The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II | Jeff Shaara | Another incredible book by Jeff Shaara

The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II | Jeff Shaara | Fantastic!

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The Steel Wave: A ...

	The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II Jeff Shaara Ballantine Books, 2008 - 528 pages average customer review:based on 38 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Jeff Shaara, America?s premier author of military historical fiction, brings us the centerpiece of his epic trilogy of the Second World War.

General Dwight Eisenhower once again commands a diverse army that must find its single purpose in the destruction of Hitler?s European fortress. His primary subordinates, Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery, must prove that this unique blend of Allied armies can successfully confront the might of Adolf Hitler?s forces, who have already conquered Western Europe. On the coast of France, German commander Erwin Rommel fortifies and prepares for the coming invasion, acutely aware that he must bring all his skills to bear on a fight his side must win. But Rommel?s greatest challenge is to strike the Allies on his front, while struggling behind the lines with the growing insanity of Adolf Hitler, who thwarts the strategies Rommel knows will succeed.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Jesse Adams, a no-nonsense veteran of the 82nd Airborne, parachutes with his men behind German lines into a chaotic and desperate struggle. And as the invasion force surges toward the beaches of Normandy, Private Tom Thorne of the 29th Infantry Division faces the horrifying prospects of fighting his way ashore on a stretch of coast more heavily defended than the Allied commanders anticipate?Omaha Beach.

From G.I. to general, this story carries the reader through the war?s most crucial juncture, the invasion that altered the flow of the war, and, ultimately, changed history.

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Another incredible book by Jeff Shaara

When you read books by Jeff Shaara you feel you are there in the moment and action. This trilogy of WWII efforts in Europe should replace the history text books and be required reading for all students. I learn more about America's history from reading Jeff Shaara's books than from reading any non-fiction accounts. In this book he does an especially great job of bringing the reader into the minds of both Eisenhower and Rommell.

Fantastic!

This one kept me turning the pages! I've read each of Shaara's novels, and this is one of the best. This is not a book focusing just on the events along the Normandy coast on the morning of June 6, 1944; nor is it a story about one primary character. The strength of Shaara's writing is his ability to blend the stories of several key characters together, which, in the end, tells a greater story of a time in history. And it is anything but boring! The book is sewn together through the eyes of three main characters: General Dwight Eisenhower, General Erwin Rommel, and Sergeant Jesse Adams (a paratrooper dropped just behind Utah beach in the early hours of June 6). As the reader moves through the story, he/she sees events through the eyes of the various characters, lives the stresses, fears, highs and lows with each of them: Eisenhower's exhaustive communications with the likes of Patton, Churchill, Montgomery, and the strain of making decisions that can mean life or death to thousands; Rommel's frustration as he tries to field an army of men and armor to fight back the allied forces, only to realize that every movement must be approved by Hitler beforehand; Adams' exhaustion, fear, and apprehension as he and his men push deeper into enemy territory and encounter snipers, mortar attacks, and the loss of friends and countrymen. The stories blend well as Shaara takes you from one character to the next, allowing the reader to see the overall picture of what happened in France during that period. I highly recommend this book!

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Great Reading

One of the fastest weeks of my life! I noticed as I approached the end of the book, I started to slow down, trying to savor every moment. I only wish, and this is NO CRITICISM, that some day. Mr Shaara would turn his wonderful talents to the war in the Pacific.

Great for a Moderate History Buff!

Jeff Shaara did an excellent job of putting D-day and the following invasion together in `The Steel Wave', and you get a real sense of the immensity, the inefficiency, the losses, the heroism, as well as the enemy's lack of cohesion and spontaneity (due of course to the `leadership' of Hitler). I like Jeff Shaara's story-telling and the way he gets into the heads of the characters of his stories, both the commanders and the foot-soldier types. He gives the flavor of the experience instead of the rote recital of the events, the dates, and the names. Although you don't get the entire story, you get good slices of the events. For a moderate buff like me, that is just what I wanted.
It was a treat for me to hear people like Ike, Patton, and Churchill talk in private and even think. You get the feeling that they are real people seeing things develop before their eyes. Historical fiction is dangerous and tricky, but I trust that Jeff Shaara is careful and accurate in his presentations.

`Steel Wave' doesn't cover every inch of WWII, actually the late-middle portion of the war in the European Theater, including D-day and the battle for France. You get a flavor for what it was like to be on the front lines, the horror, the confusion, the heroes, the cowards; and you find out what it is like in Allied headquarters with Ike, and Monty, and Churchill, and Patton, and the others. You also get to see Hitler and Rommel, and other German generals in Hitler's headquarters.

It impressed me that the Allied strategies were so political, important for keeping the Allies together. Montgomery, at least according to this book, was a sluggish warrior but a hero nonetheless to folks in Britain. The War could have been over quicker had he been replaced, but the political fallout would have been overwhelming. Ike even denied Churchill's request to fire his fellow Brit.

You get to know the salty Patton, forever seeming like the George C. Scott character of the great 1970 movie. He was the one guy who actually seemed to love war! On the other side of the picture, you follow an American sergeant and his unit from the 82nd Airborne through their training and then combat experiences in Britain and France.

Rommel is also given quite a bit of play. No question that he was a great general and a great man. It was a good thing for us that Hitler was his boss, constantly getting in his way with his poor judgement.

These are remarkable stories. I highly recommend it for any moderate history buff like myself.

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and the story continues...

This was a good read. It had all the elements of good historical fiction...well researched and it put you into the minds and the conversations of the era. Mr. Shaara is a good writer, and should be encouraged. This is the 3rd book of his I have read and am now looking forward to the last book in his WWII European Theater trilogy. I am hoping he does the same for the Pacific Theater at some point.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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