The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II

Great book, looking forward to rest of series

Great

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

RISING TIDE BY A HIGH SCHOOLER

What I liked about this book is how it gives a insight into World War II. Rising tide by Jeff Shaara gives us the view of every body on each side. I do not think this would be a good read for the majority of high school students. You have to love history to like this book, you also have to have a sense of maturity to be able to handle this book, which most students do not have regarding this topic. I also believe that it won't be a good read for the high school body because most of us don't like to read historical-non-fiction. When we do read books rather for an assignment or for enjoyment we want action throughout the book not a lot of build up and then just half a chapter of fighting. I however rather enjoyed this book for its keen insight on a major war that changed history and so many things that came from this war. What I like is that the book taught me some historical facts that I didn't already know. The most significant one was that when we first started fighting in North Africa we were fighting the French. I think that it is interesting that we ended up liberating Paris even though they attacked us first. Finally, if you enjoy non-fiction war strategy, then Rising Tide is the book for you. If you want intense action of World War II then pick a different book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Be veryyyyy prepared for a vigorous history lesson.

I did enjoy this book; however it became very slow and textbook like. It is good in many places, but also becomes very docile and meticulous. In the end, reading The Rising Tide became a chore. The book was excellent when talking of the common soldier’s perspective and the madness and horror of the frontlines, but often the book would go far too much strategy and would often come out similar to a lecture. It was good at portraying the difficulty of being a leader and what it really means. Often the leaders in the book made mistakes or couldn’t account for something it made for he problems. By the way whenever Churchill is talked about or shows up he is very comedic and his stranger habits are often shown.
There are many people I would recommend this to. For people who are fans of World War Two and/or US Generals it is a must read. The book shows how difficult it was under Hitler for even his officers. So people who enjoy reading about the holocaust or Nazi would enjoy this.
For people in high school this is an excellent read… if you are a huge history buff. You must be prepared for the many aspects of history in the book and not expect it to be mainly action. Also, don’t be surprised by its length during certain points it goes by quickly.
So overall the book was good, but I think I expected to much of a novel and not enough pure history. Anyway I would give this book a two and a half star rating out of five. It definitely taught me much more than I had previously learned about the role of Africa in World War Two. I will probably read some of Jeff Shaara’s other works.

The First Book of An Excellent Trilogy of WW II

What was it like to have been involved with WW II?
Jeff Shaara gives you a good idea of the experience with just enough of the Movers and Shakers to keep you oriented with the Big Picture.
This first book deals with the beginning of the American entry into the War and deals with the North African campaigns both Victories and embarrassments through the Sicilian invasion.
I have read the trilogy several times and learn something new each time.

DR5x

OMG!!!!

This is like one of the best books ever! It puts you right in the action! Read it!

Great book!

His style of writing puts you there. He has the abilty to bring the characters alive for the reader. If you like military history, you will like all of his books. I will be reading the "Ther Steel Wave" next. Reading all of his booksd in historic order is great!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A GOOD LESSON IN WWII HISTORY

Writer Shaara has made a detailed study of the WWII combats in all three books of these series. It is a rather American-sided view of the events, but then the European "Allies" would perish if it was not for the US Forces.

It is also true that the French, with the exception of the Résistance, did little to help the war effort, due to their superiority complex as usual. No wonder many say "rather have them as an enemy, than an ally !"

The English (I exclude the Scots & Irish here, thus not use the word British) as usual think of their superiority over the Americans, still living in Queen Victoria's days. Just think who saved them in WWI & WWII ?? So it's no wonder that they want to get all credits and just ignore what the US Forces do for them.

As for the Italians, they were never known to fight. They much better things to do.....

There are a few additions I'd like to make, for the benefit of the readers:
* the clash of armours at the Kasserine Pass, was won by the Germans due to the very advanced German tanks at that time and Erwin Rommel's seasoned troops. But another very important fact was, that the US rolling material was mostly out of action due to a very mundane reason : Bad air intake filtration of all engines. The engine designs were made for the rust belt (MidWest) region where you never had to clean your filters. Dust wore out all engine pistons, liners and piston rings. It was calculated that 12 oz. of dust was enough to send an engine to the workshop. Try to find an old film (OPERATION HOURGLASS)through the Cummins Diesel dealers (need to find someone over 65 that still remembers it)that shows full details of this.

* another point not taken in to consideration, was the cooperation of the Sicilian Mafia with the US Forces during the invasion of the island. Many US based members of the "Family" took it as their citizen's duty to alert their cousins and have them help the forces going ashore.

* finally the map on page 510 has a wrong scale of distances. The correct distance should be 5 miles rather than 200 miles.

I do hope new series on the Pacific War theatre would be on the agenda for writer Shaara.

living the historical event

I find Jeff's writing to be rich in detail and accurate historically. I love reading historical fiction. Jeff immerses you in the history of the period and makes it seem as if you are actually there. He makes history seem alive and very relevant. I patrolled the DMZ in Korea in 1969 and 1970. It is my earnest hope that he writes a novel about the Korean Conflict.

Great book for history buffs

If you want to know all of the details of what was going on behind the scenes at this time when giants walked the Earth then Jeff Shaara's books are a must read. This is all about the men who made it happen and all of their hopes and dreams. Not only are the maps a big help to re-create the sprawl of war, the characters are painted in vivid color.

I have one to go and can't wait to get my hands on it.

The People Side of WWII--Fascinating

Jeff Shaara's Rising Tide, part of his WWII trilogy, is a remarkable example of the strengths of historic fiction. 'Historic' because Shaara is painstakingly accurate about all knowable details of the war to end all wars, and 'fiction' because no one can really reproduce all of the personal conversations between generals and political leaders that drove that war. Shaara admirably lives up to--even surpasses--his father Michael Shaara's Killer Angels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the Civil War, pretty much required reading in most high schools. Not only do readers become intimate with the reasoning behind the Allies Africa campaign, the German Panzer tank battles in Africa, the first use of paratroopers as a weapon, but the story is so compelling, I doubt anyone will ever forget details that would have never been remembered in a textbook. For example, I'm sure I knew at some point in the past that Rommel was sick during his tank campaign in Africa, but it took this book to drive the importance of that point home.

I happened to read this at the same time as 100 Days, Sandy Woodward's account of the Brit war for the Falklands Island and realized what a massive difference there is between the American and British battle mentality. Americans focus on the end result--how do we win the war with the least loss of life--and the Brits focus on details--approvals, press reaction, cross t's and dotting i's. I mean no disrespect to either side, just an observation.

The only regret you'll have reading this book is, it's a trilogy. Now, you have to read two more.

Rising Tide

Not a bad read. History details and character development was very good. Personnally, I like more action than listening to a bunch of generals have political and strategy discussions.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great

This book is very good in its description of the minds of WWII's military leaders. I plan to read every book in this magnificent series

boring, boring, boring

it keeps you wainting for an explosion of action that never comes. it looses you in all the back an forth politics of war. i read the killer angels and i loved it. but jeff falls short on this book.i am reluctant to read any of his books. i was dying to finish it. it was very boring

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book for a female history buff!

As a voracious female reader, I usually read a mix of mysteries or "chic lit". I used to read a lot of American historical fiction, but seemed to have gone through them all. It was wonderful to discover this book, mostly because of the era of the war that it covered. Most of us know a fair amount about WWII batles in France and the rest of Nazi-occupied Europe. Or about everything Great Britain had to go through before America was forced into the war.
But Shaara brings to reality a portion of the war very few of us are familiar with - the northern African campaigns, and the drive into Sicily and up the boot of Italy. It was an intriguing way of learning history, through the eyes of "possible" thoughts of Eisenhauer, Rommel, and Patton, as well as fictional soldiers who rode in the tanks. Now that the third book in this WW II trilogy has come out, I'm looking forward to getting the second one, then reading the newest. Assuming that Shaara did very detailed research, he has made his "novels" a fascinating way in which to learn history - much less painfully than in history textbooks.

If I were a high school or college history teacher, I would assign Shaara's books on this war, as well as the others he has documented. I read this book almost non-stop, but I admit that most women or non-history lovers might not.

The hell that is war

Jeff Shaara made an admirable attempt to complete his father's Civil War series, but his sequels, valuable though they are, could not hold a candle to The Killer Angel. Well, Jeff has done a lot of writing since then, and his WWII series, if The Rising Tide is a fair indication, matches the work of his father. What Michael Shaara did for the Civil War, his son is doing for the Second World War. One of the marks of good historical fiction, for me, is the way it prompts me to start researching stuff on the internet. And that's what I found myself doing in Tide. Another of telling sign happens when I find myself living what the characters are going through, and in Jeff's chapters on the tank battles between Rommel and the Allies, I felt the awe. To a lesser extent, only because this topic receives less coverage, is his portrayal of the training and daring of the paratroopers. There are many similar scenes in Tide - POW camps, stress disorders, command failures - that truly bring home the complexity of the topic to readers who have never experienced warfare at any level. The only other WWII series that does this so well is Herman Wouk's Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.

The Rising Tide is a valuable addition to WWII fiction.

An oustanding read!!!

This author has demonstrated time and again his abilty to lead us into the minds of great men. His current book is a page turner and should not be missed. I eagerly await his next book in this triology.

A reviewer

As I finished I was ready to start the next book where this one leaves off. The author uses a good mix of high level and down with the grunts view of the North African campaign in 1942-43 for the US and German command. The maps provided keep's one orientated as to who is where as the battle moves across Libya , Tunisia, Sicily and Italy.

Loved the book but keep the facts straight

I was eagerly awaiting this book and must say I loved it. However, I almost dumped it in the first chapter when the author said that Franklin Roosevelt 'declared war on Germany & Italy'. Most intelligent adults know that Hitler saved England by declaring war on the United States after the US Congress declared war on Japan. We weren't ready for a two-ocean war but Hitler forced our hand and in turn, sealed his ultimate defeat.

Excellent!

Just finished up the book, wow what a great read! From Rommel to Patton,to the regular soldiers of the 505th Airborne.

Wonderful Read

As always, Jeff has captured the drama and tragedy of war. As with his other endeavors, he brings the war to life--one catches the smells, sounds and emotions of battle in a way that almost transports one back in time.