The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 by Rick Atkinson (E

Description: The Guns at Last Light by Rick Atkinson The magnificent conclusion to Atkinsons acclaimed Liberation Trilogy about the Allied triumph in Europe during World War II. It is the 20th centurys unrivaled epic: at a staggering price, the United States and its allies liberated Europe and vanquished Hitler. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The magnificent conclusion to Rick Atkinsons acclaimed Liberation Trilogy about the Allied triumph in Europe during World War II It is the twentieth centurys unrivaled epic: at a staggering price, the United States and its allies liberated Europe and vanquished Hitler. In the first two volumes of his bestselling Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson recounted how the American-led coalition fought through North Africa and Italy to the threshold of victory. Now, in The Guns at Last Light, he tells the most dramatic story of all--the titanic battle for Western Europe. D-Day marked the commencement of the final campaign of the European war, and Atkinsons riveting account of that bold gamble sets the pace for the masterly narrative that follows. The brutal fight in Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the disaster that was Operation Market Garden, the horrific Battle of the Bulge, and finally the thrust to the heart of the Third Reich--all these historic events and more come alive with a wealth of new material and a mesmerizing cast of characters. Atkinson tells the tale from the perspective of participants at every level, from presidents and generals to war-weary lieutenants and terrified teenage riflemen. When Germany at last surrenders, we understand anew both the devastating cost of this global conflagration and the enormous effort required to win the Allied victory. With the stirring final volume of this monumental trilogy, Atkinsons accomplishment is manifest. He has produced the definitive chronicle of the war that unshackled a continent and preserved freedom in the West. One of The Washington Posts Top 10 Books of the YearA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2013 Author Biography Rick Atkinson is the bestselling author of An Army at Dawn (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for history), The Day of Battle, The Long Gray Line, In the Company of Soldiers, and Crusade. His many other awards include a Pulitzer Prize for journalism, the George Polk award, and the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award. A former staff writer and senior editor at The Washington Post, he lives in Washington, D.C. Review "A magnificent book... Though the story may seem familiar, I found surprising detail on every page... Atkinsons account of D-Day is both masterly and lyrical... [He] is an absolute master of his material." --Max Hastings, The Wall Street Journal "A tapestry of fabulous richness and complexity... Atkinson is a master of what might be called pointillism history, assembling the small dots of pure color into a vivid, tumbling narrative. . . . The Liberation Trilogy is a monumental achievement, about 2,500 pages in all, densely researched but supremely readable." --The New York Times Book Review "Breathtaking, unforgettable... Atkinson provides us with especially poignant descriptions in a blaze of writing and research that matches the drama and significance of the moment, all without peer in modern history ... This volume is a literary triumph worthy of the military triumph it explores and explains." --The Boston Globe "Monumental... As befits a journalist who knows his material inside and out, Atkinson can provide the incisive explanation to a complex situation or personage... A masterpiece of deep reporting and powerful storytelling." --The Los Angeles Times "[Atkinson] reconstructs the period from D-Day to V-E Day by weaving a multitude of tiny details into a tapestry of achingly sublime prose... With great sensitivity, Atkinson conveys the horrible reality of what soldiers had to become to defeat Hitlers Germany." --The Washington Post "Detailed in its research, unsparing in its judgments and confident in its prose...This trilogy--on which [Atkinson has] spent 12 years, twice as long as the war itself--may well be his masterpiece." --Time "Great characters, vivid details...The final volume of Rick Atkinsons Liberation Trilogy proves again that few can re-tell a story as well as he." --USA Today "A glorious epic... [Atkinson] never stoops to breathless prose in this perfectly paced account and always comes up with fresh and revealing details." --Antony Beevor, The Wall Street Journal "A remarkable conclusion to his three parts on WWII... A fabulous book." --Tom Brokaw on MSNBCs Morning Joe "The Guns at Last Light . . . is history written at the level of literature . . . Atkinsons story is propelled by vivid descriptions and delicious details . . . World War IIs reverberations will roll down the centuries in its geopolitical consequences, and in the literature it elicited in letters and in histories like Atkinsons trilogy." --George Will, The Washington Post "The same qualities that garnered Atkinson a Pulitzer Prize for An Army at Dawn--meticulous research married to masterful narrative--are apparent in The Guns at Last Light. The new book relates the oft-told (but never better) story of the wars final year, from D-Day to the German surrender." --The Chicago Tribune "Epic, set-piece battle sequences are balanced by deft portraiture. The Greatest Generation is nearly gone.... The Liberation Trilogy is the monument it deserves." --Vanity Fair "A sweeping, prodigiously researched epic... The Guns at Last Light is a definitive, heartfelt work of grandeur, atrocity, and profound sorrow. It is also, along with the two previous volumes, a long, fervent prayer for the fallen." --The Philadelphia Inquirer "[An] extraordinary accomplishment. This is a beautifully written, moving account of one of the most bittersweet chapters in modern history... The details build a stunning and precise account of major movements--from Normandy to Paris, from the South of France to Grenoble--and close-up portraits of famous figures that make them living, breathing beings." --Smithsonian Magazine "A riveting book...Few historians have Atkinsons gift for language and few journalists pay as much attention to historical sources...Atkinson writes with the descriptive and lyrical power of a first-rate novelist." --Christian Science Monitor "The final volume of Atkinsons World War II trilogy is just great reading: From Hemingways liberating a Parisian hotel (and raiding its bar) to the American soldiers discovering concentration camps, the entire story is absolutely riveting." --People "Emotionally gripping... This 850-page military history captivates the reader with the high drama of a spellbinding novel and a cast of characters that a master storyteller would be hard-pressed to invent... Its hard to imagine a more engrossing, dramatic, fair-minded and elegantly written account of these 11 months that changed the course of history." --Associated Press "In the final volume of his sweeping World War II trilogy, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson recounts the battle for Western Europe (from D-Day to V-E Day) through the eyes of those who were on the front lines, masterfully bringing this pivotal chapter of history back to vivid life." --Parade "A terrific read... Atkinson never loses track of the men who fought the war. Mining their diaries and letters, he has produced an account that is achingly human." --The Miami Herald "A richly detailed narrative of the war finals year, with riveting looks at D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge." --San Diego Union-Tribune "Atkinson paints on a vast canvas while stressing the details. He cites the experiences of soldiers -- officers and grunts alike -- caught up in a conflagration beyond their comprehension. He preserves the humanity of humans in an inhumane situation... Passages describe human courage and depravity in such vivid prose that readers need to pause, reflect and regroup... His book is a fitting tribute." --Richmond Times-Dispatch "Soon, if not already, Atkinson will show up on the list of giants, as later historians stand on his shoulders." --The Dallas Morning News "An epic conclusion to an epic historical trilogy about an epic quest to preserve Western freedom, The Guns at Last Light is sure to join its predecessor volumes in the best-seller ranks, and confirms the Liberation Trilogy as a new benchmark against which World War II books yet to be written will be measured." --Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "A monumental piece of historical writing." --San Jose Mercury News "Exhaustively researched, highly readable . . . Just over 16 million Americans served in uniform in the war, and only one million are expected to still be alive at the end of next year. Seven decades later, the story of their service remains compelling, and thats why so many find it worthy of retelling." --Buffalo News "The consummate historian rounds out his prize-winning Liberation Trilogy with a lengthy yet always-engrossing account of the final campaigns on the Western Front, which included D-Day and the well-known Battle of the Bulge. This closing volume is perfect for armchair historians, military buffs, and all those interested in how the Allies finally achieved victory in 1945." --Charleston City Paper "A terrific read. . . [The Guns at Last Light]is narrative history at its best, providing not only an excellent chronicle of the war in Europe but also fascinating human interest stories and first-rate character studies of the major figures, as well as stories of ordinary soldiers. It is truly an outstanding study of the war and a must read for anyone interested in the Second World War." --Bowling Green Daily News (Kentucky) "Crisp narrative drive, prodigious research and incisive analysis of people and events ... Atkinsons latest work is probably the single best volume about the war in Europe from the D-Day invasion ... to the capitulation of German forces ... Rick Atkinson ... has become a poet of the war." --The Washington Independent Review of Books "Superb...Atkinson writes sensitively, even lyrically...The Guns at Last Light offers an outstanding testament to all who sacrificed to defeat Hitlers Third Reich." --The Louisville Courier-Journal "The master of narrative military history ends his Liberation Trilogy with this admired account of the 1944-45 fighting in Western Europe." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch "The Guns at Last Light is an important addition to the World War II bookshelf." --The Washington Times "Impressively researched ... and energetically written, with a brisk pace that carries the reader easily through the narratives 600-plus pages." --The Minneapolis Star Tribune "Stark photographs complement the excellent prose." --Richmond Times Dispatch "[The Guns at Last Light] is deep in detail, narrative and character description. Readers encounter famous generals -- Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley, and a host of lower officers -- in illuminated portrayals, warts and all." --Knoxville News Sentinel "Rick Atkinsons triumphant keystone in his three-part arch of World War II, 14 years in the writing, is a masterpiece . . . The Guns at Last Light will stand as the best of books about the biggest of wars." --The Marine Corps Gazette "The Guns at Last Light and the Liberation Trilogy is as good as it gets. . . a historical tour-de-force of over 2,000 pages that places Atkinson among the short list of narrative history masters. . . Students and scholars of countless future generations will look to Atkinson for the story of how freedom bested tyranny in Africa and Europe." --On Point: The Journal of Army History "Sweeping in scope, Shakespearean in drama and angst, unsparing in its observations, and rich in detail... Atkinson said that he wrote the trilogy as an effort to tell [the story of the frontline troops] vividly and authoritatively, to current and future generations. That he has." --Defense Media Network "Atkinsons zest for research and his evident devotion to hard facts never obscures the grace of his writing. The proof of that lies less in the many accolades and prizes (including a Pulitzer in history in 2003) than simply in the reading. Rare is a 600-page-plus history book that qualifies as a page turner." --Military History Magazine "Brilliant...Each volume [of the Liberation Trilogy] is characterized by superb research and fine writing. The high standard set in the prologue to the first volume carries through the epilogue to the last." --BG Harold W. Nelson, Army Magazine "Richly rewarding and beautifully crafted ...With lyrical élan, [Atkinson] accurately and objectively tells the greatest story of our time, and does so with the general reader always in mind." --World War II Magazine "Triumphant . . . Critics have correctly praised [The Guns at Last Lights] depth, its evocative nature, and its grasp of the human dimensions of this titanic campaign without losing sight of a broader narrative. . . [Atkinson has] produced a profound work, worthy of being rapidly placed on the service chiefs and other senior American commanders reading lists." --Foreign Policy.com "A marvelous capstone to a trilogy that will make Rick Atkinson to the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations what Shelby Foote is to the Civil War ... Mr. Atkinson has a rare ability to combine a historians eye with a reporters pen to simultaneously provide a sweep and detail to combat that is both unique and enjoyable for the novice student and the hardiest grognard." --New York Journal of Books "Superb... Atkinson brings his Liberation Trilogy to a resounding close... An outstanding work of popular history, in the spirit of William Manchester and Bruce Catton." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Superb... The book is distinguished by its astonishing range of coverage... [Atkinsons] lively, occasionally lyric prose brings the vast theater of battle, from the beaches of Normandy deep into Germany, brilliantly alive. It is hard to imagine a better history of the western fronts final phase." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "With a mastery of sources that support nearly every sentence, Atkinson achieves a military history with few peers as an overview of the 1944-45 campaigns in Western Europe." --Booklist "The book stands out from others on World War II because it successfully explores the fallibility of participants at all levels...This is not a detailed account of any one particular battle but a sweeping epic, yet it is packed with fascinating details. Highly recommended to all who read World War II history." --Library Journal "The brilliant, more-than-worth-the-wait final volume of [Atkinsons] epic Liberation Trilogy. . . The Guns at Last Light should be read not just as a great work of narrative military history, but as an accomplished work of American literature." --BookPage Review Quote With a mastery of sources that support nearly every sentence, Atkinson achieves a military history with few peers as an overview of the 1944-45 campaigns in Western Europe. Excerpt from Book PROLOGUE A killing frost struck England in the middle of May 1944, stunting the plum trees and the berry crops. Stranger still was a persistent drought. Hotels posted admonitions above their bathtubs: "The Eighth Army crossed the desert on a pint a day. Three inches only, please." British newspapers reported that even the king kept "quite clean with one bath a week in a tub filled only to a line which he had painted on it." Gale winds from the north grounded most Allied bombers flying from East Anglia and the Midlands, although occasional fleets of Flying Fortresses still could be seen sweeping toward the Continent, their contrails spreading like ostrich plumes. Nearly five years of war had left British cities as "bedraggled, unkempt and neglected as rotten teeth," according to an American visitor, who found that "people referred to before the war as if it were a place, not a time." The country was steeped in heavy smells, of old smoke and cheap coal and fatigue. Wildflowers took root in bombed-out lots from Birmingham to Plymouth-sow-whistle, Oxford ragwort, and rosebay willow herb, a tall flower with purple petals that seemed partial to catastrophe. Less bucolic were the millions of rats swarming through three thousand miles of London sewers; exterminators scattered sixty tons of sausage poisoned with zinc phosphate, and stale bread dipped in barium carbonate. Privation lay on the land like another odor. British men could buy a new shirt every twenty months. Housewives twisted pipe cleaners into hair clips. Iron railings and grillwork had long been scrapped for the war effort; even cemeteries stood unfenced. Few shoppers could find a fountain pen or a wedding ring, or bedsheets, vegetable peelers, shoelaces. Posters discouraged profligacy with depictions of the "Squander Bug," a cartoon rodent with swastika pockmarks. Classified advertisements included pleas in the Times of London for "unwanted artificial teeth" and cash donations to help wounded Russian war horses. An ad for Chez-Vous household services promised "bombed upholstery and carpets cleaned." Other government placards advised, "Food is a munition. Dont waste it." Rationing had begun in June 1940 and would not end completely until 1954. The monthly cheese allowance now stood at two ounces per citizen. Many children had never seen a lemon; vitamin C came from "turnip water." The Ministry of Food promoted "austerity bread," with a whisper of sawdust, and "victory coffee," brewed from acorns. "Woolton pie," a concoction of carrots, potatoes, onions, and flour, was said to lie "like cement upon the chest." For those with strong palates, no ration limits applied to sheeps head, or to eels caught in local reservoirs, or to roast cormorant, a stringy substitute for poultry. More than fifty thousand British civilians had died in German air raids since 1940, including many in the resurgent "Baby Blitz" begun in January 1944 and just now petering out. Luftwaffe spotter planes illuminated their targets with clusters of parachute flares, bathing buildings and low clouds in rusty light before the bombs fell. A diarist on May 10 noted "the great steady swords of searchlights" probing for enemy aircraft as flak fragments spattered across rooftops like hailstones. Even the Wimbledon tennis club had been assaulted in a recent raid that pitted center court; a groundskeeper patched the shredded nets with string. Tens of thousands sheltered at night in the Tube, and the cots standing in tiers along the platforms of seventy-nine designated stations were so fetid that the sculptor Henry Moore likened wartime life in these underground rookeries to "the hold of a slave ship." It was said that some young children-perhaps those also unacquainted with lemon-had never spent a night in their own beds. Even during these short summer nights, the mandatory blackout, which in London in mid-May lasted from 10:30 p.m. to 5:22 p.m., was so intense that one writer found the city "profoundly dark, like a mental condition." Darkness also cloaked an end-of-days concupiscence, fueled by some 3.5 million soldiers now crammed into a country smaller than Oregon. Hyde and Green Parks at dusk were said by a Canadian soldier to resemble "a vast battlefield of sex." A chaplain reported that GIs and streetwalkers often copulated standing up after wrapping themselves in a trench coat, a position known as "Marble Arch style." "Piccadilly Circus is a madhouse after dark," an American lieutenant wrote his mother, "and a man cant walk without being attacked by dozens of women." Prostitutes-"Piccadilly Commandos"-sidled up to men in the blackout and felt for their rank insignia on shoulders and sleeves before tendering a price: ten shillings (two dollars) for enlisted men, a pound for officers. Or so it was said. Proud Britain soldiered on, a bastion of civilization even amid wars indignities. A hurdy-gurdy outside the Cumberland Hotel played "You Would Not Dare Insult Me, Sir, If Jack Were Only Here," as large crowds in Oxford Street sang along with gusto. Londons West End cinemas this month screened For Whom the Bell Tolls, starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman, and Destination Tokyo, with Cary Grant. Theater patrons could see John Gielgud play Hamlet, or No Description for Library Atkinson wraps up his "Liberation Trilogy," which opened with the Pulitzer Prize-winning (and best-selling) An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 and continued with The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944. Details ISBN0805062904 Publisher Henry Holt & Company Language English ISBN-10 0805062904 ISBN-13 9780805062908 Media Book Format Hardcover Residence Washington, DC, US Year 2013 Edition Description Volume Three of Series Liberation Trilogy Series Number 3 Short Title GUNS AT LAST LIGHT Subtitle The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 DOI 10.1604/9780805062908 Imprint Henry Holt & Company Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2013-05-14 NZ Release Date 2013-05-14 US Release Date 2013-05-14 UK Release Date 2013-05-14 Pages 896 DEWEY 940.5421 Illustrations Maps; Halftones, black and white Audience General Author Rick Atkinson Publication Date 2013-05-14 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137328773;

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