Shaara style cannot be beat as he weaves historic figures in with the common soldier. Eisenhower warning that if they cannot stop the Axis in Africa, they cannot stop them ever. The paratroopers and tank commander's fights are especially vivid.

A nearly 23 hour unabridged audiobook.In 2 and a half hours of listening we go from prelude to war, to August of 1942. That's a bit absurd and annoying where it gives me the impression that the author is running to get to the parts he knows best - American involvement.If you can get past that then it's smoothe sailing. The only other critique I have is that it seems that the author gives too much credit to the insight of the main characters, which may be a product of applying hindsight rather th...

I just finished with the 4th book Shaara has written on WW2. This is the first and does a good job of giving a view in a novel of the events of the European war (note I said the "European" war, more on that in the review of the 4th book). While this is a novel the facts in the book are "the facts". The events of history are laid out here as they happened. What makes it a novel is/are the imaginary thoughts, and voices of the participants. From Generals to privates we get "a" view of events early...

The first book in Jeff Shaara's series on World War II focuses on the campaigns in North Africa and Sicily. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one person. Some famous / historical such as Eisenhower, Patton, Rommel and others where the protagonist is a fictional character. Actually a composite of real GI's to provide the view of the citizen soldiers and their experiences. One of these fictional characters is Jack Logan, a tank gunner in the North African campaign. The other is Jesse Ad...

Shaara's books are always entertaining and this was my first of his that dealt with the subject of World War II. This book focused on the battles North Africa and then Italy. As always, Shaara writes each chapter from the perspective of one person and alternates between famous people and unknown soldiers to tell both the big picture and on the ground stories. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Eisenhower and Rommel - and some of the work on Patton as well. If you enjoy history, Shaara is can...

“Victory comes from the strategy, the plan, the tools we are given.”“The Rising Tide” is the first of four books historical novelist Jeff Shaara wrote about WW II. It was better than I expected it to be. This novel follows the North African and Sicilian campaigns of the war, a part of WW II I know little about, despite the fact that BOTH of my grandfathers served in those campaigns. Shaara does an excellent job demonstrating in this novel how pivotal those campaigns were to what came next, the i...

As much as I love all things Shaara, having consumed a dozen novels from Jeff and his father, Michael, The Rising Tide is probably my least favorite. IMO, the book tries to cover too much ground (literally). We read about the numerous conflicts between Rommel's panzer division (Germans), Montgomery's Desert Rats (Brits), Ike/Bradley/Patton (Americans), and Musolino's Republican Army, initially taking place in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, etc. Then they proceed from Africa to Sicily, ...

The Rising Tide is the story of the American experience in the Second World War in Europe. The action picks up in Africa, waiting on Operation Torch to begin. As with other Shara books, the author follows some of the key actors - Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, and, intriguingly, Rommel and Kesselring. It is through their eyes that the reader experiences the Desert campaign in North Africa as well as the invasion of Sicily and Italy by the allies.I appreciate the insight into the decision-making...

I really like Shaara's blend of history and character. He brings out historical setting, context, and happenings through the lives of characters based on reality. It's the kind of historical fiction that makes history real and reminds the reader of its impact and how fascinating it is.

My experience was the opposite of one of the reviewers here. I enjoyed the staff meetings in the interplay between the generals, particularly the diplomatic difficulty of Eisenhower as compared to the bluntness of Patton. For whatever reason, I didn't get into the battle scenes as much. Overall, I didn't find this book nearly as engaging as those of the Revolutionary, Mexican, and Civil War. Still, the author has earned my loyalty with his unique work, and I look forward to continuing to read th...