Day Books

In the genre of popular Civil War books, the emphasis is often on the people in the story - who did what and when, what was said between protagonists, and the telling of the many interesting ancedotes that liven up the prose. The good books give a clear background to the decision and actions, but are often difficult to follow as they are unclear about many of the non-human aspects of a campaign, such geographic, ecological and engineering details that affected the course of events. Grabau has produced a magnificent work that addresses in depth many of the fascinating background issues that affected the outcome of the Vicksburg campaign. We learn much about the geology of the Mississippi river, and how the landcape along the river determined the course of events. We learn much about logistical realities that the armies had to contend with, such as the pounds per square inch by which a cassion wheel contacts the earth. Because it so high (about 20 times that of a modern battle tank), wagons will sink in with any rain, greatly limiting the mobility of an army. Grabau provides fascinating details concerning transportion by equine (horses and mules), and how they controlled Civil war tactics. An army had to carry fodder in most cases, with greatly diminishing returns as the distance increases. If, for example, an army had to travel over 70 miles, all it could carry was horse fodder, rather than the army. One of the best aspects of the book are the detailed maps of the region, the battles, and the siege works around Visckburg. These maps provide great clarity to the narritive and understanding of the events. I was at Vicksburg the week before I read the book, and am able to state that the maps are accurate and match the landscape well. They would be vital to those who travel to Vicksburg, as they bring clarity to a heterogenous and often confusing landscape. With the maps, one can now find many of the locations of the campaign that are currently unmarked, aan in doing so, better appreciate the role important role of geography as a controller of events. The writing style is clear and moves right along, alternating between federal and Confederate views of the same series of events. In many ways, I found this to be the best Civil War book I have read, because of the smooth delivery and depth of information. Why only 4 stars? The description of key events, such as the battles, the siege, the surrender and aftermath are generally pretty brief. There is not much detail provided regarding the human actions in the campaign. We learn, for example, which units assaulted the Stockade Redan, that they attacked, did not have much success, and eventually retreated. The human interest stories that often provide for a rich narrative are sparse and often economically delivered. In this manner, Grabau's style has to be contrasted with that of Shelby Foote, but that to be expected, as Foote brings a novelist's perspective while Grabau has a background in geography and the sciences. Both perspectives work. To fully appreciate the Vicksburg campaign, I would recommend 98 Days be read before Foote's The Beleagured City and other more recent texts. In this way, the reader would bring a background understanding to the narratives by Foote and others that are somewhat sparse on the details but tell a great story of the people involved.

Read this book in preparation to touring the campaign per the recommendation of the guide we employed. Was not disappointed.
Ed Bearss three volume work is often referred to as the definitive work, but can be a dry read. So, this is a good alternative but should probably be read in conjuction with another work such as Winchels (park historian?) "Triumph and Defeat". Grabau has great regimental movement maps and emphasizes the geological and landscape character of the terrain upon which this campaign was conducted. Read it.

There should be more books like this on other battles of the Civil War. Warren Grabau has blended the common, often read knowledge of Vicksburg with his own geographic/weather insights that make this a slightly different insight into the soldier's experience. The book reads quite well and in no time the reader is finished...disapointed there is no next chapter. The maps are quite good, allowing the reader insight as to the ongoings on the battlefield(s). This a must read for anyone interested in the civil war and a definite...no excuse not to.. read for those specifically involved with the western theater. Now I think I will go and re-read the book to enjoy the second time!

Grabau, a lifelong student of the Vicksburg campaign and a collaborator of Ed Bearss, has laid down a marker for other military historians with this new study which should remain the best single-volume treatment of the campaign for some days to come. I have never seen a more comprehensive blending of all the factors which influence the outcome of war. Grabau succinctly ties together communications, intelligence, and logistics along with astute observations on military operations and command personalities. His expertise in geography and geology allows him to describe, in layman's terms, the impact of Mississippi's weather, terrain and vegetation on day to day operations. His enlightening but commonsensical analysis of soil, climate, road surfaces and water sources adds another dimension to the reader's understanding of how and why the campaign was waged. Students of joint warfare should find this volume of great value as Grabau carefully delineates the cooperation between Grant's army and Porter's fleet - what a shining example for today's military! The backbone of this book consists of a set of 68 accessible maps which graphically illustrate actions and decisions of the participants. Accompanying line and block charts of orders of battle and associated command structures further assist the reader. A typical chapter begins with a geographical description of the area to be discussed followed with sections dealing with a particular battle or operation as seen, first by the Union participants, and then by the Confederates ---very effective. The author's style is snappy and crisp; he wields his facts comfortably and accompanied by a nice sense of humor. My only disappointment was the lack of an exhaustive bibliography, but given the extraordinary effort this work entailed, that's rather small potatoes. This volume is mandatory for any serious student of the Vicksburg campaign, of U.S. Grant, or of amphibious operations. Additionally, I can think of no other work that more clearly illustrates the genius and courage of U.S. Grant and David Porter.

Best analysis of the nuts and bolts of the Vicksburg Campaign. The maps alone will make you wish every civil war book could be just like 98 Days. I would change only one thing about the book: Grabau hints that some of the locals may have been aiding the Union and feeding disinformation to the Confederates. He uses Occam's Razor to arrive at this conclusion. However, some amount of information available in the O.R. and other primary source documents suggests the existence of a vast network of Unionists and deserters that actively resisted the Confederacy in Mississippi. Although the evidence is circumstantial with regard to Grant's intel operations in Mississippi, Grabau points out that there are simply too many fortunate coincidences on the march from Bruinsburg to Bovina (Confederate units wandering aimlessly after being told the wrong directions, "railroad workers" who just happen to know the exact number of cannon and regiments in Pemberton's offensive force, Grant's effortless movement through enemy territory, and the absence of intel flowing from the common folk to the Confederate command concerning Union movements). I would have enjoyed seeing him follow up on this thought. Anyone interested in researching this topic should read "The Free State of Jones: Mississippi's Longest Civil War" (a dry but very thoroughly researched read), "Tupelo" by Reverend John Aughey, and the O.R. entries concerning Choctaw County.

I only skimmed this book (didn't want to "crack" the binding!), as I bought it as a gift for my son's piano teacher. She just wrote me a thank you note and called the book "amazing." She's a very dedicated teacher, loves the piano and her students, and this book really touched her. (The little bit I read was lovely.) I would highly recommend this book as a gift for a piano teacher, but I'm sure it would be equally welcomed by anyone who loves music or who took music lessons as a child.

I devoured this book on my Kindle because I was so hungry to know how piano students learn. I recently took up piano so that I can help my young daughter with her lesson/homework. This book inspires me to be more patient with my daughter and myself in my own endeavor to learn the piano as an adult. The only regret I have about this book is that it seems rather short, and it didn't take much time to finish reading it.

As one of Tricia's former piano students and friends, I was shocked and awed by how fantastic her book is. I always knew she was a special person with talent oozing from her fingertips when it came to both music and literature but this book blew me away. You don't have to have any knowledge of the piano or any interest in music at all to enjoy this wonderful book. Everyone should read it, I guarantee you'll enjoy it as much as I did!
-M.A.

I am fifty-one and about to start my fifth year of piano lessons. I'm slogging in the early - middle intermediate stage. I am also the father of there teenage girls who have studied piano five years, eight years and ten years.
This book covers the entire child (or new adult, like me) piano training process from beginning, age seven, to graduating high school, it lays out all the steps.
So I am highly recommending this book to parents, who are trying to figure out where the lessons are going and where they will lead, and to intermediate adult students, like me, who are trying to figure out how one becomes an advanced student. The advanced students "are in this because of an attraction to the act of playing that is compelling, deep and inarguable." The "difficult passages must be broken down into their smallest part and played over and over and over." So, for me there is no more skimming and going off for a ham sandwich (playing with my laptop) when my Scarlatti is hard.
Sadly, maybe, for parents this desire to master the piano "comes entirely from within". I am not sure my older daughters will ever be advanced, they don't "feel an internal necessity to play".
The book was written to adults (I knew every Beatles song and can't imagine playing a duet of American Pie, front to back), and while I think teenage students would certainly sympathize with the Recital chapter, most of the reflections on learning would probably be lost on them.
Thank you Tricia Tunstall for sharing your life and explaining the process to us, and for telling me to work harder.

This book is poignant, tender and funny. The author, a piano teacher, describes the wonderful relationships she has built with her students, how they progress and what she learns from them. The book also harks back to the author's own piano teachers, and finally (and most movingly) to her last piano teacher, who was her husband. Anyone would love this book, whether they have any piano experience or not. It is really about the dimensions of personal growth and how they are enhanced by a student-teacher experience, no matter what realm that relationship takes place in. And it's about the something unusual in our world today: a slow, gradual process.

On That Day by author and illustrator Andrea Patel is a treasure of a book for families, libraries, and especially schools. Through the images of the media almost every citizen of the world became an unwilling participant in the tragic events of September 11, 2001. On That Day is a tribute to the power of goodness in the world that compensates for even the most destructive events. As an elementary school, our students benefit from annual reading of this story to help each young citizen construct meaning and create the history of 9-11. Ms. Patel's selected text engages all listeners and is inspirational to read. Her colorful, collaged illustrations suggest the text's images while offering a spring board for further discussion. As you read the author's notes, you will recognize your own feelings from "that day." This story is not only well crafted, but also timeless, in that it can transcend to related topics of peace, hope, and love. In addition to being a Reading Rainbow selection, On That Day is destine to become an award winner. We wait for future efforts from this writer with great anticipation. Andrea Patel truly is a very gifted author and illustrator who shares her stories brilliantly

This is a wonderful and beloved work. My family lost one of our own in the South Tower on the 104th floor. When I read this book by Andrea Patel, I was deeply moved. She takes an event that is a tragic wound for the world, and transfigures it into a beautiful message of hope. Wonderful not only for children, but for adults. She does this through creative and unique art blended with heartfelt words that evoke soul and healing. Thank you Andrea for such a special gift.

I came across this book a month ago. The words haunt me -- but in a good way... "on that day, the day when the world felt like it broke." That's exactly what it felt like. The author opens a window to the young to help explain the "reactions" of adults and gives perspective. It's a big does of HOPE for children and adults. A beautiful book that stands up beyond the anniversary of September 11th. Timely -- but also destined to be a classic.

When this book was shown to me in its originial copy, i was blown away! I couldnt believe that the author could have envisioned something so amazing! I was astonished by how she captured the tragedy of Sept 11th in pictures and gave words that matched so perfectly in how to teach your child about something so unthinkable. I think that every public school that deals with children from age 3-7 should have this book as a teaching aide in their school. If only people interested in buying this book could have seen the reactions it got from college level students, they would see how much this children's book really helps to understand tragedy. This is a MUST BUY!

As a teacher of young children I was searching for a book about September 11th that was appropriate for their emotional, perceptual and intellectual levels of development. This book was pretty good. In fact, it was the best I found. Then why did I give it only 3 stars ? In her text she wrote "The world...got badly hurt." In fact, the world did not get hurt badly. AMERICA
DID. I currently teach children from Pakistan, Jamaica,
China and Guyana, as well as The United States. Working with international families for two decades, I have learned that Americans often misperceive our tragedies as world tragedies. What happens in America IS important, but other nations experience tragedies that we barely acknowledge. So I "substituted" America where Ms Patel has written "the world" and the parents were satisfied. The children still understood that something very sad and scary happened to Americans that day, they still understood that they have the power to make the world a better place. And they understood that no matter where we live in the world all children (and grown ups) need to have books of hope. Most of the message is excellent, very empowering to children; and the art work is superb. I encourage people to buy the book, with the advance awareness of its American egocentricism.

My mother loves getting her cat calendar each year. This calendar has never failed to bring a smile to her face. Very well packaged and put together...

My mother loves getting her cat calendar each year. This calendar has never failed to bring a smile to her face. Very well packaged and put together...

This is the most uplifting and cute calendar ever! My wife got one years and years ago and we can't go a year without it now. It's an absolute must for every cat lover! I want to hurry through the day so I can see what the next day's picture is about. It's a jewel in the rough of everyday life!

This calendar is the best and I don't just mean because it has cats, I mean page - a - day makes the absolute best calendars in the world. Any idea or thing that you love, page-a-day has that calendar. I happen to love cats so this is the best calendar for me. I have a standing order with anyone who knows me that if you want to get on my good side, just give me this calendar for Christmas and I'll love you forever. The problem, everyone thinks someone else is getting it for me and then I don't get it. I really don't understand why I never get the calendar, it wouldn't bother me if I got two or three of these calendars. I could have one at home, work, car anywhere. Oh well, maybe next year I'll get one as a gift.

Every year I send pictures of my cats in (a few have been published in past calendars!). A must for any cat lover!

Finally, someone has put into print an accurate and factual picture of what the drug manufacturing industry does to place profits way ahead of patient benefit and safety. Anyone who takes prescription medications should read this book. Maybe it gets a little too technical in spots for people not in the health professions, but there is plenty of excellent information and suggestions to make this a very valuable reference for consumer-oriented patients.
I am a doctoral-level clinical pharmacist, and I found myself in agreement with most all of what Dr. Cohen has written and recommended in this book. This should be required reading for every practicing physician, medical student, pharmacist, and nurse in the country. Medical schools should add this to their curriculum for all of our doctors-to-be to read before they take their pharmacology course and start their clinical training.

...I was intrigued by Dr. Cohen's basic premise. The drug industry tries to make drug dosing easy for doctors, but what about the patient? The one size fits all.. dosing is not consumer centric, and in the new age of the informed drug consumer it is about time consumers got their correct dose. Dr. Cohen is... pro-drug treatment for many conditions. He wants to have drug makers offer information and pill sizes for lower dose use. Why should a 250 pound man and 100 pound grandmother get the same starting dose. Yet that is what pharmaceutical companies do in their starting dose recommended. This leads to greater side effects and reduces the use of medicines, says Dr.Cohen. Well-written and easy to understanfd Dr. Cohen raises new opportunities for consumer centric companies interested in making drugs that can be used with less side effects. With poor patient retention and compliance by patients drug companies should be doing what they can to make drug treatment more palatable. Clearly, reducing the over dosing is one way to get greater compliance.

I began working in pharmacy in the late 1960's. I helped dispense drugs at a retail drugstore in my home town and I did the same in the largest hospital in Chicago. I kept it up at another hospital and then started "doing" it on my own when I opened my retail store in 1983. I read the manufacturers' package inserts and I followed the prescriptions as they were ordered - and I noticed that many people had problems with the "recommended" dose. Sometimes they got used to the dose and sometimes it had to be changed. In any event, the recommended dose was not always accurate accurate - it was often dangerously WRONG.

I don't know what I thought about all the problems with prescription drugs. I guess I just presumed the patients were overly sensitive, or just unlucky. I didn't often think too much about it - until I became aware of Dr. Jay Cohen and his "Case Against the Drug Companies." His shocking book is called "OVER DOSE" and it describes in good detail the dangers of relying on the manufacturers' package inserts to prescribe drugs.

This is an "eye opener" book and it angers me. How is it that we have this overriding desire to place the bottom line above decent care for health? There are some great things happening in medicine - all around the world. But I think that all the good can be quickly undone by hanging on to a misguided philosophy that insists that profits trump everything else. Its time for a change and Dr. Cohen is part of the changing process. I promise to do my part for change. One thing is to expose potential problems (like Dr. Cohen has done) and another is to encourage people to think about the issues (that's my goal). Please get a copy of this book. Read it and then think about what it really means. When we reach a critical mass changes will happen. You can bank on it! (pun intended)

The aphorism, the cure is worse than the disease, is an apropos motto for "Over Dose." Drug company policies rake in billions while harming the very patients they are meant to help. Dr. Jay S. Cohen opens more cans of worms than a fisherman could hook in his lifetime. The evidence is horrifically overwhelming - America is being overmedicated.

Dr. Cohen is not anti-medication; he advocates the reasonable usage of these powerful meds. His mantra is "start low, go slow." The well researched (53 pages of references) is adept at uncovering the shortcomings of the pharmaceutical companies and their adverse effects on the public - 46% of Americans take at least one prescription daily. Cohen shows how the drug companies' one-size-fits-all dosage is literally killing people. Nearly 300 people die daily due to a medication reaction. The dire facts keep on coming. The author's case against the drug companies is convincing.

Dr. Cohen's precise writing is somber. But the real sad part of this tragedy is how avoidable it can be. Dr. Cohen is equally effective in offering realistic solutions. He clearly states, "My goal in writing `Over Dose' is to provide you with informed consent about the unacceptable state of medication treatment today...to reduce your risks-and to begin to end the side-effect epidemic." "Over Dose" is a must have; the expose may alter you life for the better and perhaps even save it.

Bohdan Kot

A valuable theme disclosing inadequate testing by the drug companies and woeful evaluations by the FDA of prescription drugs. The main thesis is well-taken: lower doses of many drugs could minimize side-effects, including death. Actually does not go far enough in exposing all the major drug classes that do not increase lifespan at all!
Also available from Amazon: Prescription for Disaster by Thomas Moore and The Nutritional Cost of Prescription Drugs by Ross Pelton and James LaValle.

This book is for busy moms...but I'm not a mom and I've found this book to be very helpful. I love using the book to meditate or to simply tote around with me through the day to pray and talk to God. A Wonderful book.

This little book was great. I was able to keep in on my kitchen counter and just browse through it whenever I found a few spare minutes. It has a ribbon bookmark to keep your place, but it's also nice because you don't have to necessarily read it in order.

This book offers practical tips for maintaining your spiritual self and coping with the demands of a family. Lots to think about.

Having known Tracy at my church for almost 3 years, she was the one who actually made me see prayer "out of the box". This wonderful book takes that conversation to a higher level and it allows others to benefit from a more personal relationship with Christ by understanding that prayer doesn't have to be a formalized process. We can talk to our Father all day long!

This lovely little book has hundreds of ideas about how to squeeze prayer into your busy day. It's a great gift book--and I plan to give one to my daughter who just made me a grandma for the first time.
--Author of 20 books, including PrayerWalk, Daily PrayerWalk, Prayer Changes Teens, PrayerStreaming and My Prayer Buddy Devotional

This is an excellent first book on the subject of private mortgage lending.

If you have no idea if what private mortgage lending is about, it has enough detail for you to understand what the business is about and how to get started.

In my opinion, it does not spend enough time explaining the "Gotchas". It has plenty of information to get you started but not enough to keep you out of trouble.

If you are interested in engaging in this business as a lender, by all means buy this book first, but when you have read it two or three times, be aware that you need to know a lot more about troubled borrowers, real estate inspections and appraisals, real estate title problems, bankruptcy, and local forclosure laws and procedures before you start lending your own money.

This is a very helpful book on the topic of hard money loans. It also touches on investing in discount notes. Even an experienced investor will find some helpful nuggets of information in this book. This book not only showed me the way to safely invest & build personal wealth, but it gave me insight as a mortgage broker looking to place my clients with hard money loans. I called and spoke with co-author Matt Tabacchi recently, and he is still in business with 4 branch offices...I may even place some of my money with him to lend in Florida.

Clark's book covers the basics that any investor will need to know, including why to choose private mortgage investing (and what your other options are) and how to go about doing it. It covers all of the different aspects of mortgages such as fees, interest rates, and even has handy tables to help you out. The appendices are the best feature as they have all the forms you will need as well as a comprehensive glossary (very useful!). This book covers everything you need to know to succeed, but were too scared to ask about. It even has case studies and examples explained with real numbers that help tie the whole thing together. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to start earning money with private mortgage investments.

Clark and Tabacchi have created a masterpiece of an educational and supportive tool that should become a desk reference for any investor from amateur through industry mogul. By providing the reader with an organized and easy to understand manual on the otherwise opaque investing industry, Clark & Tabacchi display their expertise in this subject matter by guiding the beginning investor through the processes of choice from traditional savings through stocks and bonds on to the lucrative market of Mortgage Investing.
The explanation of the reasoning behind the private mortgage industry that tells you why you would want to find yourself in this industry gets the juices flowing and interests peaked. Your journey includes a thorough exposure to strategies of Mortgage Investing, this resource is a must have companion.

This book is straightforward and gives you a tremendous amount of information about investing in private mortgages. Unlike a lot of books of the investment genre, it does not try to sell you on services provided by the authors. In fact, I wish the book had a bit more reference material for making contacts to get started with this type of investing.

This guide was a birthday gift along with "Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Road Guide." We used the two of these books nonstop during our nine days in the park. This book offers acurate information regarding the trails and rankings. Understand that not ALL trails are listed. I picked up "Best Easy Day Hikes Yellowstone" but it's trail rankings were not as acurate. If you are purchasing one book on trail hiking in Yellowstone, use this one.

We have been hiking the National Parks in the West for almost 20 years and this is the most valuable trail book I own. The information on each trail is completely accurate with respect to distances, maps, directions, etc., and the naturalist notes are very informational. We have completed 75% of the hikes in this book and have enjoyed every single one - some have even been done two or more times. The book is small enough to carry in a fanny pack. I have thrown away all of my other Yellowstone hiking books as this has become affectionately known as "The Bible".

We bought this book before a trip to Yellowstone with our family. The book was very helpful in helping us find trails that our whole family could do. The pictures and discriptions were very helpful in the planning and telling our kids what to look for.

This is an excellent guide to relatively short day hikes in Yellowstone. Provides good descriptions on what you will see on the trails and it's small enough to take along on your hike.

As a veteran of more than 35 years of wilderness backpacking in all kinds of weather and every season of the year my brother-in-law and I decided to shoot HD video in Yellowstone.

We did not want to do a wilderness trek on the first time out with all new video gear so decided day hikes were best. We did 20 of 29 of the hikes in "A Ranger's Guide to Yellowstone Day Hikes" in 7 days and covered 70 miles on foot.

This is a great book, one of the best I have seen in my years of hiking and backpacking. Each trail is unique and amazing. Some are tough but even the steepest trail was not so bad for a 54 year old with 35 pounds of video gear on his back. Trail ratings are true, so you will NOT be surprised by a gargantuan climb that is rated as moderate. Strenuous ratings wisely reflect both length and elevation change.

If you have room for only one day hike book in your travel gear this IS the book. If you are a seasoned backcountry expert or a beginner you will not be dissapointed.

I found a copy of Ace Parker's book at my father's home. As SSgt. Richard Hathaway, he served with Ace Parker and was among the 23 Rangers that made if off Omaha Beach on D-Day and hooked up with the 2nd Rangers on Pointe du Hoc. They were the only unit to attain their D-Day objective, for which Parker received the DSC. The stories he told in the book added more details to the stories my father told me about his combat experiences. For example, he must have been standing near Ace Parker when that tank round went by on Pointe du Hoc because my father told me he could feel the heat as the round passed them.
Although the book suffers from some grammatical inconsistencies and historical errors that could have benefitted from more rigorous editing, the raw experiences of Capt. Parker come through in the story telling.
If you are looking for the perspective of one man close to the action to add detail to the broader sweeps portrayed by Stephen Ambrose, Corneilius Ryan and others, then read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks to M.Taggatz , I have could discover an other sight about Ranger's D-Day and especially Charles "Ace" Parker : a special man with the nobly convictions ! This book have a "heart" and probably , it capture the spirit of Ranger's D-Day ! I think and I wish that the memory oh this men musn't be forgotten ... To read absolutely !

Having read many books on the personal experiences of WWII veterans, I can honestly say that this is, hands down, the best first person account I have read to date! Anyone with even the slightest interest in WWII should pick it up and read it ASAP! Mr. Parker was an unbelievable man with an unbelievable story-thanks to his nieces, we can all read it now and benefit from it.

As I read "Reflections of Courage on D-Day" I could hear my father talking through Ace Parker. My dad, Harold Gene Mann, private in the 5th Ranger Battalion, said many of the same things about his experiences and said them in the same way. I am throughly enjoying hearing him speak again.

Thanks from the heart. Howard G. Mann

This may not be the book for you if you are only starting to read about WW2, but once you have a basic undersatnding of the invasion of Normandy, it is a very historical important document. Ace Parker played a major role in the relief of the main Ranger Force on D-day. These actions are not well documented elsewhere, and I really wish I had known of this book while writing "Spearheading D-day". It would have made my life a lot easier.

Buy these small press WW2 memoirs now, as they really go up in price when the go OOP.

My father-in-law served with Easy company. His name was Loring "Spike" Wadsworth. If you've seen the opening part of "Saving Private Ryan", it is hard to imagine that anyone had it scarier than those guys on that beach. Until you hear the stories of the men at Pointe-du-Hoc. And then to think that there were one or two battles further in that some of these Rangers felt were even worse! Spike was proud of the 2nd Bn., and the men loved Rudder and would have followed him into the very jaws of Hell; which is in essence what they did. My father-in-law and his comrades inspired me to serve my own enlistment in the Army, and he was mighty proud at my service. Coming from a hero who served with Rudder's Rangers, his pride in me meant more than any service award or medal I ever got. Spike died shortly after attending the 50th anniversary of D-day. Read this book. You will be awed by the strength and guts of these men. I have had the priviledge of having known one of them. Rangers lead the way!

As a 5th Battalion Ranger reading Ron Lane's true story, memories of the first days of the Normandy invasion come alive as if they happened yesterday.

As the 2nd and 5th Ranger Bns. interacted on many missions of WWII, this vividly written account of the assault on the French beaches - and the awesome task of gaining a foothold from which to advance into Europe - brings that time alive to all Rangers.

Lt. Col. Ronald Lane captures the emotions and pride of all of us, as he sees that time through the eyes of those he interviewed for his book. As a later Airborne Ranger in Viet Nam, he better understands and narrates the stories of the WWII Rangers and relates them so realistically that they are absorbing and meaningful to soldiers and civilians alike. In this book, you will put yourself into the body of each Ranger making history at that time. USER-LOCATION: REVIEW: As a 5th Battalion Ranger reading Ron Lane's true story, memories of the first days of the Normandy invasion come alive as if they happened yesterday.

As the 2nd and 5th Ranger Bns. interacted in many missions of WWII, this vividly written account of the assault on the French beaches - and the awesome task of gaining a foothold from which to advance into Europe - brings that time alive to all Rangers.

Lt. Col. Ronald Lane captures the emotions and pride of all of us, as he sees that time through the eyes of those he interviewed for his book. As a later Airborne Ranger in Viet Nam, he better understands and narrates the stories of the WWII Rangers and relates them so realistically that they are absorbing and meaningful to soldiers and civilians alike. In this book, you will put yourself into the body of each Ranger making history at that time. END

I am a 1st cousin of Ronald Lane. Ronald passed away just a couple of years ago. He was laid to rest in Arlington Cemetary with full military honors. In attendance were some of the orignal Rudder's Rangers. Ron was retired from the army. He also graduated from West Point. I read the book. I am proud to be part of his remaining family, and very proud of his work!

I found this to be an excellent and authoritative book with detailed accounts of the 2nd Rangers on D-Day. I know a number of Rangers veterans who recommended this book to me as a well written and accurate account. This is by far one of the best D-Day books I have in my growing collection. If you are a D-Day buff, then I recommend it to you without hesitation. Your D-Day collection will be incomplete without it!

From the very start of this book, you're pulled in. You're on the English Channel with the young, brave, terrified Rangers as they make their way towards Omaha Beach. You'll hear the whine of the Landing craft engines. You'll watch as the men struggle to keep their landing craft afloat, or as they sink helplessly to the bottom with all their heavy gear, drowned before their mission really started. You'll recoil from the geysers of water shooting into the air from German artillery. You'll duck - knowing it's futile, that once you hear it, it's already past you - as bullet after bullet pings off your craft. It's an incredible ride, and an incredible story. "Saving Private Ryan" was fictionalized, but the first thirty minutes of that movie realistically portrayed the horrors of that day. Read this book to find out the rest of the story, from the men who were there. One of the main persons in this story is Leonard "Bud" Lomell, who has a chapter in the "Heroes" section of Tom Brokaw's best seller, "The Greatest Generation." If you're hungry to find out more about him and the rest of his Ranger buddies - all heroes in my eyes - read this book!