Normandy ‘44: D-Day And The Retaking Of Europe

James Holland

Over the years, by visiting friends in Carentan, I have come to appreciate certain things about the Normandy campaign – things you can only really understand by traversing the notorious bocage (the still-existing network of tiny fields, hedgerows and sunken lanes) and by experiencing firsthand the region’s capacity for often foul summer weather. But until now, tackling a full-scale military history of one of the 20th Century’s most defining and bloody battles has seemed too daunting. James Holland’s account, timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, provides a strategic overview enlivened by personal accounts of the horror that once played out in that peaceful landscape. The work makes some claim for offering a new historical perspective, and certainly for the general reader there are plenty of surprises. 8/10