D-Day: Lieutenant Andy Pope, Normandy, 1944

My Story: Boys

by Bryan Perrett

Jim Dodd is an 18-year-old Second Lieutenant in an infantry battalion, a former Territorial unit. He is younger than many of the men in his platoon, but earns their respect by handling the men well on exercise and looking after their welfare. At the beginning of 1944, his battalion is mobilised and a veteran of the desert war and former POW is sent in as commander. He drives the company mercilessly, flaying them with criticism. After rehearsing its role in the landings on the Normandy coast, Jim's battalion joins the huge armada crossing the Channel, fighters and bombers accompanying them overhead to pound the coastal defences as the landing crafts go in. By the end of D Day, the British and Canadians have established themselves firmly on Juno, Gold and Sword beaches, and the Americans on Utah beach (having sustained heavy losses on Omaha beach - the arena of action in Saving Private Ryan). Jim's battalion goes on to join the fighting in the French hinterland, where Jim realises that his commander's ruthless methods result in a lower loss of life than other companies. Jim goes on to take part in two major operations (Totalise and Tractable) to smash through the German lines. His task is to secure a village and its crossroads in the centre of the enemy escape route. What follows is based on the real-life struggle for Mont Ormel. Jim's company is subjected to constant attacks from the Waffen SS and, as the only unwounded officer left, Jim finds himself in charge of the situation...

Genres: Historical Fiction, War, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Childrens, Diary

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2004

About the author

Bryan Perrett was born in 1934 and educated at Liverpool College. He served in the Royal Armoured Corps, the 17th/21st Lancers, Westminster Dragoons, and the Royal Tank Regiment, and was awarded the Territorial Decoration.A professional military historian for many years, his books include "A History of the Blitzkrieg" and "Knights of the Black Cross - Hitler's Panzerwaffe and its Leaders". His treatise Desert Warfare was widely consulted during the Gulf War. His most recent works, including "Last Stand, At All Costs" and "Against all Odds" examine aspects of motivation. During the Falklands and Gulf Wars Bryan Perrett served as Defense Correspondent to the Liverpool Echo. His books are widely read on both sides of the Atlantic and have been translated into several languages.

Reviews

[Suad Shamma · Rating 1 out of 5]

D-Day did not do it for me, I couldn't enjoy reading it. I felt for a small book, there was a lot of detail in there, and the storyline of Lieutenant Andy Pope was not very interesting. The way the synopsis describes the book was a lot different than the actual experience, which seemed boring and dry.

If this were a typical historical account, it would have gotten a different rating. However, given the fact that this is supposed to be a firsthand account from a fictional character's point of view of events during this historical event, you expect to become more invested and immersed in what was happening.

I found myself having to skim through some sections to get to the facts, because the story itself did not pull me in. There are definitely much better books out there in this series.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book review
By Daniel Meeker
English 9


The book I just got done reading is called D-Day: A second world war soldier 1944, By Bryan Perrett. The book I read is about an 18 year old boy named Andy who wants to join the army when he gets out of High school. Andy’s father was a soldier in World War I and he has heard some stories about him but not much because his dad doesn’t like to talk about it that much. But what Andy doesn't know is what he is getting himself into when he signs up for the army. Andy has just turned eighteen and just got out of high school to. He has had good grades in high school so he should be able to become and officer.
After a lot of training and help Andy does become and officer. He doesn't know that being an officer is way harder than it seems. He has to lead his men into battle and oversee their training to make sure they are ready to fight and do good at it too. He also finds out that he has to help them with their personal problems, their needs, and when they are in trouble he has to help them too.
By the time any and his men are ready to serve the country and fight for their families. Andy finds out What mission he got assigned to and he is nervous because the mission is D-Day. You will have to read the book to find out if he and his men help win the battle or just get scared and run off! You will also have to read it to see if Andy makes it back home or if he dies.
I really liked this book because it interested me and kept me reading. Back in 6th grade I had to do a research paper about D-Day and ever since then D-day Is my favorite war topic so that is why i liked this book so much and why I picked it. A person who would read and like this book would be someone who likes war books. If you are like me and just like D-Day you will like this book too. If I had to rate this book from 0-10 it would probably be a 7 because it was really good and i liked it but it was also not the best book I have read. That is my book review hope you like it!

[Marshall Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably my least favourite I’ve read of the “My Story” series, but interesting nonetheless. Shines an interesting historical perspective in closing the Falaise Gap with a few odes to how the British worked in unison with the Americans. Unfortunately, the Canadians seem to be forgotten (again) - ironically in Normandy of all places. Oh well, I digress. 3/5.

[Gouett's 5'S · Rating 4 out of 5]

How would you feel if you were in D day? If you don't know what D-Day is, its one of the biggest wars in world war 2. Andy Pope and his platoon which consists of 12 to 13 men, went to France to fight off the Nazis. The people that are fighting the Nazis are from England which is where Andy Pope was from. 2 months before the war Andy Pope was in training, he had to say bye to his family because he wasn’t going to see his family for a long time. Before Andy pope was sent to the war he had a normal life and his grandfather was in the war and his mom was a housewife and ones he got the letter he and his family were sad and his brother very sad and thought he would not come back.
Once he came back from the war all of England had a big celebration. I love this book because it talks about a soldier’s point of view of how they were fighting, who they were fighting against and what happened when they got back. I think you would like this book too because it talks about the war, what happened and if you like to learn about what happened in history, you should read this book.

[Stew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book aimed at around the 10 years of age group. I have a grandson of that age who 'devours' books usually of the David Walliams variety but also all the Horrible History books.
The problem I now have is that of finding new books that he will enjoy. As an experiment I read him Animal Farm and was amazed how involved he became with the book, asking questions all the time and pondering theories as to what was going on.
I was now searching for another new book for him and came across this one which generally had good reviews but as it was once again outside his normal sphere I decided to assess its suitability. I had read D-Day by Giles Milton which was brilliant but I must say I was very very disappointed with Bryan Perrett's offering. I found it very 'flat' for want of a better expression, indeed I abandoned it two thirds of the way through.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recently-released new covers for this series are very enticing. Bryan Perrett writes in a gritty, compelling way, where you gain some amazing facts but also feel the range of emotions of the key characters. You really wonder how any servicemen or women who survived events like D-Day, were ever able to recover.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short book - 150 pages, and large-ish font.

Was an easy read. I enjoy historical fiction, and this lay far more on the “fiction” side rather than historical, which kept me going.

It follows the journey of a soldier in the war over the space of a few months.

I enjoyed the story but it was just “nice”, rather than overly gripping, hence 3*.

[Shanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite similar to that of the Dear Canada series, however it the format is a bit different. Instead of writing about each day, the book covered important dates (ranging in day, weeks, and months) that occurred leading up to, and after, D-Day. I definitely learned a lot more about the history than I would have reading a Dear Canada book.

[Julie (Bookish.Intoxication) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, what an incredible way to show WW2 to Primary School level readers. This book is well written, engaging and tackles sensitive subjects in a way that makes them easy to understand.
A fantastic book!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite convincingly written, fictional account of an English Junior officer's involvement in Operation Overlord. Based on historical fact, accurate in some in details. Written for older children/young adults.

[Mdaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for children, this is a fictional account of a young 18 year old officer who lands on the Normandy beaches on D-Day. It is very good and a gripping read for young adults. It contains lots of facts about the preparations yet makes an emotional connection with the reader.

[Jennifer Yanos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that gave me a new appreciation for D-Day. I read it with my grade eight LA class and they were intrigued by the story and the details of weapons, missions and training. A good, quick read.

[Maple Class · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a man called Andy Pope. He was a Second Lieutenant during the Second World War. He landed at Normandy beach, which today is known as D-Day. I thought it was interesting because I like learning about war and battles.
By Louis

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What’s unique is that this story is from the POV of an officer, while the other military stories in the series are about privates. There are a lot of acronyms used throughout, and in the photographs section a couple of typos.

[Kas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but enlightening depiction of a pivotal day

[Shivaay · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really fascinating read . Very food imagined first account of the war . Sometimes can be confusing when the war terms ge too much

[Jessie Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hi

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a bit long winded , too much packed into such a quick read book

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I’m writing about is a book called D-day and the author name is Bryan Perret.
This book is about a young kid that's get called on one of the most top secret missions in U.S history. He has no idea what it is and he thought the war was pretty much over. He was just young to, When he finally get notice that there is a meeting on what this is he is shocked that it is a raid on normandy to declare that they won the war. He has no idea what he’s up against in one of the biggest battles in the war… What happens next? Read the book to find out.
The book went into detail about what the war was like. Not as much detail I would like but a good amount. In my opinion I would like to know what setting the wars were taking place. More of what biome they were in, what they had for cover, And more about what guns were used.
If I were to rate this book out of 5 stars, I would give it a 3 ½ stars because it was a good book, but was definitely not the greatest.
If you like war which i guess you shouldn’t like it but if you like reading about it. This book would be perfect for you.
This book is getting written down on the chart for free choice. Because my historical fiction book was already filled in with a book called The Broken Gun, which is a good book. If you like this book (D-day) you’d probably be interested in The Broken Gun .

[Taylor S · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Beach Traigity

How would you fell if you where cramped in a steel boat for hours whating to hit land. Running into machingun fire. just ask andy this is a diry wrighten by Bryan Perret this book is called D-Day.[132] "You cant do a darn thing right, can you andy?" he said "I told you I wanted one prisoner but you walk in with five!" I Liked this book because it was a easy read and it didn't take much time .main characters are lieutenant andy pope he traind for 4 months strait.tragity 100,000 men died on the beach of normandy.setting was in normandy 1944. Some thing i didn't like is it took so long to get in to the war.I would recomend this to a good reader who like action ,edventure and life tragity.

[Jielin Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in high school, and have re-read it a few more times since. My favourite aspect of the book is actually what some other reviewers here have cited as what they disliked about it, which is the account of the extensive preparation leading up to d-day. There is no shortage of war movies to show the action and chaos of battle, of which the book also did a fair job, but what I appreciated was to see the journey that lead him there, and the dynamics between these soldiers. The story also does well to include the occasional humourous event amidst the heavy material. The language here is definitely geared toward an adolescent audience, not as gritty and dark as one may expect, but I would recommend it as a casual read for anyone with an interest in this period of history.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Kaiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

How would you feel if you were in a aircraft falling out of the sky and being shot by a machine gun? In the book D Day, 18 year old LT. Andy pope commands forces on Juno beach in World War 2. I like the book because it describes life on Juno Beach in a lot of detail. I couldn’t put the book down until the end. I recommend this book for anyone who likes other “my stories”. If you like action and nonstop thrillers this is the book for you. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

[Abi Abzisstory]

I continue to love this series.
I loved the account of the D-Day landings. These books get a great balance in portraying the ugliness of war and keeping them suitable for a younger audience.
Definitely worth the read!

[Peter Edelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shows you what it was really like to fight at the d-day landings. The main character had not seen much battle because he was only 18. He had practiced beach landings in training but never in real life. He was not prepared to find out that so many people had died.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ilke the book. Very in detail of the d-day....

[Jordan]

war is horrible

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit confusing but a good book.

[Lamis Akkad · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting and easy to read.

[Katerina Whitefield · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not get into this story at all. It was dry and boring.