CITIZEN SOLDIERS

Stephen Ambrose has studied WWII in Europe through D-Day and his biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ambrose begins this account on the Normandy beaches on June 7, 1944, and follows the war through the Battle of the Bulge, concluding on May 7, 1945, with the surrender of Germany. A portrait of the war, and the US Army from privates to generals, is drawn from letters, interviews, recollections and written accounts. Cotter Smith presents these stories of individual soldiers--the acts of heroism, bursts of ingenuity, moments of despair that describe, not just the events, but the spirit of the fighting men and women. Smith's style is quiet and restrained, sometimes not putting enough energy into the recollections. While made up of many incidents, Citizen Soldiers follows a cohesive narrative. Ambrose's sparse, unadorned style allows his "snapshots" to vividly define the conflict, to honor the participants and to present a humanistic view for future generations. R.F.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 98]