audiobook Neptune: Allied Invasion of Europe and the The D-Day Landings by Craig L. Symonds in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great book! The Navy's Story in Operation Overlord-NeptuneBy AndyGreat book! Many D-Day books concentrate on the role of the Army in the Normandy landings and afterwards. Prof. Emeritus Symonds of the US Naval Academy has written an informative and interesting book on the Navy's role in Operation Overlord. The Navy's operational plan is called NEPTUNE which concerns the trans-Atlantic sea lift of men; material and vehicles and the cross-Channel movement of same to Normandy. Symonds tells a comprehensive story of the political and military build up through to the weeks just after the landing wherein he describes some of the initial Army activity at the same time emphasizing the Navy's role. I like the fact that Symonds used research sources such as oral histories; memoirs and letters as a part of his writing. I especially appreciated the material he gleaned from Navy "Action Reports" which are first-hand after-action reports of battles and conflicts. He researched these materials at the National Archives; the Naval Academy; National WWII Museum in New Orleans; U.S. Naval Institute's Oral History Program; Naval History and Heritage Command among others. The quotations and anecdotes make the book interesting and personal. I learned a lot about the state of pre-1941 U.S. Navy and its build up to the June 1944 invasion on Normandy.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A truly fine and thoughtful addition to the D-Day shelfBy James ConnellyOutstanding treatment of the naval and logistical planning in the context of often divergent wartime and political goals of the UK and the USA. Written with an uncommon combination of accessible prose (sometimes with the light touch of a revealing or humorous detail) and thorough; telling detail. The charts; maps; and photographs are intelligently devised and selected to illuminate the text -- they are not just the well-worn and conventional filler one sees in many D-Day books. Many books on D-Day and its planning are ponderously written; others are superficial remixes of previous works. Symonds' fine book is in a different class altogether. I had the good fortune to hear the author lecture on his book at the Boston Athenaeum: the book is infused with his enthusiastic and informed tone of voice. Highly recommended; even if; like me; you've read a number of studies of the lead-up to and execution of the Normandy invasion plan. The trade-offs between strategy and logisitics; conflicting demands and goals for Europe and the Pacific campaigns; and the backgrounds that British and American commanders and planners brought to the war (often illustrated by private diary entries that contrast with the official lines then espoused) are themes that weave though Symonds' book and that he handle with clarity and style. A fine book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A fascinating tale of planning told in a well written book. MP3 CD is great.By SteveListening to all the details about the logistics surrounding the invasion of normandy was one of the biggest audiobook pleasures I had the privilege of listening to in recent memory. I think that the planning side of the invasion is one of its most interesting aspects of it. It just seems like a logistical challenge that scales to near infinity. This book was incredibly fascinating and well written. It had a wealth of information. and I loved it.The MP3 CD is also great. It is the format I listened to the book in. It was very easy to rip the audio files and put them on my phone.