The Victors, Stephen E. Ambrose
The Victors, Stephen E. Ambrose
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The Victors
Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose

Narrator: Cotter Smith

Abridged: 4 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/01/1998


Synopsis

From America’s preeminent military historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, comes the definitive 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.

Stephen Ambrose is also the author of Eisenhower, the greatest work on Dwight Eisenhower, and one of the editors of the Supreme Allied Commander's papers. He describes the momentous decisions about how and where the war was fought, and about the strategies and conduct of the generals and officers who led the invasion and the bloody drive across Europe to Berlin.

But, as always with Stephen E. Ambrose, it is 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.

About Stephen E. Ambrose

Stephen E. Ambrose was a renowned historian and acclaimed author of more than thirty books. Among his New York Times bestsellers are Nothing Like It in the World, Citizen Soldiers, Band of Brothers, D-Day - June 6, 1944, and Undaunted Courage. Dr. Ambrose was a retired Boyd Professor of History at the University of New Orleans and a contributing editor for the Quarterly Journal of Military History.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Magrat on June 25, 2017

Me gustó menos que 'Hermanos de sangre', este libro es una mezcla de un montón más del autor sobre la participación de Estados Unidos en la II Guerra Mundial, por eso me parecía interesante, porque da una visión más global del conflicto. Aún así las partes de los altos mandos con Eisenhower y Patton......more

Goodreads review by Ben on July 07, 2022

This exemplary book about the American experience in Europe during WW2 is an example of what Stephen Ambrose did so well. He takes big events and pulls them down to the individual involved at every level in the military structure. A fine overview of the Europe Theater of Operations from before D-Day......more

Goodreads review by Will on March 23, 2013

I gave this 5 stars, as it was the first Ambrose book I've read. As many other reviews point out, apparently this one rehashes a lot of material from several other of his books. But since I haven't read any of them (yet), I have yet to be disappointed in his pacing or his ability to bring the reader......more

Goodreads review by C.H. on December 10, 2020

When I began reading The Victors and realized that it was compiled from many of Stephen Ambrose’s other books on World War II, I was disappointed. I thought I’d be reading the literary equivalent of ‘refried beans.’ It was a needless concern. Although I recognized some passages from Citizen Soldiers,......more

Goodreads review by Liz on March 18, 2024

"America had sent the best of her young men around the world, not to conquer but to liberate, not to terrorize but to help."......more