D-Day: The Climatic Battle of World War IIStephen Ambrose, World War II historian and biographer of his idol, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ambrose also wrote the book D -Day: The climatic battle of World War II. His book was published on June 1, 1994, written in honor of the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Most of his book was based on records of interviews he had previously conducted at the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans. (Stern) Ambrose's book is well written and easily understandable. His book is also very well organized and he builds on each section/topic precisely. Ambrose uses numerous sources, some written and some oral, and explains both the importance of the operation and its actual development. The important aspect of this book is that Ambrose gives both sides of the war D-Day, unlike many other books. about D-Day. Another aspect is that "Ambrose devotes most of his text to the American assault on the German position at Omaha Beach" (Walker). Ambrose does an excellent job of highlighting and explaining the details and careful planning involved and all without computer help, soil samples, chemical warfare preparation, false leads and tricks to fend off the Nazis. 175,000 men, 50,000 vehicles, 5,333 ships and nearly 11,000 aircraft were deployed to plan a victory on D-Day. Many men were needed to carry out all the plans and tricks. (Walker)A major theme of “D-Day” is the examination of expectations versus reality. He claims that the allies were underprepared, but were ultimately able to complete what began as a victory. His main point is that although the Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen all fought well, it is understood that they would rather throw baseballs and... middle of paper ... was actually there. Ambrose's book is perhaps best known as a tribute to veterans who fought "the last good war" (Callahan). This seems to be the best narrative history of D-Day, moving precisely from the analysis of strategies to vivid scenes like the defenses of Omaha Beach or the great armada. This book offers the reader an in-depth view of D-Day and the procedures leading up to it. (Reynolds) I found it very well organized and easy to follow despite the large amount of information to follow. . The use of stories from survivors of the landing helped make some of the more boring early reading easier to read. It also provided a more credible account of the events on the beaches. It was an enjoyable and sometimes even humorous read despite the seriousness of the subject. I would recommend this book to everyone.