Citizen Soldiers

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Citizen Soldiers: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany to Citizen Soldiers is a non-fiction book about World War II written by Stephen E. Ambrose and published in 1998. It deals with Allied soldiers moving in from the Normandy beaches, and through Europe (between June 7, 1944 and May 7, 1945). In addition to telling short stories of countless soldiers experiencing the war, the author also explains the events before telling the stories. He interviewed dozens of soldiers in the making of the book.

Contents

[edit] Praise

The book was well received and became a New York Times best seller. Notable figures such as Colin Powell have praised the book. The Wall Street Journal has also credited the book.

[edit] Criticism

The book has also been criticized for overemphasizing the U.S. role in the liberation of Western Europe and limiting the role that British forces played in the course of the war. It is postulated that Ambrose also went out of his way to portray U.S. soldiers as morally superior to other WWII combatants, at one point implying that young men in the rest of the world's armies routinely engaged in rape, murder, and pillaging but that U.S. soldiers were above such behavior.

[edit] List of chapters

  1. Expanding the Beachhead, June 7-June 30, 1944
  2. Hedgerow Fighting, July 1-July 24, 1944
  3. Breakout and Encirclement, July 25-August 25, 1944
  4. To the Siegfried Line, August 26-September 30, 1944
  5. The Siegfried Line, October 1944
  6. Metz and the Hurtgen Forest, November 1-December 15, 1944
  7. The Ardennes, December 16-December 19, 1944
  8. The Ardennes, December 20-December 23, 1944
  9. The Holiday Season, December 24-December 31, 1944
  10. Night on the Line
  11. Replacements and Reinforcements, Fall 1944
  12. The Air War
  13. Medics, Nurses, and Doctors
  14. Jerks, Sad Sacks, Profiteers, and Jim Crow
  15. Prisoners of War
  16. Winter War, January 1945
  17. Closing to the Rhine, February 1-March 6, 1945
  18. Crossing the Rhine, March 7-March 31, 1945
  19. Victory, April 1-May 7, 1945

[edit] External links