About this title: On 17th September 1944, the people of southern England gaped as the mightiest airborne force in history thundered overhead "en route" for Arnhem. Arnhem was 64 miles behind the German lines in Holland, and Field-Marshal Montgomery's plan was to sieze the Rhine bridges at Arnhem and Nijmegen to allow an Allied thrust into the industrial heart of Nazi Germany. The Allied armies south of the Rhine were due to reinforce the airborne troops once the bridges had been captured. When Lt-General "Boy" Browning, the Deputy Commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, asked Montgomery how long it would ...
read more
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1974
ISBN-13:9780671217921ISBN:0671217925
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 670 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1974
ISBN-13:9780671217921ISBN:0671217925
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Signed by Author. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 670 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Popular Library
Date Published: 1977
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Signed by previous owner. Nice soft cover, lightly read, shelf wear to cover, light creases on spine, light aging, light water mark on bottom corner, bend on bottom corner of front cover, stk #2391L7. 603 p. Includes index. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Popular Library
Date Published: 1974
ISBN-13:9780445083738ISBN:0445083735
Description: Very Good. Moderate shelf wear & a few spine creases on orange cover. Aged pages, no writing or markings. From Library Journal: Published in 1974 and 1966, respectively, these comprise the second and third legs of Ryan's World War II trilogy begun with 1959's The Longest Day (Classic Returns, 4/15/94). Bridge examines the Allies' failed plan to open a venue into Germany, while The Last Battle profiles the growing tensions among the ranks of both the Allied and the Axis powers toward the ... read more
Edition: Collector's ed.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: POPULAR LIBRARY, Norwalk, Conn.
Date Published: 1974
ISBN-13:9781445083735ISBN:1445083736
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. 670 p. : ill.; 24 cm. Includes Illustrations. OLDER BOOK WITH WEAR ON EDGES / CREASES. PAGES CLEAN AND TIGHT. 1940's; Arnhem, Battle of, 1944; NON-Fiction; Historical; History; Military; Netherlands; World War 2; World War II; World War, 1939-1945 Originally published 1974. Includes bibliographical references (p. 641-649) and index. NF-A, MAILS QUICKLY read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Popular Library
Date Published: 1974
Description: Good in Unknown jacket. Good to Very Good Tight spine, some cover and edge wear and no markings. Tanning pages. World War II Non-Fiction. (#42018) read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Popular Library
Date Published: 1974
Description: Very-Good+ 12mo. {008904} A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan. Published by Popular Library in 1974. MASS MARKET PAPERBACK 12mo History {Book Condition} VERY-GOOD+ {Book Condition Details} Cover: edge wear, light creasing on Spine, light creasing, rubbing. read more
"Probably the best book written about a single operation in WWII, A Bridge Too Far chronicles the ambitious plan of Montgomery to airlift troops into Holland, capture the bridges and cross the Rhine, culminating in the defeat of the German Panzer units on the other side. It was and still is one of the greatest Allied defeats of World War II.
Many plans begin with the chilling phrase, "Home By Christmas." Well, this was the ultimate "Home By Christmas" plan and ended ingloriously. The book details the very pointed philosophy on Monty- get the troops behind German lines via paratroopers, then on the other side, crush them with armor. Sandwiched between the two sides, the Germans would be defeated in droves. The book then details the planning and the shear mass of the invasion- it was actually a bigger overall operation than D-Day. And it was as much a failure as D-Day was a success.
For starters, the book makes no bones- Monty was the wrong man to listen to in 1944 (the book, by inference, leads the reader to believe who was- George Patton). The Allies were coordinating too many troops in too many places with far far too many variables. The book does a superb job explaining these moving parts to the reader (complete with very well detailed maps) without making the reader feel overwhelmed. Its a very good and clean read.
But the book's most striking portrayal is of the enemy- the German high command in the West, reeling from a string of defeats, simply puts together its best points- a fearsome infantry backed by energetic and intuitive leaders and officers punctuated with the zeal to succeed. They then luck into many situations, most notably, the Allies ineptitude, and over-thinking.
The book details the average solider on both sides and what they went through- the sheer terror of being dropped into enemy positions to trying to defend against the might of England and the US (without any real support from back home as most resources were being diverted to the East). All in all, the stories the soldiers had to tell range from terrifying to unbelievable (there is one of a retreating American platoon zigzagging all night with what they believed was a British platoon- later they learned it was a German platoon hot on their heals).
The book also pulls no punches- this was, in part, a German success, but most notoriously an Allied failure. It had all the earmarks of a failure- too many troops, too many immediate objectives, too much considerations to commanders, too many troops fighting too many enemy troops with too many variables. The books paints a grand design in how all this went foul.
In the interests of full disclosure, one of the reasons I love this book is because it is the story of how my grandfather got into Europe (82nd Airborne, 325th Glider), and where he did his fighting it what turned out to be the most important war in Western Civilization. I take a personal interest in the story because its his story. Therefore, view my ranking accordingly."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
