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Landing on the Edge of Eternity: Twenty-Four Hours at Omaha Beach
A visceral and momentous narrative of the first twenty-four hours of D-Day on Omaha the most dramatic Allied landing of World War II.
Early in 1944, German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel took a look at the sloping sands and announced "They will come here!” He was referring to "Omaha Beach”. The beach was then transformed into three miles of lethal, bunker-protected arcs of fire, with seaside chalets converted into concrete strongpoints, with layers of barbed wire and mines.
When Company A of the US 116th Regiment landed on Omaha Beach in D-Day’s first wave on 6th June 1944, it lost 96% of its effective strength. This was the beginning of the historic day that Landing on the Edge of Eternity narrates hour by hour—midnight to midnight—tracking German and American soldiers fighting across the beachhead.
The Wehrmacht thought they had bludgeoned the Americans into submission yet by mid-afternoon, the American troops were ashore. Why were the casualties so grim, and how could the Germans have failed? Juxtaposing the American experience—pinned down, swamped by a rising tide, facing young Wehrmacht soldiers fighting desperately for their lives, Kershaw draws on eyewitness accounts, memories, letters, and post-combat reports to expose the true horrors of Omaha Beach.
Landing on the Edge of Eternity is a dramatic historical ride through an amphibious landing that looked as though it might never succeed.
Early in 1944, German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel took a look at the sloping sands and announced "They will come here!” He was referring to "Omaha Beach”. The beach was then transformed into three miles of lethal, bunker-protected arcs of fire, with seaside chalets converted into concrete strongpoints, with layers of barbed wire and mines.
When Company A of the US 116th Regiment landed on Omaha Beach in D-Day’s first wave on 6th June 1944, it lost 96% of its effective strength. This was the beginning of the historic day that Landing on the Edge of Eternity narrates hour by hour—midnight to midnight—tracking German and American soldiers fighting across the beachhead.
The Wehrmacht thought they had bludgeoned the Americans into submission yet by mid-afternoon, the American troops were ashore. Why were the casualties so grim, and how could the Germans have failed? Juxtaposing the American experience—pinned down, swamped by a rising tide, facing young Wehrmacht soldiers fighting desperately for their lives, Kershaw draws on eyewitness accounts, memories, letters, and post-combat reports to expose the true horrors of Omaha Beach.
Landing on the Edge of Eternity is a dramatic historical ride through an amphibious landing that looked as though it might never succeed.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published November 6, 2018
63 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Robert Kershaw
23 books69 followersBorn in 1950 and a graduate of Reading University, Robert Kershaw joined the Parachute Regiment in 1973.
He served numerous regimental appointments until selected to command the 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (10 PARA). He attended the German Staff College (Fuhrungsakademie) spending a further two years with the Bundeswehr as an infantry, airborne and arctic warfare instructor. He speaks fluent German and has extensive experience with NATO, multinational operations and all aspects of operations and training.
His active service includes several tours in Northern Ireland, the First Gulf War and Bosnia. He has exercised in many parts of the world and served in the Middle East and Africa. His final army appointment was with the Intelligence Division at HQ NATO in Brussels Belgium.
On leaving the Army in 2006 he became a full-time author of military history as well as a consultant military analyst. He has written a paper on the military impact of HIV AIDS for Cranfield University and more recently was the historical editor for ParaData, an on-line archive for the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces.
He served numerous regimental appointments until selected to command the 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (10 PARA). He attended the German Staff College (Fuhrungsakademie) spending a further two years with the Bundeswehr as an infantry, airborne and arctic warfare instructor. He speaks fluent German and has extensive experience with NATO, multinational operations and all aspects of operations and training.
His active service includes several tours in Northern Ireland, the First Gulf War and Bosnia. He has exercised in many parts of the world and served in the Middle East and Africa. His final army appointment was with the Intelligence Division at HQ NATO in Brussels Belgium.
On leaving the Army in 2006 he became a full-time author of military history as well as a consultant military analyst. He has written a paper on the military impact of HIV AIDS for Cranfield University and more recently was the historical editor for ParaData, an on-line archive for the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 2, 2019
Saving Private Ryan with 10 times the carnage. Ten times as captivating.
Kershaw R. has a Hastingsian flair for dispelling myths with a well-chosen citation, such as the impossibility of a broadside pushing a battleship sideways by Newton's Third Law:
"The abrupt effusion of surface spray that came with the flash and blast from the massive guns smoothed the surface of the water. This led many eyewitnesses to assume this outpouring of energy was pushing the huge colossus sideways across the surface".
A single sentence can cement itself into your overall perception of D-Day, for example: only 1/3 of the airborne drops landed into the designated area. A single sentence sparks with wry wit, such as the Official History's choice of words when not a single GI on Omaha, his combat efficiency already blunted by seasickness after 1 to 3 hours of riding up & down the waves in his craft so the fleet could stay out of HA range, could pinpoint from where the scything MG fire suddenly spat: he theoretical plan had not factored in wind, current and tidal conditions, and a well ensconed enemy within the minutiae of a tightly composed timetable, which was going to unravel..
But more often than not, he hits you in the face with the horrors of war:
Balls of flame erupting inside stricken tanks incapacitated crews inside by immediately depriving them of oxygen. They shouted in pain and urgency to clear the way out, and in doing so expelled their air. Veterans often tell stories of crewmembers, clambering out of blazing turrets, who would suddenly give up and inexplicably fall back inside.
Kershaw R. has a Hastingsian flair for dispelling myths with a well-chosen citation, such as the impossibility of a broadside pushing a battleship sideways by Newton's Third Law:
"The abrupt effusion of surface spray that came with the flash and blast from the massive guns smoothed the surface of the water. This led many eyewitnesses to assume this outpouring of energy was pushing the huge colossus sideways across the surface".
A single sentence can cement itself into your overall perception of D-Day, for example: only 1/3 of the airborne drops landed into the designated area. A single sentence sparks with wry wit, such as the Official History's choice of words when not a single GI on Omaha, his combat efficiency already blunted by seasickness after 1 to 3 hours of riding up & down the waves in his craft so the fleet could stay out of HA range, could pinpoint from where the scything MG fire suddenly spat: he theoretical plan had not factored in wind, current and tidal conditions, and a well ensconed enemy within the minutiae of a tightly composed timetable, which was going to unravel..
But more often than not, he hits you in the face with the horrors of war:
Balls of flame erupting inside stricken tanks incapacitated crews inside by immediately depriving them of oxygen. They shouted in pain and urgency to clear the way out, and in doing so expelled their air. Veterans often tell stories of crewmembers, clambering out of blazing turrets, who would suddenly give up and inexplicably fall back inside.
January 5, 2019
Kershaw knows all the details. He served in the British Army in the 70s and his father was among those landing on Gold Beach on D-Day, but knowing the details and writing a readable narrative history are not the same thing.
Thousands of Americans died on D-Day, and despite the fact that Kershaw includes lots of quotations from survivors about the day's events, there is a total absence of "people" in his book. It's 350 pages of strategy and troop movements and jargon. I keep imagining what someone like Erik Larson would have done with this history. He would have picked a handful of individuals, or even small groups, and would have told us their personal stories as the bigger picture developed. Kershaw leaves the people out of it, and as a result, this is a dry, boring, not particularly well-written account of details that only a military person steeped in the technical aspects could appreciate. For the lay-person, Saving Private Ryan probably provides a much richer experience of what that day must have been like. And as much as I loved that movie, I was hoping this book would take me deeper into those stories. Sadly, it didn't.
Thousands of Americans died on D-Day, and despite the fact that Kershaw includes lots of quotations from survivors about the day's events, there is a total absence of "people" in his book. It's 350 pages of strategy and troop movements and jargon. I keep imagining what someone like Erik Larson would have done with this history. He would have picked a handful of individuals, or even small groups, and would have told us their personal stories as the bigger picture developed. Kershaw leaves the people out of it, and as a result, this is a dry, boring, not particularly well-written account of details that only a military person steeped in the technical aspects could appreciate. For the lay-person, Saving Private Ryan probably provides a much richer experience of what that day must have been like. And as much as I loved that movie, I was hoping this book would take me deeper into those stories. Sadly, it didn't.
November 25, 2018
As an interested novice of World War II history, I picked this up thinking I might bounce around the book, looking for new-to-me military details or human interest stories to skim. Hours later, I had gone cover to cover, exhausted both at the epic depth of the tale and also the violence, courage, and humanity reflected on page after page.
I didn't know the almost ridiculous optimism of the original plan, the assumed precise timings (good luck w that), the presumptive 'suicide wave' of American men, those first-landers on Omaha Beach. This was not an assured plan, not a battle well-overseen by commanders, not a lock by any stretch of the imagination.
That such a pivotal moment in American history was so capricious in the breech begs a question: do we succeed via removed (and potentially unrealistic) planning from above, or through brutal and near-nihilistic sacrifices from below? I have seen this imbalance in several of the military books I've read recently, from "The Fighters: Americans in Combat in Afghanistan" to "Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944"; I suspect the question is asked in every war.
I didn't know the almost ridiculous optimism of the original plan, the assumed precise timings (good luck w that), the presumptive 'suicide wave' of American men, those first-landers on Omaha Beach. This was not an assured plan, not a battle well-overseen by commanders, not a lock by any stretch of the imagination.
That such a pivotal moment in American history was so capricious in the breech begs a question: do we succeed via removed (and potentially unrealistic) planning from above, or through brutal and near-nihilistic sacrifices from below? I have seen this imbalance in several of the military books I've read recently, from "The Fighters: Americans in Combat in Afghanistan" to "Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944"; I suspect the question is asked in every war.
April 14, 2019
While I appreciate Robert Kershaw's attempt to present an intimate and focused narrative of the US D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, both the organization of the book's contents and the prose of the story itself conspired to hinder my enjoyment of it. Without delving too deeply into an expansive review, I will note the following points which stayed with me through the reading:
1) The author's attempt to chronicle the timeline of the landing's first twenty-four hours by breaking down chapters and sections into blocks of time came off as feeling forced. Furthermore, it muddied the writing by restricting certain events to specific sections of the book, but did not at all help the continuity of the story. There are many other viable narrative structures that could have worked (theme, emotion, locale, perspective), but this one plainly did not.
2) Kershaw's writing is plagued by tautology and jargon. His constant repetition of actions, explanations, and definitions throughout the book is arrantly distracting, and is directly a product of the book's organization, as described above. The editing is also poor, with numerous spelling errors and an unforgivable lack of consistency with how commas are used. All of this made for some pretty frustrating reading.
3) Similarly, there are no interstitials between the accounts of Axis, Allies, or civilians, which creates confusion as each paragraph jumps back-and-forth from perspective to perspective. There were several times when I had to go back and pore through previous sections to figure out whom the author was "inhabiting" in a given scene – especially when some of the American soldiers happened to have had Germanic surnames.
4) The memorable details one might expect from a narrative with an itemized dramatis personae (Kershaw's "voices") are oddly devoid of character. Though it's obvious that the author spent vast amounts of time reading over first-person accounts of the landings from three sides, there is a distinct lack of individualism in the story – which informs his inability to empathetically and compellingly portray the human condition during this most incredible of days.
5) Kershaw's use of these first-person accounts is, disappointingly, ineffective. There are countless descriptive paragraphs that are first interrupted and then deflated by the insertion of unnecessary quotations from veterans of the event. Whether or not this is meant to add an air of authenticity to the story, it only serves to hinder the author's narrative voice and dull down the flow of the tale. Kershaw actively uses quotations to impede his own process; there are far too many of these when his own words would have done more effectively.
6) There is no measure of analysis whatsoever. Kershaw is so glaringly not a military historian that Landing on the Edge of Eternity leaves one quite sure there are far better accounts of the D-Day experience to consult. His only analytical question is a rhetorical one in the epilogue: "can this be judged as defeat or failure?" Spoiler: he claims that the answer is both, but we are not given much evidence in either direction.
I greatly respect the fact that the author is a long-time military veteran. Despite this and his rather extensive body of work in the field of military history, however, I am uninterested in exploring more of his work.
1) The author's attempt to chronicle the timeline of the landing's first twenty-four hours by breaking down chapters and sections into blocks of time came off as feeling forced. Furthermore, it muddied the writing by restricting certain events to specific sections of the book, but did not at all help the continuity of the story. There are many other viable narrative structures that could have worked (theme, emotion, locale, perspective), but this one plainly did not.
2) Kershaw's writing is plagued by tautology and jargon. His constant repetition of actions, explanations, and definitions throughout the book is arrantly distracting, and is directly a product of the book's organization, as described above. The editing is also poor, with numerous spelling errors and an unforgivable lack of consistency with how commas are used. All of this made for some pretty frustrating reading.
3) Similarly, there are no interstitials between the accounts of Axis, Allies, or civilians, which creates confusion as each paragraph jumps back-and-forth from perspective to perspective. There were several times when I had to go back and pore through previous sections to figure out whom the author was "inhabiting" in a given scene – especially when some of the American soldiers happened to have had Germanic surnames.
4) The memorable details one might expect from a narrative with an itemized dramatis personae (Kershaw's "voices") are oddly devoid of character. Though it's obvious that the author spent vast amounts of time reading over first-person accounts of the landings from three sides, there is a distinct lack of individualism in the story – which informs his inability to empathetically and compellingly portray the human condition during this most incredible of days.
5) Kershaw's use of these first-person accounts is, disappointingly, ineffective. There are countless descriptive paragraphs that are first interrupted and then deflated by the insertion of unnecessary quotations from veterans of the event. Whether or not this is meant to add an air of authenticity to the story, it only serves to hinder the author's narrative voice and dull down the flow of the tale. Kershaw actively uses quotations to impede his own process; there are far too many of these when his own words would have done more effectively.
6) There is no measure of analysis whatsoever. Kershaw is so glaringly not a military historian that Landing on the Edge of Eternity leaves one quite sure there are far better accounts of the D-Day experience to consult. His only analytical question is a rhetorical one in the epilogue: "can this be judged as defeat or failure?" Spoiler: he claims that the answer is both, but we are not given much evidence in either direction.
I greatly respect the fact that the author is a long-time military veteran. Despite this and his rather extensive body of work in the field of military history, however, I am uninterested in exploring more of his work.
October 13, 2021
Operation Overlord is certainly the most iconic battle of the Western Front during World War 2. I was first introduced to the violence and grit of this day not through the movie Saving Private Ryan but through tbe video game Medal of Honor Allied Assault. Although it was just a video game, I was conscious enough to realize what a horrific experience it must have been for these men to wait in those landing crafts for the door to drop and allow them to exit just to be cut down by unforgiving machine gun fire. If they were lucky to survive this, they still had to wade through chest deep water, being fired upon by machine guns and mortars, trying to get cover using the very obstacles their engineers were supposed to destroy, only to become pinned downed ok the beach until some miracle happened. Not to mention the horrible conditions they had to endure while traveling from the ships to the beach with a rough sea, canon fire, and risks of being sunk.
The reality is that for Omaha Beach at least, all odds seemed to be against the Allied and the result is that casualties were horrific for the first waves coming ashore. This book offers a very graphic description of the experience from the Allied and German perspectives, not forgetting the French who suffered about 3000 civilian casualties. Far from the idealistic depictions of Fench civilians greeting their American saviours with joy, we actually discover that the French were more concerned with surviving the violence of combats while the Americans were wary of them, assuming that if they stayed instead of feeling inland, it must be because they are German spies. We also discover the numerous obstacles in the forms of bunkers and mines that the Americans had to destroy or cross after the beaches and all the combat tha occurred inland to form a pocket that would allow reinforcements to land.
This is truly a great read about the on the ground experience of soldiers from both sides during those fateful 24 hours and it only makes the reader understand a bit of the tremendous courage those soldiers who landed had and how the Germans never made it easy for them to accomplish their mission.
As a French man, reading this book in 2021, to those Allied soldiers who came to help us, thank you.
The reality is that for Omaha Beach at least, all odds seemed to be against the Allied and the result is that casualties were horrific for the first waves coming ashore. This book offers a very graphic description of the experience from the Allied and German perspectives, not forgetting the French who suffered about 3000 civilian casualties. Far from the idealistic depictions of Fench civilians greeting their American saviours with joy, we actually discover that the French were more concerned with surviving the violence of combats while the Americans were wary of them, assuming that if they stayed instead of feeling inland, it must be because they are German spies. We also discover the numerous obstacles in the forms of bunkers and mines that the Americans had to destroy or cross after the beaches and all the combat tha occurred inland to form a pocket that would allow reinforcements to land.
This is truly a great read about the on the ground experience of soldiers from both sides during those fateful 24 hours and it only makes the reader understand a bit of the tremendous courage those soldiers who landed had and how the Germans never made it easy for them to accomplish their mission.
As a French man, reading this book in 2021, to those Allied soldiers who came to help us, thank you.
June 27, 2019
This book relates the story of the D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach. This was the toughest and best defended. It was the best fortified with several strongpoints with large guns and concrete bunkers. The fields of fire were laid out well with artillery spotted to protect the beach. The beach was laid out with mines and all types of obstacles to prevent a landing. The beach was also full of barbed wire and mines. The defenses were manned by a veteran division, the 352nd, which was not known by the Allies. Their intelligence reports had the German positions manned by secondary troops. The defense of Omaha was bolstered by the guns placed at Point du Hoc
The invasion itself was delayed a day by bad weather. This effected the invasion in several ways. The wind and seas were still heavy with the result that many of the landing craft were blown off course and landing troops became jumbled and disorganized. The clouds kept the bombing mostly grounded and what did go was ineffective as they dropped their bombs behind the coastal defenses. While detailing all the problems that arose, the author describes, often in their own words, how the obstacles were overcome. The author also covers the battle from the German aspect of defense. The book is an excellent account of the battle and what it took for the Americans to overcome all the obstacles and miscalculations to win the beach and begin the liberation of France.
The invasion itself was delayed a day by bad weather. This effected the invasion in several ways. The wind and seas were still heavy with the result that many of the landing craft were blown off course and landing troops became jumbled and disorganized. The clouds kept the bombing mostly grounded and what did go was ineffective as they dropped their bombs behind the coastal defenses. While detailing all the problems that arose, the author describes, often in their own words, how the obstacles were overcome. The author also covers the battle from the German aspect of defense. The book is an excellent account of the battle and what it took for the Americans to overcome all the obstacles and miscalculations to win the beach and begin the liberation of France.
December 11, 2019
Initial Allied bombing missed most of the targets and so did the naval barrage. The Germans were waiting with perfectly sited artillery and their deadly MG 42 machine guns. The Allied invasion began in rough seas with most of the troops seasick and many of them green and untested in battle. Those landing craft that made it to the beach in the positions they were supposed to be in were greeted with deadly accurate enemy fire. Thousands were mowed down in horrific scenes of carnage. Even some of the Germans were taken aback with the bloody scene.
The Germans were sure they were winning and the Americans were sure that they has lost however, they persisted. General Cota, the Rangers and many others pushed on. With close naval gunfire from Allied destroyers who almost beached themselves, the enemy strong points were being knocked out. As the Allies pushed inland, Allied airpower prevented German reinforcements from deploying effectively. That coupled with German errors in judgement from the high command both before and after the invasion along with courageous fighting created the improbable victory.
Excellent viewpoints from both American and German soldiers of various ranks gave you the chilling events as they happened. You feel the fear and chaos of battle as you see friends suffer and die horribly. They were truly "The Greatest Generation".
The Germans were sure they were winning and the Americans were sure that they has lost however, they persisted. General Cota, the Rangers and many others pushed on. With close naval gunfire from Allied destroyers who almost beached themselves, the enemy strong points were being knocked out. As the Allies pushed inland, Allied airpower prevented German reinforcements from deploying effectively. That coupled with German errors in judgement from the high command both before and after the invasion along with courageous fighting created the improbable victory.
Excellent viewpoints from both American and German soldiers of various ranks gave you the chilling events as they happened. You feel the fear and chaos of battle as you see friends suffer and die horribly. They were truly "The Greatest Generation".
February 1, 2024
I generally don't read much military history but have read a number of books about D-Day. This is the latest, and it focuses on Omaha Beach where two U.S. Divisions went ashore and faced the most resistance of all of the landing areas. My father went ashore here with the 1st Infantry Division and talked very little about it, so I have tried to get a better idea of what he experienced through these books. This book differs a little from others I have read (although I have by no means exhausted the literature on this topic) in that Kershaw provides first person perspective from not just U.S. soldiers but also from the German soldiers and French civilians, which gives even more perspective on what our troops faced and how their actions were perceived through the first 24 hours in France. Kershaw is not shy about graphically describing the horrors and carnage.
The book starts a bit slowly, setting up the German defenses and the American planning. Approximately a third of the book is gone before any American boots hit the beach. Once things start rolling, you can't look away. Kershaw also provides good maps at the start of the book to help you understand movements and placements of the various groups.
The book starts a bit slowly, setting up the German defenses and the American planning. Approximately a third of the book is gone before any American boots hit the beach. Once things start rolling, you can't look away. Kershaw also provides good maps at the start of the book to help you understand movements and placements of the various groups.
January 13, 2019
This book takes you to the enormous struggle that the US Forces had at Omaha Beach. Not only do you hear stories/narratives from the US side but also from the German side and the French Civilians that were caught in the middle of this affair. I still believe The Longest Day is the best book in regards to relating the events of D-Day but this book holds it's own. Great for that WWII fan or anyone who likes American History. Great pictures including some of Frank Capa's photos of D-Day. This book details the 24 hours of the Omaha Beach Battle. Great chapter in Beyond the 24 hours relating to what happened to the players afterwards.
January 6, 2020
I'd like to give it 4.5 stars. A spellbinding collection of first person descriptions of the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach. Especially interesting because it interweaves the experiences of the Americans, Germans, and French. I read it in about a 24 hour period which is fitting in that it covers the 24 hours of D-Day but also because I couldn't put it down. Some weird editing and repetition are my only criticisms of an excellent book.
October 4, 2020
Readers of WWII are aware of the messiness of the D-Day attack. Lot's of confusion, misplaced bombing, etc. This story clearly focuses on the first 24 intense hours. The book makes references a couple time to the movie "Saving Private Ryan" regarding the intensity of first approaching the shoreline and the current cemetery honoring our fallen soldiers in France.
A lot of detail from a variety of accounts from those who were there, both Allies and German. A horrible situation for both sides.
A lot of detail from a variety of accounts from those who were there, both Allies and German. A horrible situation for both sides.
July 2, 2022
An absolutely amazing novel about the June 6 landing at Normandy.The graphic language and descriptions are awe inspiring.I know there were many mistakes during the beginning of this amazing WW2 event,but these are largely overshadowed by the heroism of those thousands who lost their lives and for all those continued on with such bravery in what would lead to the beginning of the overthrow of the NAZI Regime and the defeat of Germany in Europe.Please read this amazing book!!
March 15, 2019
This book was simply magnificent. Truly 5 stars.
The narrative almost leaves the reader eating dirt and smelling cordite.
More importantly the maps are AWESOME!
My biggest pet peeve is when history books skimp on maps or they are hard to find. This book has a great set right at the front and I really appreciate that.
Highly recommended.
The narrative almost leaves the reader eating dirt and smelling cordite.
More importantly the maps are AWESOME!
My biggest pet peeve is when history books skimp on maps or they are hard to find. This book has a great set right at the front and I really appreciate that.
Highly recommended.
May 21, 2019
If you're wondering if there's anything new to say about DDay, there is. The key, and great thing, about this book is that we get to follow individual soldiers, on both sides of the conflict, as they go through 24 hours together, fighting each other, at the few kilometers of Omaha Beach. It brings the story to life like no other DDay book has for me since Ambrose's Pegasus Bridge.
February 23, 2020
I enjoyed the book. This is filled with details as it accounts this 24 hour time period. I was at times bogged down by the way he went back and forth between the accounts of German soldiers and the Allied Powers, but kept reading and enjoyed it because of the great attention to detail and tremendous research he lays out in the book.
August 3, 2024
Excellent collection of stories from individuals who fought at Omaha. Stories were put into context of the 1st day's strategy and tactics. I did not agree with the false accusations that Major Cleveland Lytle was a drunk and was removed for cause from the Rangers. Such ridicule were Army fabrications to hide their planning screw-ups. Lytle was justified in the ridicule of his command.
March 5, 2019
The best thing about this works was the blend of Allies, Axis, and civilian narratives on both the individual and large scale spectrum. It gets bogged down in the minutiae very easily lending it to be a bit text book dull/meh at times despite the interesting topic.
April 6, 2019
Landing on the edge of Eternity ...
Explains in detail what the first 24 hours of D-Day was really like for perhaps the most important day in WW2 as seen through many participants on both sides as well as those who got caught up in the battle by accident.
Explains in detail what the first 24 hours of D-Day was really like for perhaps the most important day in WW2 as seen through many participants on both sides as well as those who got caught up in the battle by accident.
May 28, 2019
Excellent.
January 7, 2022
After my second re-read I’m reminded how excellent this book is. Really one of the better D-Day/Omaha Beach books written over the last two decades. Well researched and clearly written.
April 13, 2023
Very well written and all the different storylines flow together flawlessly. I found this a fast paced book that was very hard to put down after I started.
June 27, 2025
Six stars.
March 26, 2019
Good read. Interesting even for one who has read a lot about the Normandy landings.
June 27, 2019
Really wanted to read a good, non-fictional, account of D-Day and just didn’t get into this as much as the reviews made me think I would.
I felt it got mired in details that would mean more for a research paper as opposed to a historical read. The maps and referencing of locations and technical names of all the crafts didn’t do it for me, I wanted the details of the stories and heroic actions more.
I also got lost in the chapter ‘times’. 3:00-4:00 AM....and yet it would go on to share stories of things that happened months ago.
All in all though....wow. I can’t imagine being there, and doing that now, let alone as an 18 year old and knowing the chances of survival are slim. The bravery is something I could never match.
I felt it got mired in details that would mean more for a research paper as opposed to a historical read. The maps and referencing of locations and technical names of all the crafts didn’t do it for me, I wanted the details of the stories and heroic actions more.
I also got lost in the chapter ‘times’. 3:00-4:00 AM....and yet it would go on to share stories of things that happened months ago.
All in all though....wow. I can’t imagine being there, and doing that now, let alone as an 18 year old and knowing the chances of survival are slim. The bravery is something I could never match.
May 23, 2021
I’m sure I’ve read well over a hundred books about World War II including several about D-Day but all the personal detail in this book from all the involved parties sets it apart. I’m so moved by the stories of so much sacrifice, including the remainder of survivors lives.
The chaos of the Day is overwhelming to imagine and I often thought what would I have done? How would I have reacted? So much bravery displayed, so much horror. It’s a very moving read!
The chaos of the Day is overwhelming to imagine and I often thought what would I have done? How would I have reacted? So much bravery displayed, so much horror. It’s a very moving read!
March 14, 2020
Outstanding book, showing what the assault forces faced as they landed and fought their way off, the beaches in Normandy. Excellent day by day account on what fears they had to overcome, as they faced terrible odds and dramatic resistance from the German defenders. It just proves it was their longest day.
June 29, 2024
A brilliant if harrowing read. Thought I would struggle with this but almost couldn't put it down. A very descriptive version of accounts. Thought this would be more about D-Day as a whole but a focus on Omaha was interesting not knowing how close it got to failure. Would recommend!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews