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Citizen Soldiers

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About this listen

 From Stephen E. Ambrose, bestselling author of Band of Brothers and D-Day, the inspiring story of the ordinary men of the U.S. army in northwest Europe from the day after D-Day until the end of the bitterest days of World War II.

In this riveting account, historian Stephen E. Ambrose continues where he left off in his #1 bestseller D-Day. Citizen Soldiers opens at 0001 hours, June 7, 1944, on the Normandy beaches, and ends at 0245 hours, May 7, 1945, with the allied victory. It is biography of the US Army in the European Theater of Operations, and Ambrose again follows the individual characters of this noble, brutal, and tragic war. From the high command down to the ordinary soldier, Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews to re-create the war experience with startling clarity and immediacy. From the hedgerows of Normandy to the overrunning of Germany, Ambrose tells the real story of World War II from the perspective of the men and women who fought it. 20th Century Americas Military Modern United States War US Army Solider Imperialism Submarine Air Force Interwar Period
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What a fantastic book, just what I wanted to listen too. Stephen has drawn experiences from all ranks. I would recommend this book. It is read very well too.

Loved it!!!!

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A great book detailing the ongoing battle through the ETO mostly through American eyes. Nonetheless, the personal accounts, interspersed with factual detail is good, and easy to listen to. However, the narrator has an extremely limited knowledge of foreign placenames. His incorrect pronunciation actually angered me!!

Great book. Awful narrator.

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I want to read it again. Supper good! Growing up in the '50's, in our neighborhood, there were military of all branches of both sides. Including several of the Danish underground. I heard about bombing London, following artillery barrages..This brings my memories of the men I spoke with AND respected from both sides. Mostly Americans and British and Germans. Army, Airforce and Navy.

The personal stories adds to the history in a way nothing else can.

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Stephen E Ambrose is a figure of some envy within the community of WW2 historians. He somehow cracked the market open and his Band of Brothers became that golden HBO TV hit. I've heard some try to undermine him by discrediting his academic prowess. I have to say that doesn't disconcert me at all. He is a fine writer, his work is accessible and his perspective on human experience in combat is insightful and empathetic.

I like how Ambrose looks at soldiers as people first and foremost. The solidiers and individuals, with characteristics and as much as he can he will tease out the humanity within the uniform.

This is a great book. It gives you enough to understand the nasty side of war, without detracting one iota from the heroism. The futility is there too - this account doesn't embellish armed conflict, but it doesn't saturate the reader with morality tales either.

There is a genuine critical perspective - and Ambrose is not partisan - he respects both the axis and the allies as soldiers quite equally and pulls no punches in pointing out the strengths and weakeness on both sides.

His criticism of both Montgomery and Patton is welcome and refreshing. He is in neither tent and can see that even in WW2, the media image outstripped the abilities of both men.

Some of the tales will make you shake your head. From the small intimate stories that happened between one of two soldiers in a skirmish or a patrol, to the stories of entire battles that have since been apparently forgotten or sanitised for the sake of post-war recollection.

And by the way Ambrose doesn't mind digging out the controversy and giving you some insight in those situations either.

A genuinely excellent insight.

I also rate the narration very highly - which is incredibly important for me.

Excellent

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I've gone through a few books lately about war, I love it when someone knows what they're talkin' about, I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in war and warrior's narratives.

An eye opener

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