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Decision in Normandy

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Decision in Normandy

By: Carlo D’Este
Narrated by: Tom Weiner
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About this listen

Field Marshal Montgomery’s battle plan for Normandy, following the D-day landings on June 6, 1944, resulted in one of the most controversial campaigns of the Second World War. Carlo D’Este’s acclaimed book gives the fullest possible account of the conception and execution of Montgomery’s plan, with all its problems and complexities. It brings to light information from diaries, papers, and letters that were not available in Montgomery’s lifetime and draws on interviews with senior officers who were involved in the campaign and have refrained from speaking out until now.

This is military history at its most dramatic and destined to become the definitive account of the Normandy campaign.

Carlo D’Este retired from the US Army in 1978 with the rank of lieutenant colonel to write full time. Among his books are Bitter Victory; Warlord: A Life of Churchill at War, 1874–1945; Patton: A Genius for War; World War II in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945; and Eisenhower: Allied Supreme Commander.

©1983 1994, 2004 by Carlo D’Este (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Europe Military War Winston Churchill Imperialism Dwight Eisenhower Submarine US Army Air Force Interwar Period

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Critic reviews

“Superb…An extraordinarily careful and provocative study of the Normandy campaign.” (Max Hastings, New York Times bestselling author)
“The best-researched, best-written account [of the Normandy campaign] I have ever read.” ( New York Times Book Review)
“A fresh perspective on the leadership of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and the Allied landings after D-day.” ( Publishers Weekly)
All stars
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This book though controversial upon publication has become the standard interpretation of the struggle from Caen to Falaise and the irritations between the Allied Commanders. I believe Carlo D'Este has put forward a fair and unbiased summary of events with painstaking analysis. The crux of the thesis is unfortunately that Monty was rather mendacious in cementing his image for posterity. The sad realisation for me was that many military commanders ( and perhaps the most effective) are ultimately driven by ego and a desire for a place in dusty history books and many have to die to appease this appetite. That said, I am grateful to Monty, Bradley, Patton and Ike, and all those who served and to rid Europe of Nazism. The book concentrates on strategy and interpersonal relationships and the reader will need to avail himself of maps to familiarise himself with the events and movements of those evocative names Villers Bocage, Goodwood, Epsom, Charnwood and Cobra.
The narrator stumbles occasionally on the pronunciation of French place names and acronyms but I guess many US troops did just the same. He also has trouble with the cadence of military literature and exposition but I found it a riveting listen none the less.

A detailed analysis of the post D-Day struggle

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Would you try another book written by Carlo D'Este or narrated by Tom Weiner?

Author yes, narrator no.

What other book might you compare Decision in Normandy to, and why?

I dunno about compare to, but it's a good companion to say a Max Hastings or similar book about the Normandy campaign, as it covers the high-level military decisions and interactions, which a lot of the other books don't.

What didn’t you like about Tom Weiner’s performance?

Frequently impossible to tell where narration ends and quoting someone starts. Reading was deathly dull, with very little light and shade, and very poor at pausing for section and chapter breaks. Quite spoiled what would have been an excellent book.

Any additional comments?

The recording that made me appreciate the art of narrating an audio book. Sadly for all the wrong reasons.

Loads of historical content let down by narration

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The book might as well be called Why Britain Sucks. Extremely anglophobic, very pro American and German, filled with myths that have since been debunked

Outdated

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The narrator’s pronunciation of Bernard Montgomery was really irritating as was the pronunciation of ‘Loo-tenant’ for British Army personnel. Found the book too biased towards how wonderful the Americans were and how inept the British were. It would have been far better if it’d been more balanced and rather than rant on about Montgomery the author actually spent more time on exploring and explaining actual military events. Personalities on both sides were difficult but the author glosses over the foibles of Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower. I got fed up with the book as it didn’t cover anything that’s not been better explained by better authors and the constant criticisms became extremely boring.

Very American

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