The Steel Wave
A Novel of World War II
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4.4 • 7 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jeff Shaara's No Less Than Victory.
Jeff Shaara, America’s premier author of military historical fiction, brings us the centerpiece of his epic trilogy of the Second World War.
General Dwight Eisenhower once again commands a diverse army that must find its single purpose in the destruction of Hitler’s European fortress. His primary subordinates, Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery, must prove that this unique blend of Allied armies can successfully confront the might of Adolf Hitler’s forces, who have already conquered Western Europe. On the coast of France, German commander Erwin Rommel fortifies and prepares for the coming invasion, acutely aware that he must bring all his skills to bear on a fight his side must win. But Rommel’s greatest challenge is to strike the Allies on his front, while struggling behind the lines with the growing insanity of Adolf Hitler, who thwarts the strategies Rommel knows will succeed.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Jesse Adams, a no-nonsense veteran of the 82nd Airborne, parachutes with his men behind German lines into a chaotic and desperate struggle. 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 a stretch of coast more heavily defended than the Allied commanders anticipate–Omaha Beach.
From G.I. to general, this story carries the reader through the war’s most crucial juncture, the invasion that altered the flow of the war, and, ultimately, changed history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This keystone of the bestselling WWII trilogy dramatizes D-Day and ups the bar for military historicals, demonstrating that Shaara (The Rising Tide) has hit full stride. The epic-scale novel opens on January 25, 1944, with British commandos gathering soil samples on Omaha Beach to assess landing sites. Shaara gives the Americans, called "the great waves of steel" by the Germans, their due portion in the grisly, brutal Allied invasion, and the experiences of the grunt soldiers most notably the indefatigable U.S. Army Sgt. Jesse Adams offers a field-level view of D-Day and afterward, generating more suspenseful reading than the matter-of-fact accounts of the big-brass dealings of Eisenhower and Churchill. The Allied leaders' personalities emerge with agile clarity, while German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel embodies "the good soldier" laboring under a delusional Hitler and German High Command ensconced in cozy Berlin. Rommel's ambivalent complicity in the assassination plot on Hitler is convincingly rendered and paves the way for the final act. The muscular prose, deft sense of military drama and relentless pacing are well suited for this crackerjack saga.
Customer Reviews
Corny style
I liked the idea of historical novels of WWII. This book, however, does not cut the mustard. Being a history buff I got some enjoyment from it. But the writing style is pretty awful. It is a bit better when the point of view is that of obscure, fictional soldiers. But most of the book (⅔ or ¾) is from the point of view of Patton, Eisenhower, Rommel, etc and for these chapters it's pretty awful. Random example: words put in Eisenhower's mouth: "Monty’s still a damned fine field commander, and despite what a jerk he can be, he knows how to win. Sometimes—hell, most of the time—his problem is that he’s too damned careful, has to pull his tail up behind him, get everything organized before he makes his next move." Ouch.