Ryan, Cornelius. The Longest Day. New York: Touchstone, 1994.

ISBN 0-671-89091-3
350 pages

Foreword; Acknowledgments; photos; Bibliography; Index

Ryan, Cornelius. The Last Battle. New York: Touchstone, 1994.

ISBN 0-684-80329-1
571 pages

Foreword; Acknowledgments; photos; Bibliography; Index

Ryan, Cornelius. A Bridge Too Far. New York: Touchstone, 1995.

ISBN 0-684-80330-5
670 pages

Foreword; Acknowledgments; photos; Bibliography; Index

Originally published in 1959, 1966, and 1974 respectively, these three titles -- two of which were made into blockbuster films -- are widely considered among the classics of Second World War literature. These softcover reprints from Touchstone (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) were released as a matching set around the time of the 50th Anniversary celebrations and are still in print.

Ryan interviewed hundreds of civilians and soldiers from many nations to prepare these books, filling them in large measure with eyewitness accounts and the ground-level stories of men and women caught in the blast of events. Despite the emphasis on individual memories, Ryan carefully weaves the threads of personal vignettes into a coherent tapestry displaying the broader pattern of the unfolding campaigns. Of course, Ryan with his journalist's credentials also had access to generals such as Eisenhower, Bradley, Montgomery, Rundstedt, Student, Heinrici, Koniev, Rokossovskii, and Chuikov, so not all his sources spent all their time in foxholes. Still, Ryan was unsurpassed in his ability to create a satisfying "big picture" from so many individual parts.

Although recent years have brought more rigorous and scholarly treatments of the operational and strategic aspects of D-Day, the Battle of Berlin, and Market-Garden, all three of these books remain well worth reading and deserve the wide audiences they've achieved over the years. And of course the films are great fun to watch every year when the anniversaries roll around.

Available from online booksellers and local bookshops.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing these review copies.