The Longest Day

Have you seen the movie? They make such a prominent statement in the opening credits that it is "based on the book by Cornelius Ryan" that I've always had a mind to read it.

After all, while the story is epic, the movie just "tries too hard" in parts. Isn't the breaching of fortress Europe enough of a plot? No! Movie-goers also need a schmaltzy love story too. Surely the book can't be that contrived?

The good news is that it is not. It shares the "tell a story through a mosaic of slice-of-life vignettes" approach, yet does it with compelling integrity. It is gritty and unrelenting; sometimes poignant, but always authentic. The book's most rewarding and fascinating aspect is how it shows in rich detail the diverse impact of action and show more inaction, decision and indecision - and often just plain luck - in the final outcome of the day. show less

Absolutely astounding. Parts of the book had me laughing while other parts had me forcing back tears. I loved all the depth and detail Ryan included without becoming tedious with the minutiae. He made each soldier and civilian seem like they were the protagonist of the tale. My absolute favorite part was how impartial Ryan was; he made no judgments about the cast of characters and allowed readers to draw their own conclusions (told you Hartmann that you could have a good research paper without forming an argument).

Now, I'm fully aware that the way I spoke about the book made it seem more like fiction than fact, but that is because Ryan tells history so well it sounds more like an action packed movie than a brilliant piece of historical show more non-fiction (which seem to have the stigma of being dry...even among my fellow history majors). I completely concur with the other reviewer that said this book should be made into a Spielberg mini-series. show less

The title is taken from a quote of Field Marshall Edwin Rommel, who commanded the German forces defending the Atlantic Wall against invasion, "...the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive...the fate of Germany depends on the outcome...for the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day." That day came on June 6, 1944, and Ryan gives an account not just of that day, but the lead up. The book, in fact, is split into 3 parts--"The Wait," "The Night" and "The Day." It has a strong narrative akin to a novel, but is based on thousands of interviews and never drifts over the line into evident fiction. It tells the story from generals to privates, and from both the Allied and German sides. It also tells the story from the show more side of the French Resistance and French civilians in Normandy who had undergone a brutal occupation for the last four years. (One detail that struck me was how one resident was going to have his home pulled down simply because the Germans coveted building materials.)

One thing I appreciated about the book was both the epic sweep and the intimacy. Ryan made you appreciate the huge scale of the operation. An allied fleet of five thousand ships carried 250,000 men. The Allied causalities numbered at least ten thousand and the German casualties as many as nine thousand. At the same time, Ryan doesn't stint on the stories of individuals in ways that made the account of the battle come alive, from the American paratrooper caught on the church steeple to the British commandos going to battle to the sound of bagpipes. Ryan himself was a war correspondent who reported on D-Day, and his account here has an immediacy I doubt other books detailing the events of that day could match. show less

To this day, one of the best and most researched accounts of D-Day I have ever had the pleasure to read. I really enjoyed how Ryan put in the effort to research and recount, not just the perspective of the Allies, but also of the Nazis, as that is something you don't normally get.

Most say that history is written by the victors, and that's not entirely true. History is written by the survivors, but historians rarely bother to get the perspective of the losing side without being heavily biased. While it is difficult, it's not impossible and Ryan's historical masterpiece is a testament to that, even including snippets of the work of the French Underground. Small glimpses into what was going on in the German high command and at the local show more level with the resistance show the chinks in the armor that allowed the Allied victory and began the downfall of the Nazi party. The Longest Day is a beautiful narrative from countless records, both Allied and Axis, as well as the first hand accounts of 383 souls that were an integral part in one of the most important military battles in the modern world. A must read for history buff and researcher alike. show less

For those who’ve seen the movie, better erase it from your memory. This kind of book can not be shortened into a three-hour movie, it has to become a series. And maybe have to be directed by someone like Steven Spielberg, LOL. It is not only about D-Day, but also about the background stories of that blessed day. Using more than 1,000 sources for this book – former US, British, Allied Forces soldiers, inhabitants of Normandy, even lots of former Nazi officers – Cornelius has successfully blended all their stories (even if it is only a scrap of details) into a masterpiece.

My head shook with disbelief a number of times when reading this book. How could the Third Reich become so dim-witted? Bear in mind that D-Day operation, better show more known as Operation Overlord, had so many flaws in it, from the planning to the execution, which made it bound to fail. For example, intelligence report that killed hundreds of US Rangers to destroy a battery of guns which never existed. However, the Wehrmacht seemed to create better mess. Hence, they went into almost complete disarray.

Imagine this: the only division stationed in Normandy (Seventh Army) was the last division that was notified of an ongoing invasion. Imagine this: there was only one Luftwaffe’s offensive and one E-boat attack during D-Day. Imagine this: there was a ready-to-fight panzer division who were forced to sit down watching helplessly the Allied Forces swarmed into Normandy just because Hitler's staff decided not to notify the Fuhrer and let him sleep in the make-believe beautiful world of Berchtesgaden until afternoon, while D-Day was started since midnight and H-Hour 6.30 AM. Furthermore, the exalted, legendary Field Marshall Rommel, who knew from day one that Normandy was not invincible, seemed to be forgotten in the frenzy; nobody told him about the landings before it was too late. A combination of red tape, ignorance and cockiness ruined the Krauts, for sure.

My favorite part of the book is "The Night" chapter. Well, I just love WW II paratroopers’ stories and this time it’s not only the 101st Airborne Division that was described, but also the more battle-tested 82nd, as well as the British 6th division. One could not compare the atrocities and horrors experience by the paratroopers and the sea-borne soldiers. However, if I could choose, I definitely do not want to be one of those soldiers who landed in the ‘Omaha’ beach. No way in hell.

The tales about bravado showed by the soldiers, paratroopers, sailors, medics, minesweepers, etc in this book were exceptional, spiced up with occasional humors. Fallacies from both sides seemed to create a number of hilarious events, such as when a small unit of Allied soldiers came across a German unit in French rural road, both units only stared and passed each other and did nothing because they were just too shocked over the presence of each other . Well, I guess it should be too hard from the author to have so many materials, since this is a military that involved more than 5,000 ships, hundreds of airplanes/bombers/gliders/etc and hundreds of thousands of men from various nationalities.

A day when all might and force of the free world came to liberate the occupied continent from a malevolence that the world had never seen before. A day to remember. show less

This was another book club read and although I've said that I don't like military history, this book is written in a way that I was able to read and learn and even enjoy doing so. Ryan's research was extensive, but he selected and condensed those myriad details into a single approachable volume. I was especially impressed that his research covered both sides of the

The great thing about The Longest Day is its spirit. There's a feeling of embarking on an adventure. It's upbeat and at times very funny. This is not a gritty human tragedy, it still retains some of the can-do sacrifice for the greater good spirit of its time, being published just 15 years after the event. Cornelius Ryan (b. 1920) was of that generation. It's also a valuable work of original research built from 100s of interview with participants on both sides, including higher-level German officers. Yet, it remains entertaining and easy to read like the best creative nonfiction. All around a remarkable book that easily earns 5-stars for longevity as a classic.