SIX ARMIES IN NORMANDY

Keegan's brilliantly written account of the Allied invasion of France in 1944 is peppered with the author's childhood recollections, memorable prose, inspiring vocabulary, and expert commentery on the experience of and strategies behind this vital campaign. The author's expertise, however, is not matched by the narrator's ability. While Fred Williams's obvious age provides the verisimilitude of Keegan's eyewitness account, Williams suffers from shortness of breath, which prevents him from saying more than a few words without taking a breath. He even pauses occasionally between article and noun, causing his delivery to break into small phrases that frustratingly interrupt the cadence of meaning. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]