The Second Front

World War II #13

by Douglas Botting

Recreates the Allied commando raid on Dieppe in August, 1942, the drama of D-Day, and the struggle to penetrate Hitler's Europe

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, War, World War II, Military Fiction, Reference

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unless you're familiar with the nomenclature of the Second World War, Time-Life's The Second Front won't register as the book that really should have been called D-Day. Not that these mail-order volumes were too concerned with any given title's marketability, since you got them in whatever order the publisher decided to send them to you. But it really is about the invasion of Normandy (another better title, perhaps), from the Germans' preparations to defend those beaches, through the failed attempt at Dieppe, to the day itself and the few weeks that followed until the Allies managed to get a stable foothold in Northern France. It's a story of mistakes, especially on the German side, and of ingenuity (with great diagrams of the funky tanks created by the British to handle the beach attack). As usual, with lots of pictures (the Life Magazine part of this), though historians will cry at the story of why there are so few pics of D-Day itself. A solid compendium of the events of the day, those that led up to it and its immediate results.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've now read through about 2/3 of the books in this series and found this to be one of the most engaging volumes, and one of the quickest reads, in the set. Botting provides a great overview of the preparations for D-Day and for the battle itself, with its mentions of individual heroics and tragedies, strategies and misadventures, including some narrative viewpoints from the German side. Though I've read quite a bit on WWII, including a couple of books on D-Day, I'd not heard of the tragic raid on Dieppe, which really deserves more attention than it apparently gets.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the battle that truly decided the war. Find out how we almost didn't make it in time to save Russia, and help end the Nazi threat.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the speedier reads of the series. I enjoyed the stories from both sides of the front.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, in-depth look at the Normandy invasion, operation Overlord. Each aspect of the operation is broken down and told with great detail.

[Robert Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.

[Cws]

XOS-940.54B

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, definitive account of the planning and execution of D-Day.