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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “This is Jeff Shaara at his best, giving us another superb [and] historically grounded novel of one of the most dramatic struggles of World War II.”—George McGovernUtilizing the voices of the conflict’s most heroic figures, some immortal and some unknown, Jeff Shaara tells the story of America’s pivotal role in World War II: fighting to hold back the Japanese conquest of the Pacific while standing side-by-side with her British ally, the last hope for show more turning the tide of the war against Germany. As British and American forces strike into the soft underbelly of Hitler’s Fortress Europa, the new weapons of war come clearly into focus.
In North Africa, tank battles unfold in a tapestry of dust and fire unlike any the world has ever seen. In Sicily, the Allies attack their enemy with a barely tested weapon: the paratrooper. As battles rage along the coasts of the Mediterranean, the momentum of the war begins to shift, setting the stage for the Battle of Normandy. The first book in a trilogy about the military conflict that defined thetwentieth century, The Rising Tide is an unprecedented and intimate portrait of those who waged this astonishing global war.
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jeff Shaara's The Steel Wave.
Praise for The Rising Tide
“[A] sprawling tale thoroughly researched and told withmeticulous detail . . . All that’s missing is the smell of gunpowder.”—MSNBC online
“Masterful.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The Rising Tide imparts the actual sights, sounds and dialogue from the grounds of 1940s Sicily and North Africa.”—New York Daily News. show less
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"He opened his eyes now, felt the cool, dusty air swirling through the tank, focused on the periscope. There was silence in the earphones, no more of the chatter, no more playful insults from Parnell...no more drills and lessons. The training was over."
Tank Gunner Logan in Jeff Shaara's "The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II"
Jeff Shaara delivers a detailed world in the first book in his military series focused on World War 2. Built upon a solid foundation of historical fact, "The Rising Tide" puts the reader in the middle of the war by tracing the activities and interactions of a number of characters; some real-life heroes like General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Erwin Rommel, some larger than life wartime personalities like George show more Patton and Winston Churchill. He also provides a grounds-eye view through the perspective of a pair of troops engaged in the key battles themselves, a tank-gunner in North Africa and a paratrooper on Sicily.
Shaara's story is purely plot-driven. If you enjoy military tactics and strategy, with a steady dose of world politics driving the military actions, then you'll love this book. "The Rising Tide" is not a character study of the leaders of WWII, however Shaara integrates the key personalities with a deft and subtle hand, that provides the emotional fuel for the novel.
In places, Shaara builds on the legends of mid-20th century personalities. Displaying the clichéd brash bravado from the legendary George Patton, Shaara includes a scene between Eisenhower and Patton. "We’ll do it, Ike...We'll do it or we'll die trying." And in another, Patton sits to write in his diary as he comes to terms with his newly minted promotion which translates to his need to lead from the rear rather than lead from the spear point: "Well, the battle is on. I'm taking off my shoes to go to bed."
Shaara provides a generalized attribution to many papers, documents, diaries and letters from the real life players, but without specifically referencing what's real and what's fiction. Ultimately it doesn't matter to me. Shaara writes an energetic, literate and smooth-flowing story.
Jeff Shaara's writing style is reminiscent of the battle scenes in his father's "Killer Angels"; a short, clipped style, which favors sparsity of language over verbosity.
And sometimes the drama turns a bit melodramatic. In one scene, Eisenhower talks with his Naval Aide, "No matter what anyone says in Washington, no matter how much bitching and doubt falls on Marshall or Churchill or FDR, it's the men in the landing craft and the assault craft who matter, the men who fire the big guns. If they do their job, then you'll have done yours. Sir."
But this is the kind of drama I enjoy - heavy, sweeping, life changing, and often dark, drama. We see this in the early military action that the Americans engage in against Germany's famed Erwin Rommel in North Africa. After an easy entry onto the continent, the Americans inevitably come up against Rommel's powerful Panzer Army. The tank gunner, Logan, actualizes that they are no longer playing at war, but dealing with a very harsh reality: "Are we ready for this? Do we know what will happen when we face a real enemy?"
This series will be my personal introduction to many aspects of World War II. I'm not interested (yet) in reading deep and onerous histories of the time, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the military and political machinations as drawn out by historical novelist Shaara. I highly recommend "The Rising Tide" by Jeff Shaara. show less
Tank Gunner Logan in Jeff Shaara's "The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II"
Jeff Shaara delivers a detailed world in the first book in his military series focused on World War 2. Built upon a solid foundation of historical fact, "The Rising Tide" puts the reader in the middle of the war by tracing the activities and interactions of a number of characters; some real-life heroes like General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Erwin Rommel, some larger than life wartime personalities like George show more Patton and Winston Churchill. He also provides a grounds-eye view through the perspective of a pair of troops engaged in the key battles themselves, a tank-gunner in North Africa and a paratrooper on Sicily.
Shaara's story is purely plot-driven. If you enjoy military tactics and strategy, with a steady dose of world politics driving the military actions, then you'll love this book. "The Rising Tide" is not a character study of the leaders of WWII, however Shaara integrates the key personalities with a deft and subtle hand, that provides the emotional fuel for the novel.
In places, Shaara builds on the legends of mid-20th century personalities. Displaying the clichéd brash bravado from the legendary George Patton, Shaara includes a scene between Eisenhower and Patton. "We’ll do it, Ike...We'll do it or we'll die trying." And in another, Patton sits to write in his diary as he comes to terms with his newly minted promotion which translates to his need to lead from the rear rather than lead from the spear point: "Well, the battle is on. I'm taking off my shoes to go to bed."
Shaara provides a generalized attribution to many papers, documents, diaries and letters from the real life players, but without specifically referencing what's real and what's fiction. Ultimately it doesn't matter to me. Shaara writes an energetic, literate and smooth-flowing story.
Jeff Shaara's writing style is reminiscent of the battle scenes in his father's "Killer Angels"; a short, clipped style, which favors sparsity of language over verbosity.
And sometimes the drama turns a bit melodramatic. In one scene, Eisenhower talks with his Naval Aide, "No matter what anyone says in Washington, no matter how much bitching and doubt falls on Marshall or Churchill or FDR, it's the men in the landing craft and the assault craft who matter, the men who fire the big guns. If they do their job, then you'll have done yours. Sir."
But this is the kind of drama I enjoy - heavy, sweeping, life changing, and often dark, drama. We see this in the early military action that the Americans engage in against Germany's famed Erwin Rommel in North Africa. After an easy entry onto the continent, the Americans inevitably come up against Rommel's powerful Panzer Army. The tank gunner, Logan, actualizes that they are no longer playing at war, but dealing with a very harsh reality: "Are we ready for this? Do we know what will happen when we face a real enemy?"
This series will be my personal introduction to many aspects of World War II. I'm not interested (yet) in reading deep and onerous histories of the time, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the military and political machinations as drawn out by historical novelist Shaara. I highly recommend "The Rising Tide" by Jeff Shaara. show less
The master of Historical Fiction has written another master piece in this exciting first volume of what was originally intended to be a trilogy of the Second World War. This trilogy, however, ignored the Pacific Theater and Jeff Shaara received so much flack from his readers and veterans that he was convinced to write a 4th volume concluding this series. Of course, he has since written one on the Battle of Midway in the Pacific bringing the total to this trilogy to five volumes, so I guess he just can’t stop writing – and that’s OK with me.
Shaara takes us inside the minds of those who fought so desperately in the deserts of North Africa, both Axis and Allied. When it comes to describing combat itself, he develops use of short, show more staccato sentences helping to simulate the confusion and chaos and terror of those events engulfing the reader in the battle surrounding him. A vivid description of what it might have felt like to be inside a Sherman tank as it is hit and explodes during the catastrophic first encounter against Erwin Rommel’s legendary Afrika Korps at Kasserine Pass will hold the reader breathless.
I have never been killed and lived to tell about it. Nor have I known anybody to have that experience either. But Jeff Shaara, in most of his military novels that I have read, has taken me through that first-hand experience as closely as the imagination can conceive, and his sobering description brings a reality to his novels that truly brings them to life, if that is the appropriate description. In this particular novel the “victim” survives and is captured by the Germans.
I have a long career teaching history and one of my goals was to try to bring the subject to life for my high school students. Not to delve into specifics, but any author who helped me bring history to the common level, I admired. To that end, my most admired professional historian was the late Bruce Catton. And now, my most admired Historical Fiction writer is the current Jeff Shaara. In addition to helping to illustrate history as a common event, it is always based on solid, document-based research. I love this author. I just wish he were active when I was. show less
Shaara takes us inside the minds of those who fought so desperately in the deserts of North Africa, both Axis and Allied. When it comes to describing combat itself, he develops use of short, show more staccato sentences helping to simulate the confusion and chaos and terror of those events engulfing the reader in the battle surrounding him. A vivid description of what it might have felt like to be inside a Sherman tank as it is hit and explodes during the catastrophic first encounter against Erwin Rommel’s legendary Afrika Korps at Kasserine Pass will hold the reader breathless.
I have never been killed and lived to tell about it. Nor have I known anybody to have that experience either. But Jeff Shaara, in most of his military novels that I have read, has taken me through that first-hand experience as closely as the imagination can conceive, and his sobering description brings a reality to his novels that truly brings them to life, if that is the appropriate description. In this particular novel the “victim” survives and is captured by the Germans.
I have a long career teaching history and one of my goals was to try to bring the subject to life for my high school students. Not to delve into specifics, but any author who helped me bring history to the common level, I admired. To that end, my most admired professional historian was the late Bruce Catton. And now, my most admired Historical Fiction writer is the current Jeff Shaara. In addition to helping to illustrate history as a common event, it is always based on solid, document-based research. I love this author. I just wish he were active when I was. show less
I first encountered Jeff Shaara with his prequel to his father's novel, The Killer Angels. Gods and Generals was excellent and in many ways Mr Shaara repeats the format and approach of that novel, in The Rising Tide. This time his theatre of conflict is North Africa in 1943. The story initially follows Rommel and Monty as they fight east and then west across the North African desert. Later the book engages with the Americans, led by Eisenhower. The book is fictionalisation and Shaara draws upon records and diaries to build a more intimate picture of the main characters, and a few minor ones, to tell the toils and terrors of the campaign. I thoroughly enjoyed the insights into the motivations of these men, which Shaara provides. I found show more the view to be well balanced, not favouring any particular viewpoint excessively. I think if you have enjoyed Jeff Shaara's other works then you will enjoy this. If you haven't I wouldn't dissuade you from this, but I would say try Gods and Generals first show less
This is a personal story about some key and not so key characters from the North African and Sicily campaigns during World War 2. The personal history of Patton, Eisenhower and Rommel is fascinating. However, this book is seriously lacking in detail and facts, enough so that the history suffers. I really enjoyed Shaara's Civil War books, but I feel that due to the complexity of 20th century warfare, this format leaves a bit too much out. For example, because there are no aviators or seamen included, that part of the campaigns is almost completely omitted. That works for a Civil War history, not for WW2.
Still good, but not as good as I expected.
If you want to learn more about these campaigns, 'An Army At Dawn' by Atkinson is much more show more detailed, and oddly enough, covers the same time period. It also focuses on the Army though. show less
Still good, but not as good as I expected.
If you want to learn more about these campaigns, 'An Army At Dawn' by Atkinson is much more show more detailed, and oddly enough, covers the same time period. It also focuses on the Army though. show less
Tight, crisp prose characterize this fact-based retelling of the first part of WW II. That style worked great for the combat scenes, but tended to shortchange individual character development. Nevertheless, Shaara captured the personalities of Rommel, Patton and Eisenhower quite well, in my opinion.
The more interesting stories were of the line soldiers, Adams and Logan. Their daily struggles, precise detail of the essence of combat—chaos, brutality, the waste of life, inner fears—was nicely chronicled.
My preference for historical novels leans toward Leon Uris' style—novels about individuals or small groups set against the background of major world events like WW II. But this book will appeal to fans of WW II who are more show more interested in the strategy, politics, and high-level power struggles that have the greatest impact on the day-to-day events. show less
The more interesting stories were of the line soldiers, Adams and Logan. Their daily struggles, precise detail of the essence of combat—chaos, brutality, the waste of life, inner fears—was nicely chronicled.
My preference for historical novels leans toward Leon Uris' style—novels about individuals or small groups set against the background of major world events like WW II. But this book will appeal to fans of WW II who are more show more interested in the strategy, politics, and high-level power struggles that have the greatest impact on the day-to-day events. show less
This is the first book of a trilogy about WWII. The book explores the lesser known African campaign(s) which began in late1942. Mr. Shaara goes into the minds of such military greats as Eisenhower, Montgomery and Rommel as well as other generals and even the men in the field. The story moves chronologically to the shores of Italy and beyond following the day-to-day events through different eyes, as is the Shaara style.
Even though not of Mr. Shaara's best work, I still enjoyed this book keeping in mind that it is "historical fiction" (and so should you). This is an entertaining book but certainly not a historical one and I think Mr. Shaara did not do justice to some of the character development as he did in several of his previous show more novels.
You don't have to be a history buff to love it because..it's not history but "historical fiction". If you're buying this book hoping for a history lesson you are better off buying the engaging WWII books by Stephen Ambrose et al. show less
Even though not of Mr. Shaara's best work, I still enjoyed this book keeping in mind that it is "historical fiction" (and so should you). This is an entertaining book but certainly not a historical one and I think Mr. Shaara did not do justice to some of the character development as he did in several of his previous show more novels.
You don't have to be a history buff to love it because..it's not history but "historical fiction". If you're buying this book hoping for a history lesson you are better off buying the engaging WWII books by Stephen Ambrose et al. show less
This book is an amazing multi-perspective book about the landings of Sicily and North Africa in World War two. The first person that you get a perspective from is a random British tank commander. Then you get the perspective of the quick witted and charismatic Field Marshal Rommel. Then you get one short chapter of Montgomery's point of view preceding the battle of El Amien which shows up nowhere else in the book. Then you have the invasion of North Africa given from both Eisenhower's and a tank gunner named Logan's point of view. After the invasions and Logan is taken captive then released he is sent home and no more is said about him. Then you meet a paratrooper named Adam who then gets sent to be one of the first men to jump into show more Sicily. This book ends with the invasion of Italy and the build up to D-day.
This book was made good because of the multi-perspective views. The way that Jeff Shaara puts it it has many high brass moments where you can get your thoughts gathered for the next front line experience. This mix of High ranking planning and lowly soldier fighting makes this book great. The Prelude that seems to always be in his latter books also gives you the point of view of an inferior or lesser group of troops also gets you interested. The few seconds of action in this book give flavor to an otherwise flat out history book. The planning is only interesting when put into context with action. Which this author does. show less
This book was made good because of the multi-perspective views. The way that Jeff Shaara puts it it has many high brass moments where you can get your thoughts gathered for the next front line experience. This mix of High ranking planning and lowly soldier fighting makes this book great. The Prelude that seems to always be in his latter books also gives you the point of view of an inferior or lesser group of troops also gets you interested. The few seconds of action in this book give flavor to an otherwise flat out history book. The planning is only interesting when put into context with action. Which this author does. show less
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Jeff Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on February 21, 1952. He received a degree in criminology from Florida State University in 1974. He was a professional dealer in rare coins for many years and operated his own business in Tampa until the death of his father, Michael Shaara, in 1988, when he became actively involved in the elder show more Shaara's literary estate. He continued his father's work by researching the history of the characters his father had brought to life in The Killer Angels, and in 1996 his prequel, Gods and Generals, was published. The book was awarded the American Library Association's Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction and was adapted into a motion picture in 2003. His other works include The Last Full Measure, Rise to Rebellion, The Glorious Cause, The Steel Wave, No Less Than Victory, The Final Storm, A Blaze of Glory, A Chain of Thunder, The Smoke at Dawn, and The Fateful Lightning. He received another Boyd Award for To the Last Man. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Rising Tide
- Original publication date
- 2006
- People/Characters
- Dwight D. Eisenhower; Erwin Rommel; George S. Patton; Albert Kesselring; Alfred Berndt; Bernard Law Montgomery (show all 41); Winston Churchill; Claude Auchinleck; Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis; Mark W. Clark; Henri Giraud; Pvt. Jack Logan; Jesse Adams; Sgt. Clyde Atkins; Gen. Ludwig Cruwell; COL Siegfried Westphal; Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke; CDR Harry Butcher, USNR; George S. Patton; Henri Giraud; ADM Andrew Browne Cunningham, RN; Sgt. Brinkley Hutchinson; Skip Parnell; LTC Edson Raff, USA; MGEN Charles "Doc" Ryder, USA; François Darlan; Adolf Hitler; Lucy Rommel; Air Marshal Arthur Tedder, RAF; Franklin Delano Roosevelt; Fritz Bayerlein; Heinz Ziegler; Gen. Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, USA; Omar N. Bradley; Jim Gavin; Capt. Ed Scofield, USA; Lt. Col. Art Gorham, USA; Donnie Fulton; Frank Griffin; Capt. Roy Gregg, USA; Robert Murphy
- Important places
- Tunisia; Libya; Sicily, Italy; Kasserine Pass, Tunisia; Africa; Italy (show all 34); North Africa; Burg-el-Arab, Egypt; London, England, UK; Cap Figalo, Algeria; Rastenburg, Germany; Anfa, Morocco; Sidi Bou Zid; Djebel Kouif, Tunisia; Oudja, Morocco; Rome, Italy; Tobruk, Libya; Tel el Aqqiqir, Egypt; Semmering, Austria; Algiers, Algeria; Munich, Bavaria, Germany; Ben Gardane, Tunisia; Bizerte, Tunisia; Gela, Sicily, Italy; Naples, Campania, Italy; Cairo, Egypt; Largs, Scotland, UK; Gibraltar; Arco Dei Fileni, Libya; Souk el Khemis, Tunisia; Renouk, Tunisia; Constantine, Algeria; Tunis, Tunisia; Palermo, Sicily, Italy
- Important events
- World War II (1939 | 1945); North African Campaign (1940-06-10 | 1943-05-13); Operation Torch (1942-11-08 | 1942-11-16); Tunisia Campaign (1942-11-17 | 1943-05-13); Battle of Kasserine Pass (1943-02-19 | 1943-02-24); World War II, Italian Campaign (1943-07-10 | 1945-05-02) (show all 7); Operation Husky (1943-07-09 | 1943-08-17)
- Dedication
- To
Colonel Jesse Wiggins
USAF (Ret.) - First words
- When I began to think about writing a series of novels dealing with the Second World War, one obvious question came to mind. (To the Reader)
The Second World War begins with the conclusion of the First. (Introduction)
They huddled in the chill, encased in hard steel, waiting, energized by rumors. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I hope you find it so. (To the Reader)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Rommel beings to understand: unless he can destroy the British who confront him and conquer North Africa, Germany cannot win the war.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But when this Overlord happens, you better damned well send me out there toting a parachute. - Publisher's editor
- Murphy, Will
- Original language
- English
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