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The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys : The Men of World War II

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Wheeler Publishing
Category: Book

List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $15.00
You Save: $12.95 (46%)



New (3) Used (8) from $7.22

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 53 reviews
Sales Rank: 1155774

Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Largeprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 550
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3

ISBN: 1568956363
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5421092273
EAN: 9781568956367
ASIN: 1568956363

Publication Date: March 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: (150) Hardcover, Large Print, 1999; Perfect!

Also Available In:

  • Audio Cassette - The VICTORS, THE: Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II
  • Hardcover - The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys The Men of World War II
  • Paperback - The VICTORS : Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II
  • Audio Download - The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II
  • Library Binding - The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys : the Men of World War II

Similar Items:

  • Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944
  • Citizen Soldiers: The U. S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany
  • D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II
  • Americans at War
  • Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
The Victors is like a compilation of Stephen E. Ambrose's greatest hits, drawing heavily from his biography of General Dwight D. Eisenhower and several military histories that recount the events of the Allied push across the European continent in 1944 and 1945 from the frontline trooper's perspective. The narrative is vintage Ambrose, full of engaging yet workmanlike prose that conveys the epic scope of its subject while paying careful attention to the details of the often inglorious lives of the GIs. Eisenhower looms large over this book, but it's the ordinary soldiers and their experiences who give the story real life. Readers who have already dipped into the Ambrose library may find sections of The Victors redundant, but for those who want an adept overview of what Ike and his men accomplished, this is a great place to start. --John J. Miller

Book Description

From America's preeminent military historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, comes a brilliant telling of the war in Europe, from D-Day, June 6, 1944, to the end, eleven months later, on May 7, 1945. This authoritative narrative account is drawn by the author himself from his five acclaimed works about that conflict, most particularly from the definitive and comprehensive D-Day and Citizen Soldiers.

But it is, as always with Stephen Ambrose, the ranks, the ordinary boys and men, who command his attention and his awe. The Victors tells their stories, how citizens became soldiers in the best army in the world. Ambrose draws on thousands of interviews and oral histories from government and private archives, from the high command -- Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton -- on down through officers and enlisted men, to re-create the last year of the Second World War when the Allied soldiers pushed the Germans out of France, chased them across Germany, and destroyed the Nazi regime.

Download Description
From America's preeminent military historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, comes a brilliant telling of the war in Europe, from D-Day, June 6, 1944, to the end, eleven months later, on May 7, 1945. This authoritative narrative account is drawn by the author himself from his five acclaimed books about that conflict, most particularly from the definitive and comprehensive "D-Day" and "Citizen Soldiers", about which the great Civil War historian James McPherson wrote, "If there is a better book about the experience of GIs who fought in Europe during World War II, I have not read it. "Citizen Soldiers" captures the fear and exhilaration of combat, the hunger and cold and filth of the foxholes, the small intense world of the individual rifleman as well as the big picture of the European theater in a manner that grips the reader and will not let him go. No one who has not been there can understand what combat is like but Stephen Ambrose brings us closer to an understanding than any other historian has done." "The Victors" also includes stories of individual battles, raids, acts of courage and suffering from Pegasus Bridge, an account of the first engagement of D-Day, when a detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion; and from Band of Brothers, an account of an American rifle company from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment who fought, died, and conquered, from Utah Beach through the Bulge and on to Hitter's Eagle's Nest in Germany.


Customer Reviews:   Read 48 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars Great Book! Very annotated/highly recommend/prompt shipping   August 23, 2007
A point of view seldom seen: the kids in the field who had to grow up very quickly. With a strong sense of duty and honor they lived up to their moniker, The Greatest Generation.


4 out of 5 stars Not the best, but a good read nonetheless   March 20, 2007
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Unlike his other works, DDay, Band of Brothers and Citizen Soldiers, which cover specific elements of the European theater, The Victors tries to cover the period from DDay through the fall of Germany. As always, Ambrose demonstrated why he was one of the best story tellers. Unfortunately, as his preface pointed out, this was put together from the research he had done on his other books.

If you are familiar with the three books mentioned in above, you will find a lot of overlap. I am sure he did some more original research for this, but the overall premise is very similar.

The over-arching theme of the Victors is that the allied success was due to the flexibility of the US troops, in particular the LTs and other NCO's, and the regular soldiers. Their determination and ability to adapt to the changing situations on the ground, the antithesis of the Germans, was what helped carry the war in the favor of the allies. He also spends the beginning of the book on Eisenhower. Ike is the other piece of the puzzle that, despite some mistakes and flaws, he credits with putting together the largest military campaign in history - Operation Overlord.

The only real criticism I would have is that the story line was somewhat disjointed. Stories are told seemingly for the sake of telling them, rather than having a real purpose. But I can overlook that since there is a lot of first person accounts that give the war a very human touch. And the stories you read about, make it very worthwhile.

Aside from that, it was an entertaining read, just like all of his other books. His admiration for the courage of that generation is clear. And his talent for telling a story certainly shines through. If you are interested in more detail, I would recommend reading DDay, Citizen Soldiers and Band of Brothers first. If you are simply looking to pass the time on the train, as I was, you will find the time passing along much more quickly.

I purchased the book at the Newark Penn Station Bookstore. I recommend the bookstore and the book.



4 out of 5 stars The Victors   April 13, 2004
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

From the very beginning of the book I was enticed. I thought it was very well written and an enjoyable read. It includes stories and things I would have never expected. I thought the relationship between Marshall and Eisenhower was most interesting. I had not learned much about Marshall and Eisenhower's personalities. They were opposites yet worked very well together. Their relationship was based on trust. It is inspirational to hear of all that our soldiers went through during World War II. As someone looking back it helped me to better understand what went on and what the soldiers experienced first hand. I thought "The Victors" was a wonderful book and spanned over a good period of time. I would highly recommend it to others as a World War II informative book.


5 out of 5 stars Fighting in the cold   February 10, 2004
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This covers the European theater from D day to the end.
The futile battles of the Hurtgen forest are documented. A waste of men for nothing. We gave up our advantages of air power and tanks to fight in an impenatrable forest.
What struck me over and over, was what the men fighting endured.
The supply situation was what is was always in the military. Those in the rear get the gear. Those doing the fighting get the remains.
In the battle of the Hurtgen forest, during a visit by Ike, a company of Rangers complained to Ike about the lack of cold weather gear. He got the Rangers cold weather gear, but not the other thousands of men doing the fighting.
The same applied in the battle of the Bulge. The people in the rear out of the line of fire had waterproof, warm boots, and huge overcoats to keep warm. Those doing the fighting had summer uniforms, leather boots, and had to fight without benefit of fire to keep them warm, or get their food warm. The result was thousands of men with trench foot. The men went hungry a lot of the time due to impassible roads, so food supplies could not be brought up.
The men who endured this were heros.
Ike was the first to realize what Hitler was up to when the Battle of the Bulge started, and got Patton moving on a counterattack plan immediately, which succeeded.
Thanks to Steve Ambrose, the suffering of the men who did the fighting is documented.



2 out of 5 stars Sort of a best of Stephen Ambrose   May 26, 2003
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I have read most of the books by Ambrose and the material in The Victors is covered better in his other works. It isn;t bad, but the only reader who might find it interesting is someone who was looking to get into Ambrose's WWII works. Anyone else but the completists will probably not enjoy this book.


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