Product Description

The famous D-day landing of 6th June 1944 marked the beginning of Operation Overlord, the battle for the liberation of Europe. Max Hastings has overturned many traditional legends to write this study. Drawing together the eyewitness accounts of survivors from both sides and sources and documents, this text provides a controversial perspective on the devastating battle for Normandy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4474 in Books
• Published on: 1999-08-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Customer Reviews

a rare find, it gives you both sides of the battle
After reading 3 previous books about the D-day invasion, I can finally say that I won't be buying any more after reading this one. Other historians write as well as Max Hastings, but none have included both the perspective from the Allies as well as the Germans. When you put this book down, you'll have the experience of truly understanding what it was like to be in Northern France in 1944, and not only in the staff rooms of the generals involved, but also what the average private had to endure, in both armies. Anyone who is interested in this topic and doesn't read "Overlord" by Hastings is really missing out. Its money well spent.

Rather subjective and certainly over-rated!
Hasting's 'Overlord' has earned a reputation of being almost as close as one can get to becoming a definitive history of the 1944 landings in Normandy.

Whilst far superior to the work of 'historians' such as Stephen Ambrose, there is still an overwhelming feeling of this book being authored by a journalist and not an historian. Hastings makes many sweeping statements, many of which are totally unfounded, yet does very little to substantiate his claims. He constantly enforces the popular misconception, which have almost become fashionable, to criticise rather than to focus on the positives. Reading 'Overlord' found me actually questioning myself as to whether or not the Allies actually won the Battle of Normandy or not.

There is far too much unbalanced emphasis on the conceived failures, failures which can only be called such with the benefit of no small amount of hindsight. Operation Overlord was the biggest and best operation the western allies launched in WW2 and should be celebrated for what it achieved, not disected to an extent that only with that valuable aid of hindsight can decisions be doubted and triumphs blunted beyond recognition.

Hasting plays up the superiority of the German forces but, in my opinion, fails to give due credit to the forces (prodominantly British) that took on the bulk of the German elite, and beat them into submission within just 71 days in Normandy.

Whilst I dont agree with every sentiment expressed by historians like John Keegan, Carlo D'Este, Denis Whitaker and Terry Copp, these historians make much more effort to present an objective and substantiated account than Hastings achieves in this publication.

I'm afraid to say it but I do have a sense of real disappointment that Hastings may be becoming Britain's very own Stephen Ambrose in so much that he is only interested in sensationalising popular history for a popular audience with more of an eye on book sales than the recording of an accurate, academically robust, history.

excellent historical treatise
I am an italian fanatic of the battle of Normandy who read a lot of books on this subject and I must say that this is my preferit book because it's the only who recreates in a detailed way,from the strategic to the tactical point of view(in particular way) the war between two different sides . When you arrive at the end of it you have really a complete vision of the difficulties of a battle that only on the russian front has been of a such intensity.It's a book similar to the books of Cornelius ryan but much more deep ,if you interest the war in Normandy and you want the best buy it.