and even critical failure. Further, the plague known as trench foot proved to be as damaging as casualties that occurred in battle. Ambrose explores the trench foot issue, explaining just how much of an impact it hand on the infantry and troop supply. It is critical to understanding just how dangerous life on the front lines was during the war.
The United States Army had committed itself to eliminating Adolf Hitler and restoring peace to the world. However, at home, the United State still had yet to face its own problem of Jim Crow and open discrimination against its minority citizens. Ambrose does not shy away from the topic and sheds light on the racism that was nearly system wide in the military during the war. However, he also shows how black G.I.s served and proved themselves to be as good as others soldiers on the battlefield. The time he devotes to the topic does justice to the black soldiers who served in World War II including my great-grandfather Floyd Davision (1913-1988). I can only imagine what he saw, heard and experienced as a black soldier in a time when segregation was still the law of the land.
The number of facts provided in the book are staggering, yet it does not feel overwhelming any point in the book. The narrative flows freely and the author writes in a style that is gripping and brings the past to life as we move across Europe with sights set on Berlin. In what can only be described as bizarre, Hitler had decided to conduct military planning himself, rendering his generals almost useless. It was pure insanity and Ambrose examines the mistakes made by Hitler that sealed Germany’s fate several times before the war was officially over. Readers will find themselves scratching their heads at Hitler’s actions. However, Eisenhower and other commanders were waiting for him to slip up and when he did, the gloves came off and the Army went to work. It had a job to do and would not stop until Berlin fell into Allied hands. With the Red Army closing in from the east and America from the west, Hitler knew his fate was sealed and took his own life thus evading justice at Nuremberg. The nation he left behind was in ruins and Ambrose provides photos of the devastation. It is said that picture sometimes speaks a thousand words. They certainly do here in this book.
The battle to defeat Nazism was long and bloody but also a display of American and Soviet military might. In the story at hand, the U.S. Army rose to the occasion and took many bumps along the way. From start to finish the story is written beautifully there should be no doubt that the American campaign in World War II changed the war and the course of history. As each year passes, more veterans join the ranks of the deceased, taking with them countless memories of the war. Their names will be forever linked to it but for some veterans, Ambrose has given them a moment of fame in a book that provides a thorough examination of experienced military planning and execution. When its country needed them, the citizen soldiers of the U.S. Army rose to the occasion and showed the German menace the power of democracy and freedom. Highly recommended.
ISBN-10: 068848015
ISBN-13: 978-0684848013
Those of you who follow my blog probably know by now that I have covered quite a number of books regarding Northern Ireland the conflict known as “The Troubles”. My curiousity with the conflict in Northern Ireland stems partly from my love of history and partly from my visit to Ireland in 2016. I sought to fully understand the battle being waged by Republicans to unify the country and the opposition mounted by Loyalist who remain in support of British rule. Author Tim Pat Coogan has written of the 1916 Easter 
It is simply amazing that eighty-one years after his death, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) continues to be part of American pop culture. The term “Freudian slip” is still used by professionals of all walks. It has been many years since I have read his work, in fact my memories of studying Freud come mainly from my time in college. A neighbor in my building needed to off-load some books and among the prized possessions was a group of Freud’s works. I picked them out rathern than see them head off to recycling, believing that even in the digital age, good books in print still have a place in every library.
A colleague gave me this book as a gift during the holiday season, mainly due to his knowledge of my fondness for history. I quickly made a mental note to give it a read in the near future. When I saw the title, I was slightly puzzled at the term “The Forgotten 500”. I have read books on World War II but none mentioned any 500 forgotten soldiers. Upon closer inspection, I soon began to realize why I had not heard the story. At the time the mission occurred, it was carefully hidden by the State Department and Office of Strategic Services who did not wish to jeopardize the lives of any remaining U.S. soldiers still trapped behind enemy lines. Further, in the years that followed, the the story faded into the annals of military history regarding the second world war. Even my father, who is an ardent World War II buff, has never mentioned this story. Our next discussion will certainly be interesting.
I was in search of a quick read and saw this book which I had added previously to my list of books to buy. In my neighborhood, there is a building with a mural dedicated to Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and as I walk past each time, I think of the fact that so many years after her death, she is still revered by millions of people both in the United States and in her native Mexico. In September, 1925, Frida was a passenger on a bus with her boyfriend Alejandro Gómez Arias. Their bus collided with a street car and left Kahlo with devastating injuries. She suffered broken bones in several parts of her body and the accident displaced three vertebrae in her back. She never fully recovered from the accident and was plagued with constant pain until her death on July 13, 1954. On August 21, 1929, she married Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and accompanied him to the United States, first landing in San Francisco, while he worked as painter. Over course of her time living in the United States and later visiting, she received medical treatment for the lingering effects of the 1925 bus accident. She never failed to write home to her mother whom she loved deeply. Those letters have been translated into English and are composed here to show readers the very intimate relationship between mother and daughter.
When this book came up as a recommendation, I thought back to the movie ‘
If you have ever listened to a song by Sam Cooke (1931-1964), then I am sure you can agree that no one is ever the same after hearing his voice. My parents and grandparents played his albums and knew many of his songs by memory, singing them with as much passion as Cooke did while on stage. For millions of black Americans, Sam Cooke was the best singer of his time and his death on December 11, 1964, sent music fans into mourning as one of the most beloved singers in America was laid to rest. Today, almost fifty-six years after his death, the songs he produced sound as if they were recorded yesterday. In fact, earlier today, I listened yet again to ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ which many people believe to be his best recording. Spike Lee opted to use it in the 1992 film ‘Malcolm X’, in the scene where Malcolm (Denzel Washington) walks toward the Audubon Ballroom and his fate after parking his car. Cooke’s music has stood the test of time and will continue to do so. But just who was the real Sam Cooke?
June 30, 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was formed after fifty-two years of Belgian colonization. Its charismatic leader, Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961), served as an inspiration and hope for the people of Congo, who wished to govern themselves and move their country into a new direction. Less than one year later on January 17, 1961, Lumumba was executed in Katanga as a result of a coup by military colonel Joseph Mobutu (1930-1997). The assassination and seizure of power by Mobutu, set in motion a cycle of violence that has continued for more than five decades. Between 1994 and 2003, the conflict known as “Africa’s first world war” ravaged the country and caused the deaths of an estimated five million people. Rebel groups continue to operate in various regions of the country, continuing the system of violence. In 2005, Anjan Sundaram was finishing his final semester at Yale University, where he graduated with a degree in advanced mathematics. After forming a friendship with a cashier, he made the decision to abandon a career in corporate American and move to the Congo, where he would ply his trade as a foreign correspondent in one of the most tumultuous places on earth. This book titled “Stringer’ is a memoir of his time in the Congo and the many people that became a part of his life.
On Easter Sunday, my mother would have my brother and I watched the epid Hollywoof Film ‘The Ten Commandements’. It is one Chartlon Heston’s (1923-2008) best roles and his agtonist in the film, Yul Brynner (1920-1985), delivers an equally compelling performance a Ramesses II. In fact, it remains the film by which I have always recognized Brynner. However, like most great stars of his era, often called the “Golden Era of Hollywood”, there was more to his life than the public was able to see. His son Rock Brynner decided to turn memories of his childhood into this memoir of the time he spent with his father, one of Hollywood’s leading men.
Many years have passed since I studied philosophy in college. Names such as Kant and Freud were part of my regularly assigned reading. However, one name I was not particularly exposed to was Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), the late Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who is widely held high regard as a pioneer in the field of psychology. I saw this biography on Amazon and decided to take another look at his life and beliefs. When starting the book I had no judgments about Jung but was sure I would learn a new way of looking at the human mind and what lies behind our thoughts and actions. And while I did find some very interesting concepts put forth by Jung, there is far more to the book than meets the eye.
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