Sand and Steel

The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France

De: Peter Caddick-Adams

Narrado por: Derek Perkins

Peter Caddick-Adams' account of the Allied invasion of France in June 1944 matches the monumental achievement of his book on the Battle of the Bulge, Snow and Steel, which Richard Overy has called the "standard history of this climactic confrontation in the West". Sand and Steel gives us D-Day, arguably the greatest and most consequential military operation of modern times, beginning with the years of painstaking and costly preparation, through to the pitched battles fought along France's northern coast, from Omaha Beach to the Falaise and the push east to Strasbourg.

The Allied invasion of Europe involved mind-boggling logistics, including orchestrating the largest flotilla of ships ever assembled. Its strategic and psychological demands stretched the Allies to their limits, testing the strengths of the bonds of Anglo-American leadership. Drawing on firsthand battlefield research, personal testimony and interviews, and a commanding grasp of all the archives and literature, Caddick-Adams' gripping book, published on the 75th anniversary of the events, does Operations Overlord and Neptune full justice.

©2019 Peter Caddick-Adams (P)2021 Tantor

Well Researched and thought out

Of all the many WW2 history's I have now read, I have little doubt that more time and effort went into researching this volume. Well Done! Worth the 37 hours.

Great book

I loved the detail. I will undoubtedly listen again with a book of relevant maps at hand.

A wonderful history!

The author covers what I expected to be familiar territory in a refreshing, thoughtful and incredibly detailed manner. The narrative and the narration are really first class and, no matter how many times you’ve read about D-Day, this is a must read. You’ll quickly notice this is not only a smashing history, it’s a tribute to all the participants.

Monumental Achievement

Incredible! Great oration for a stunning account of D-Day. Tons of great information colored by touching anecdotes and expert analysis.

Not for The Uninformed

Peter Caddick-Adams has written one of the most extensive histories on D-Day with “Sand and Steel.” It’s quite an undertaking for the studied listener. Most readers have undertaken other D-Day books since it’s a noted military history buff topic, but this is another step up on the ladder of extensive study. Highly recommend for the learner listener. This would be very daunting for someone who hasn’t studied the topic before. Ease into it and be prepared for a lengthy listen!! But it’s exceptionally well done. Derek Perkins narration is perfect. He always makes a long, dense listen a pleasure.

Excellent

The book was a bit long. Really enjoyed how the commonwealth beaches were covered. It gave a much better description of the substantial casualties they suffered. Also insights to German side I had not heard of before. Finally i enjoyed how author compared more recent scholarship to that of previous decades.

Mammoth but endlessly fascinating (and horrifying)

This has got to be the definitive book on D-Day — truly the last word. While it is lengthy, it is never less than fascinating, and I'm astonished at Caddick-Adams' thoroughness, the clarity of his writing, and the book’s wealth of colorful, inspiring, often horrifying and appalling anecdotes and personal accounts. (I should add that Derek Perkins’ reading is splendid — truly flawless.)

As to thoroughness: Yes, there are more facts here — more details, more numbers, more names of people. places, battalions, and ordnance — than one can possibly absorb (whether on the printed page or audiobook). But as Caddick-Adams says, “Brevity has been the enemy of accuracy,” and his prodigious research has cleared up more than its share of D-Day myths and misconceptions.

My primary takeaway is, of course, how grateful I am to those who took part in the Allied invasion, and how glad I am to have been spared any experience remotely like it.

Outstanding Detail and Analysis!

I’m familiar with several excellent historians on this subject, but I can think of no equal to the depth of detail and thoroughgoing analysis provided in this account. Highest possible recommendation!

Too many disconnected vignettes

The narrator does a good job but the story was hard to follow because of disconnected vignettes and unnecessary detail. With about ten hours left I switched to D-Day by Stephen Ambrose, which was easier to follow and much more interesting. Ambrose breaks his story up into larger chunks, allowing him to tell the story while Sand and Steel comes off as more of a recitation of facts.

Disappointed

Book presents a lot of detail but attempt to focus on personal experience is full of fodder that makes reading painful. There are much better books on Overload and Neptune history.