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The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeff Shaara
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy Used: $2.40
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Rating:  95 reviews
Sales Rank: 147685
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 576
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.8
ISBN: 034546141X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345461414
ASIN: 034546141X
Publication Date: November 7, 2006
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Condition: Good copy with moderate reader wear. May have some blemishes or creases. Orders Shipped in One Business Day! Great Customer Service. Your Satisfaction is Guaranteed!
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Product Description
A modern master of the historical novel, Jeff Shaara has painted brilliant depictions of the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, and World War I. Now he embarks upon his most ambitious epic, a trilogy about the military conflict that defined the twentieth century. The Rising Tide begins a staggering work of fiction bound to be a new generation’s most poignant chronicle of World War II. With you-are-there immediacy, painstaking historical detail, and all-inclusive points of view, Shaara portrays the momentous and increasingly dramatic events that pulled America into the vortex of this monumental conflict.
As Hitler conquers Poland, Norway, France, and most of Western Europe, England struggles to hold the line. When Germany’s ally Japan launches a stunning attack on Pearl Harbor, America is drawn into the war, fighting to hold back the Japanese conquest of the Pacific, while standing side-by-side with their British ally, the last hope for turning the tide of the war.
Through unforgettable battle scenes in the unforgiving deserts of North Africa and the rugged countryside of Sicily, Shaara tells this story through the voices of this conflict’s most heroic figures, some familiar, some unknown. As British and American forces strike into the “soft underbelly” of Hitler’s Fortress Europa, the new weapons of war come clearly into focus. In North Africa, tank battles unfold in a tapestry of dust and fire unlike any the world has ever seen. In Sicily, the Allies attack their enemy with a barely tested weapon: the paratrooper. As battles rage along the coasts of the Mediterranean, the momentum of the war begins to shift, setting the stage for the massive invasion of France, at a seaside resort called Normandy.
More than an unprecedented and intimate portrait of those who waged this astonishing global war, The Rising Tide is a vivid gallery of characters both immortal and unknown: the as-yet obscure administrator Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose tireless efficiency helped win the war; his subordinates, clashing in both style and personality, from George Patton and Mark Clark to Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery. In the desolate hills and deserts, the Allies confront Erwin Rommel, the battlefield genius known as “the Desert Fox,” a wounded beast who hands the Americans their first humiliating defeat in the European theater of the war. From tank driver to paratrooper to the men who gave the commands, Shaara’s stirring portrayals bring the heroic and the tragic to life in brilliant detail.
A new level of accomplishment from this already acclaimed author, The Rising Tide will leave readers eager for the next volume of this superb saga of the war that saved and changed the world.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 90 more reviews...
 Real history becomes absolutely compelling fiction December 2, 2006
Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA)
63 out of 64 found this review helpful
In his (now regrettably past) prime, W.E.B. Griffin concocted wonderful war adventures from blending real people and events with fictional characters and circumstances. Jeff Shaara has gone miles beyond Griffin in taking real people, real events, adding just a bit of imagination and turning actual history into great fiction. Truly great fiction.
"The Rising Tide" is the first of a planned trilogy about WWII. For the first few pages, I wondered where Shaara was going. It was more on the order a well written history text. Then it segued to Rommell in the desert . . . and then it dawned on me.
Shaara is bringing us into a part of the lives of Rommel, Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, Bradley and ordinary soldiers that we can't touch: the internal happenings of their minds. Shaara's goal is audacious and his success breathtaking.
Most of Shaara's words are spent on the leaders, like Rommell and Eisenhower. Good move: Shaara is able to provide the big picture, the sweep and scope of the war. In less competent hands, I doubt that it would work. But Shaara makes it seem real. The frustrations of Rommel, faced with a deteriorating situation in Africa, the jealousy of other German generals, the incompetence of the Italian leadership, the increasingly delusional Hitler and his own declining health. Shaara puts you in Rommel's mind, so to speak, and he does it well.
The same holds true for Eisenhower, as yet untested as the leader of a never before attempted coalition. Eisenhower is not sure of his own capabilities, but he has virtually no one to confide his fears in. Shaara makes leadership the lonely place it is.
Without spoiling it for the reader, it is difficult to convey Shaara's triumph. To those familiar with WWII history, particularly the North African campaigns, virtually every event in Shaara's book will be known. Shaara wisely balances the big-time players like Eisenhower with some smaller fry, specifically two American soldiers. It's an impressive and very effective technique.
For those readers who are not overly familiar with the period, it's a painless and entertaining way to open a window on history.
Shaara has done something truly unique here and he's done it superlatively well. WWII history afficiandos and those simply interested in a solid war adventure will find it fascinating. I'm impatiently looking forward to the next two volumes.
Jerry
A new series by Shaara on World War II begins November 24, 2006
Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL))
28 out of 32 found this review helpful
Jeff Shaara's The Rising Tide is the first of a projected trilogy on World War II. Those familiar with his other works--such as his Civil War novels, Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, his Revolutionary War and Mexican War works--will recognize the technique here. Shaara picks a handful of characters and uses their experiences to create the forward movement of his works.
In The Rising Tide, the key characters whose views are used to create the narrative include George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, Erwin Rommel ("The Desert Fox"), Albert Kesselring, and a couple American soldiers, Jack Logan and Jesse Adams. The advantage of this is that you see the role of individuals, from different perspectives in a series of military engagements. This provides a certain richness of texture to the novel. On the other hand, there are limits to this. The reader does not get a bird's eye view of the action. All is through the eyes of specific individuals grounded in very specific circumstances. This works well enough, of course, but things can get left out.
The novel begins with Rommel's combat against the English in North Africa and his ability to win against long odds. However, the weight on British and then British and American troops is too much, as his army cannot receive enough gasoline, replacement troops and tanks , and so on to compete effectively. After the allies defeat the German and Italian forces in North Africa, the action of the novel moves to Sicily, where the hard fought campaign is described well. The conclusion of the novel points to the nasty Italian campaign and the early days of organizing the invasion of France.
The reader is left looking forward to the next volume in this series. While the structure of Shaara's novel has lost its novelty, it can still be effective as a story telling device.
Outstanding November 12, 2006
M. Roche (Tampa, Florida)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
Jeff Shaara once again writes an outstanding historical fiction. The North African/Sicily/Italian Campaign is often forgotten in coverage of the war falling as a footnote to D-Day and other battles. This well researched novel places the reader as an intimate witness to the American introduction to war and their subsequent maturing as a dominant fighting force. You are exposed to the delicate politics and frustrations experienced by the planners as well as the bravery of the common soldier. The writing is swift and engrossing. It is a shame we will have to wait another year for the next installment in the trilogy.
Shaara's Introduction to WWII. January 13, 2007
Monty Rainey (New Braunfels, TX)
23 out of 32 found this review helpful
When it comes to US Military historical fiction, Jeff Shaara has no peers. I had to wait over a month to get my hands on this book (Christmas and all that and "don't buy anything with Christmas coming!"), but the wait was well worth it. In THE RISING TIDE, Shaara introduces the first of what is to be an extraordinary WWII trilogy. This volume introduces the reader to American involvement against Germany, beginning with troop landings in North Africa, across the rugged terrain of Sicily and finally into Italy, with a brief introduction to the planning stages of Operation Overlord.
Shaara follows the same format he has used in all of his books; a format introduced to us first by Sharra's father Michael in his extraordinary Civil War novel, Killer Angels. This format implements varying viewpoints from a cast of characters ranging from Commanding Generals down to never before heard of enlisted men.
The Africa Campaign revolves around of course, Rommel, Montgomery, Eisenhower and Patton, as well as an American tank gunner named Jack Logan. Each chapter tells the unfolding events from the different viewpoints of the characters involved. The descriptive narrative is beyond description. This is by far the largest portion of the book, absorbing the first 2/3rds of the 500+ pages.
The reader is then introduced to a new character, Sgt. Jesse Adams of the 82nd Airborne as the campaign moves into the troop landing in Sicily. This section of the book was, to me, the most gripping narrative of the book, giving battlefield detail that puts the reader right there in the action. Paratroopers scattered across a 60 mile drop zone to survive against German tanks. This portion of the reading is Shaara at his best as he possesses an uncanny ability to accurately depict battle scenes in the readers mind.
The book concludes with Allied forces landing in Italy. This portion of the book falls a little short as the whole landing is rather skimmed over. I would have liked to have seen another hundred or so pages devoted to such scenes as Anzio and Monte Cassini. That may be in store for the next volume, but the way this volume ended, it looks to me like the next book will concentrate primarily on Normandy and beyond.
Overall, this is not what I would consider Shaara's best work, but being only the first part of a trilogy, one cannot definitively make that assessment at this stage of the game. One must also consider that, again, being a part of a trilogy, many pages were consumed here with simply laying the groundwork and introducing the personalities involved. At any rate, this is superb historical fiction that is historically accurate. I anxiously await the next installment.
Shock and Awe November 13, 2006
Andrew D. Wanros (Newark, De USA)
16 out of 21 found this review helpful
Jeff Shaara never ceases to amaze. I have absolutely loved everyone of his (and his fathers)books. I have been waiting awhile for him to delve into World War 2. and he did not disappoint me. First things first, I COULD NOT put this book down. Everything about it was phenomenal. Icant explain it in any other way. Please read this book. Even if you dont like books like this it is well worth your time.
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