The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II
by Jeff Shaara
List Price:
Our Price: $4.99
You Save: $5.00 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.03 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jeff ShaaraEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-27
ISBN: 0345461398
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II
Book Review: A review of the entire trilogy
Summary: 5 Stars
The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II
The first book in the series. It is the weakest in many ways. Shaara approaches most of his books with the docudrama format - a little bit of narrative history, a lot bit of historical fiction. His narrative history is quite well written and flows nicely.
The historical fiction in this book is its weak point. The action is very good, but there is not a lot of action - just a few pages in the Afica Campaign and some very solid stuff from the Sicily campaign. The majority of the historical fiction part of the book, among the Allied characters at least, is Shaara's characters putting themselves into place to fight Rommell and setting the scene for the second book. It would have moved more briskly if Shaara would have reverted to the historical narrative form, but it would severely limit the fictional aspects of the book.
On the Axis side, Rommell is the compelling figure of the book. Clearly Shaara builds him up to be the ultimate professional officer of the war - not a Nazi, just a man fighting his country as he has always done. Shaara skirts around the issues that Rommell must have surely considered when those orders come from thugs like the Nazis. Perhaps he just assumed that Rommell chose to mostly ignore the uncomfortable aspects of taking orders from people like the Nazis. Perhaps Rommell was just as afraid of the Communists and just as angry at the Allies as Hitlers was - we just don't know from this book. What I did not get from this series was a sense that Rommell was a real "super general". After all, for the layman he is the only battlefield German General with a "name brand" recognition. What I got from this portrayal of Rommell was a sense that he just could two particular British commanders with ease if he had the resources and that he could see that Germany was extending itself too far.
There are plenty of great maps in this series, but especially in this book.
I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.
The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II
The second book in the series is a superior book to the first in almost every way. There is a lot more action (hundreds of pages) and it is intense. The political wrangling that Eisenhower had to endure and master is a theme in every book, but is strongest in this one. The title of the book comes from a comment that Rommell makes about the Allied invasion coming in like a wave of steel into France.
Rommell continues on as a major character throughout. It is interesting to note that he was correct to fear an Allied invasion of France (which most of the German high command poo-pooed) but picked the wrong place. Hitler picked the right place, although he doubted it would happen. It is also interesting to note that Rommell thought that D-Day was a feint and failed to respond correctly to it until it was too late. Rommell is still the most interesting "officer" character on either side - he knows that Germany will be ruined by the Nazis and that the Germans will lose the war but we get little sense that he was opposed to the Nazis for any reason other than that they will bring ruin to Germany. Still, the way Shaara deals with the last bits of Rommell's life is compelling reading.
Even more compelling is the way Shaara deals with the ground-level stories of the American soldiers during D-Day. This is riveting stuff - well told and compelling.
I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.
No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II
The final book in Shaara's World War II trilogy is very similar to the second book, which makes sense since it is a continuation of the same campaign. The Allies continue their quest to push across France and into Germany. Patton looms as a larger and larger character. The part of the noble German soldier, previously played by Rommell is filled by Karl Rudolf Gerd Von Rundstedt, so much so that the reader may not even miss the Rommell character at all.
The battle sequences are stirringly told. The "Battle of the Bulge" is told quite well from the point of view of three of the very few soldiers of the 106th that made it through the battle without being killed or captured (this was Kurt Vonnegut's unit, by the way).
Shaara spends a lot of time in the book among the inner circle of Hitler's loyal command, with people like Albert Speer and Martin Bormann. It is an interesting choice to do so, but I would have preferred that he had not done it. It would have been even more interesting to have looked at the common foot soldier that continued to fight after the war was completely lost and seen what their motivations were (perhaps this interest comes from a college class I had more than 20 years ago where we met a man who was just that - a common foot soldier who abandoned the Eastern Front and marched across Austria and Germany to surrender to American troops).
Shaara's tale of the liberation of the Ohrdruf concentration camp was shocking, visceral and powerful. Very well done.
I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.
Summary of The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II
General Dwight Eisenhower commands a diverse army that must destroy Hitler?s European fortress. On the coast of France, German commander Erwin Rommel prepares for the coming invasion, as the Führer thwarts the strategies Rommel knows will succeed. Meanwhile, Sergeant Jesse Adams, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne, parachutes with his men behind German lines. 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 Omaha Beach, a stretch of coast more heavily defended than the Allied commanders anticipate. From G.I. to general, this story carries us through the war?s most crucial juncture, the invasion that altered the flow of the war, and, ultimately, changed history.Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Historical Books
Pirate Latitudes: A Novelby Michael Crichton
Harper; Published: 2009-11-24; Roughcut; Book
Best price: $2.44
Price in other shops:
The Master Butchers Singing Club: A Novelby Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.83
Price in other shops:
The Last Witchfinder: A Novelby James Morrow
William Morrow; Published: 2006-03-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Zorroby Isabel Allende
HarperAudio; Published: 2005-05-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $3.03
Price in other shops:
The Hot Kid: A Novelby Elmore Leonard
William Morrow; Published: 2005-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops:
The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)Mass Market Paperback; Book
Bones of the Hills (Conqueror, Book 3)by Conn Iggulden
Harper Collins Canada; Published: 2008; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $44.70
Marchby Geraldine Brooks
Penguin Books; Published: 2006; Paperback; Book
Gates of Rome (Emperor 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2003-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.80
Girl With a Pearl Earringby Tracy Chevalier
Harper Collins Audio; Published: 2002-06-17; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $86.82
Similar Books and other products
The Duel: The Eighty-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitlerby John Lukacs
Yale University Press; Published: 2001-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.95
Price in other shops:
Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolutionby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2004-06-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.87
Price in other shops:
Gone For Soldiersby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2003-11-04; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.41
Price in other shops:
No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War IIby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2010-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.03
Price in other shops:
To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World Warby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2005-08-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
The Final Storm: A Novel of the War in the Pacificby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2011-05-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.28
Price in other shops:
The Glorious Causeby Jeff Shaara
Fawcett; Published: 2003-06-03; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War IIby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2008-05-20; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.84
Price in other shops:
No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War IIby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2011-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.59
Price in other shops:
The Final Storm: A Novel of the War in the Pacificby Jeff Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 2012-01-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops: