A thundering good read. If you're looking for an objective and critical history of the US Navy, you have to look elsewhere. But if you want a tribute to the courage and resourcefulness of the US sailors, this is it. It is an operational history, so it mainly deals with ships shooting at stuff, and less with things like organisation, logistics and technology.If this were a movie, John Wayne would be in it.

The bulk of the book deals with the preparation and execution of the Overlord landings, followed by a discussion of the Anvil/Dragoon operation and a brief discussion of actions against Germany proper.

This is a prime example of old fashioned battle history, with all the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. ( )