I just finished the final book in Jeff Sharaa's trilogy on the European Theater of Operations in World War II. Each book builds upon the work of the previous title, although not all of the characters carry through.
Sharaa does an excellent job of showing the mud, cold, and terror that the common infantryman or paratrooper or tanker felt during combat. I must say the middle book, The Steel Wave, was my favorite. As the jacket comment says, his description of Omaha Beach rivals in print the opening scenes from Saving Private Ryan, one of my all time favorite war movies.
The last volume was good, but I think Shaara tried to cover too much time and storyline. The book covers from the Battle of the Bulge to the German surrender and although Shaara tries to evenly convey the actions and thoughts of both the Germans and Americans, the scenes were a little disjointed for me.
Still, he gets the history right, tells a great story and does an accurate job on conveying the humanity of the war. I understand his next series will be on the Pacific...can't wait.
Sharaa does an excellent job of showing the mud, cold, and terror that the common infantryman or paratrooper or tanker felt during combat. I must say the middle book, The Steel Wave, was my favorite. As the jacket comment says, his description of Omaha Beach rivals in print the opening scenes from Saving Private Ryan, one of my all time favorite war movies.
The last volume was good, but I think Shaara tried to cover too much time and storyline. The book covers from the Battle of the Bulge to the German surrender and although Shaara tries to evenly convey the actions and thoughts of both the Germans and Americans, the scenes were a little disjointed for me.
Still, he gets the history right, tells a great story and does an accurate job on conveying the humanity of the war. I understand his next series will be on the Pacific...can't wait.
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