The Rising Tide (World War II: 1939-1945, #1) by Jeff Shaara

The Rising Tide (World War II: 1939-1945, #1) Reviews

• 
  Brian

  “Victory comes from the strategy, the plan, the tools we are given.”
  
  “The Rising Tide” is the first of four books historical novelist Jeff Shaara wrote about WW II. It was better than I expected it to be. This novel follows the North African and Sicilian campaigns of the war, a part of WW II I know little about, despite the fact that BOTH of my grandfathers served in those campaigns. Shaara does an excellent job demonstrating in this novel how pivotal those campaigns were to what came next, the invasion of France. I read a novel, but I learned a lot of history along the way.
  The 16 page Introduction to the text is as concise and informative an overview of the lead up to, and beginning of, WW II I have ever encountered. It should be used in schools and textbooks. Seriously!
  In this novel Shaara sticks to his formula, each chapter is told from one character’s perspective, and the ever changing point of view gives a nice complete picture to all sides of the conflict. In this text we get in the heads of Eisenhower, George Patton, Erwin Rommel and occasionally of other historical players. However, the book really shines when we get the perspective of common soldiers. In this text Shaara creates two composite characters to achieve this effect. One is Jack Logan, a tank gunner in the North African campaign, and the other is Jesse Adams, a paratrooper in the Sicilian and Italian campaigns. Although they are Shaara’s creations, he uses real things that happened to various GIs and has them happen with these two characters to show the life of the foot soldiers of this conflict.
  The novel is at its best when we are in combat. Shaara is one of the finest writers I have come across for recreating that experience. The invasion of Sicily is gripping. The author creates vivid and palpable tension as he writes of the US paratroopers jump into Sicily in July of 1943. The human emotions and technical details combine nicely in this section.
  I read this book quicker than I thought I would, was thrilled that it engaged me in the manner that it did, and I will be reading the other three novels Shaara has written about WW II.
  Can I say anything more than that that could endorse this book?
• 
  Mr. Matt

  The Rising Tide is the story of the American experience in the Second World War in Europe. The action picks up in Africa, waiting on Operation Torch to begin. As with other Shara books, the author follows some of the key actors - Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, and, intriguingly, Rommel and Kesselring. It is through their eyes that the reader experiences the Desert campaign in North Africa as well as the invasion of Sicily and Italy by the allies.
  
  I appreciate the insight into the decision-making and strategy of the generals. This is especially true in the case of Rommel who is portrayed as a brilliant strategist/tactician who is serving a cause he does not fully support and commanders who are misguided at best and incompetent at worst. The lack of resources and bad orders cost the Germans multiple opportunities for devastating victories over the Allies.
  
  The perspective is a mixed blessing. While Rommel was interesting, some of the other perspectives were merely vaguely interesting. Exhibit A is Eisenhower who comes across as a bit of a cardboard automaton who emotionlessly builds his strategy and executes on the way to final victory. I would like to see more of the experience of the common soldier - or even a civilian caught up in things. To be fair, Shara does give his readers some of this. In North Africa we follow an American tank man who experiences the horror of taking under-armored American tanks into battle against heavy panzers. And in Sicily we get to follow a paratrooper into combat against an elite unit of SS troops. That was pretty cool.
  
  Outside of the perspective, I was taken aback by the beginning of the book. It starts right at the planning of Operation Torch. It felt odd. Somehow I thought it was going to begin earlier, even the invasion of Poland by the Germans. Coming into the war mid-way is disconcerting. Maybe it should have at least begun at the start of the war for the Americans?
  
  On the whole, three stars out of five. Shara does what he does. You either like it or you don't. I'm mixed on it. Of course, I will still read the next two books. I enjoy the history.
• 
  Jim

  The first book in
  Jeff Shaara's series on World War II focuses on the campaigns in North Africa and Sicily. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one person. Some famous / historical such as Eisenhower, Patton, Rommel and others where the protagonist is a fictional character. Actually a composite of real GI's to provide the view of the citizen soldiers and their experiences. One of these fictional characters is Jack Logan, a tank gunner in the North African campaign. The other is Jesse Adams, a paratrooper in the Sicilian campaign.
  
  The book opens in 1939. The majority of Americans did not want to get involved and considered it a European problem. Churchill was desperate for help from the United States and Roosevelt tried to help (i.e. Lend Lease Act). Everything changed with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
  
  Dwight D. Eisenhower is named the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Mediterranean Theater of Operations. His generals include George Patton, Mark Clark, Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery. They don't often agree and sometimes it is hard to tell they are on the same side. On the other side is Erwin Rommel, the “the Desert Fox”, a veteran of many battles who hands the Allies their first defeat.
  
  Since each chapter was written from the perspective of these different characters the reader gets to "know" them. Their thoughts and perspectives. What is was like for Eisenhower who was a soldier but had to get everyone to work together for the common cause. Basically he was forced to be a diplomat. Not always easy when you are dealing with someone like Patton. Or those who thought the Americans were a bunch of cowboys. Lots of egos and personalities.
  
  As is usually the case in Shaara's stories the most interesting parts of the story are those that deal with with the common soldier. Here we have Jack Logan and Jesse Adams. To be in a tank in the middle of a battle. Or to jump out of a plane in the middle of a night not knowing what was below you.
  
  I would be interested in reading the other books in the series. At the end of this story the Allies prepare for Operation Overlord. The Battle of Normandy.
• 
  Mike

  Shaara's books are always entertaining and this was my first of his that dealt with the subject of World War II. This book focused on the battles North Africa and then Italy. As always, Shaara writes each chapter from the perspective of one person and alternates between famous people and unknown soldiers to tell both the big picture and on the ground stories. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Eisenhower and Rommel - and some of the work on Patton as well. If you enjoy history, Shaara is can't miss.
• 
  Barnabas Piper

  I really like Shaara's blend of history and character. He brings out historical setting, context, and happenings through the lives of characters based on reality. It's the kind of historical fiction that makes history real and reminds the reader of its impact and how fascinating it is.
• 
  Arthur

  A nearly 23 hour unabridged audiobook.
  
  In 2 and a half hours of listening we go from prelude to war, to August of 1942. That's a bit absurd and annoying where it gives me the impression that the author is running to get to the parts he knows best - American involvement.
  
  If you can get past that then it's smoothe sailing. The only other critique I have is that it seems that the author gives too much credit to the insight of the main characters, which may be a product of applying hindsight rather than they having actually been as clever as portrayed.
  
  That being said the author makes the story easy to listen to and I liked this book.
• 
  Jay Pruitt

  As much as I love all things Shaara, having consumed a dozen novels from Jeff and his father, Michael, The Rising Tide is probably my least favorite. IMO, the book tries to cover too much ground (literally). We read about the numerous conflicts between Rommel's panzer division (Germans), Montgomery's Desert Rats (Brits), Ike/Bradley/Patton (Americans), and Musolino's Republican Army, initially taking place in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, etc. Then they proceed from Africa to Sicily, then Italy. The book reads more like a history book, than a typical Shaara novel that dives into the characters of a dozen or so key players. I learned a lot from reading The Rising Tide, but failed to become engaged in the story.
• 
  Mike (the Paladin)

  I just finished with the 4th book Shaara has written on WW2. This is the first and does a good job of giving a view in a novel of the events of the European war (note I said the "European" war, more on that in the review of the 4th book).
  
  While this is a novel the facts in the book are "the facts". The events of history are laid out here as they happened. What makes it a novel is/are the imaginary thoughts, and voices of the participants. From Generals to privates we get "a" view of events early on in the war.
• 
  Brian Eshleman

  My experience was the opposite of one of the reviewers here. I enjoyed the staff meetings in the interplay between the generals, particularly the diplomatic difficulty of Eisenhower as compared to the bluntness of Patton. For whatever reason, I didn't get into the battle scenes as much. Overall, I didn't find this book nearly as engaging as those of the Revolutionary, Mexican, and Civil War. Still, the author has earned my loyalty with his unique work, and I look forward to continuing to read this trilogy. It definitely makes one appreciate that victory in World War II was not a foregone conclusion.
• 
  Linda

  Jeff Shaara made an admirable attempt to complete his father's Civil War series, but his sequels, valuable though they are, could not hold a candle to The Killer Angel. Well, Jeff has done a lot of writing since then, and his WWII series, if The Rising Tide is a fair indication, matches the work of his father. What Michael Shaara did for the Civil War, his son is doing for the Second World War. One of the marks of good historical fiction, for me, is the way it prompts me to start researching stuff on the internet. And that's what I found myself doing in Tide. Another of telling sign happens when I find myself living what the characters are going through, and in Jeff's chapters on the tank battles between Rommel and the Allies, I felt the awe. To a lesser extent, only because this topic receives less coverage, is his portrayal of the training and daring of the paratroopers. There are many similar scenes in Tide - POW camps, stress disorders, command failures - that truly bring home the complexity of the topic to readers who have never experienced warfare at any level. The only other WWII series that does this so well is Herman Wouk's Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.
  
  The Rising Tide is a valuable addition to WWII fiction.
• 
  Teri Pre

  I've read quite a few books about WW2...mostly the European and Pacific campaigns. This is the first book I've read about the campaign in Africa. I never realized just how important it was and why it was important.
  
  This book isn't for the casual reader. Even though it's classified as fiction, it's really not, except for some of the dialogue which might or might not have happened exactly the way they're reported.
• 
  Sanklo

  Great historical fiction on the war in northern Africa and Italy; both parts of WWII that don't get nearly as much attention as the Pacific theater and the Normandy invasion. Shaara's writing makes you feel like you're right there with the troops, and brings to life all the hurdles the U.S. forces had to overcome as well as their steep learning curve. Can't wait to dive into part II!
• 
  Kent McDougal

  Enjoyed this book, read many of his works. “We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long drawn out trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.” Winston Churchill
  “I’m sick of people telling me to “have a good jump.” A good jump is one that doesn’t kill you.” Sergeant Jesse Adams 505th parachute Infantry Regiment
• 
  Susan

  A fairly large book, I nonetheless devoured it in two days and for the first time understand at least something about the command on both sides of the lines and the experience of the tank battalions in North Africa and eventually the invasion of Sicily and Italy, not to mention the importance of the North African campaign to the success of the Allies in World War II.
  
  Maybe someone should have required reading like this as part of my high school curriculum because apparently historical fiction is the way to give me the perspective I never got from maps, documentaries or classes in my school years or since.
  
  Admittedly, this book was heavy on history and light on fiction, with little interest in manufacturing diversions from the story to throw some romance or drama into the mix that wasn't there already. That said, through the telling of the stories of individual's day to day experience however I found myself caring to understand something about the men behind the names: Patton, Rommel, Marshall and their staffs. Understanding their conflicts, problems with supplies and more, I was able to form a picture of what some of what happened before the invasion in Normandy, a topic I'd given little thought to before.
• 
  John Roadman

  Took me awhile to get going but I ended up loving this book. Learned a lot of things I didn't know. Like when our troops first landed in Northern Africa I was surprised to learn that the french were shooting at us. And that the Italians turned on the Germans after Mussolini was arrested. Really love Jeff Shaara's writing style how he tells you what the characters are feeling and thinking. Now on too book number 2.
• 
  Art

  I enjoy Jeff Shaara and his style of writing.
  My sense of adventure was awaken again as I read about the Desert Fox,
  Field Marshall Rommell and about General Patton, along w/the Tank duels in the desert.
  
  Good overview and look at main characters involved w/American entering the war in WWII and why we went to Africa.
  Also an idea that had the Nazi's captureded Egypt, Hitler may not had to fight against the Russian for oil.
  Would have given the war a different twist and outlook.
• 
  Ralph Wark

  A great read
  
  I love historical novels, the setting in real events of interest (of course, why would they use uninteresting events?) expanding on the story lines with fictional characters.
  
  What this does I'd put you into the story, It becomes a first person narrative rather than a somewhat distant third person telling of the tale. Here, Jeff Shaara uses a fictional tank crewmen and paratroopers to give you an eye view account of the war in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. And he does it so well, you become invested in he characters and their personalities, at least the American participants. With the exception of General Alexander, briefly, there is little detail of Churchill and Montgomery, two well known characters in any case.
  
  Still, he makes Eisenhower and Patton come alive, their personalities, struggled, and thoughts. I truly enjoy Shaara's books.
  
  I also have a vested interest, my father was in an Engineering battalion in WW2 and fought all these campaigns, I remember him mentioning the Kassereine pass, so I am trying to discover what he went through, what, made him as he was when I knew him. Almost 30 years gone, it is my only chance.
• 
  Bart Breen

  Formulaic .... But the Formula Works!
  
  I listened to the 18 CD audio version of this book as read by Larry Pine and let me tell you, it made a Washington DC commute much easier to bear for almost 2 weeks!
  
  Jeff Shaara has something of a cross to bear in that he is the son of a Pulitzer prize winning author and has chosen to write in a similar genre and also, to utilize many of the literary devices of his father. That is a tall order for anyone and invites comparison and criticism and an almost foregone conclusion that he is not his father and his work is not on par with his father. This is a particularly easy criticism to make when the subject matter early on has drawn from the Civil War.
  
  I want to give Jeff his due however. His forays into the First and Second World war have shown me that he is a successful and worthy author in his own right and regardless of the source of his formula, and it is of course clearly an emulation of dear old dad, the formula works and works well!
  
  Historical fiction is not an easy genre. The non-fiction element of the story will be known by many of the readers who carry to the experience their own biases, prejudices and understandings and anything that moves contrary to that within the text of the book is going to be judged by that standard and found wanting. To overcome that the author has to move beyond the events and bring the character alive and in so doing attribute a level of understanding and psychological analysis that sells or convinces the reader that they are being brought behind the scenes. Yes there's a formula to it in Shaara's work that is very familiar and identifiable. Not just anyone can do this however, and Shaara, in the context of a different war and scope of activity, shows to me that he is a fine writer in his own right and worthy of investing the time to read.
  
  Listening to the audio version with its abridgment to that form, I have to comment as well on the performance of the reader Larry Pine. He does a magnificent job mimicking the accents and distinctive historical voices. I wasn't really appreciative of how much work must have gone into this until the character Montgomery arrived on the scene with a distinctive English lisp. Pine does his homework and it makes the rendering come to life that any listener should appreciate.
  
  The difficulty with a great deal of Historical fiction is how to weave the necessary narrative into the story to where the context and outside events are given their proper weight. Too much narrative in a pure form and the book begins to take on more of a sense of the non-fiction and the reader becomes impatient. Shaara wrestles with this in a few places to my observation with the obligatory aides bringing information and the bouncing back and forth from the information and the processing in the mind of the Character. He never quite breaks the spell however although he pushes against it in places. Overall, I can't fault him for this. The other means of accomplishing this other than the obligatory foreward and afterword setting and resolving the scene, is pure narrative and Shaara breaks in only where the scope is so broad that there's no real way to accomplish it otherwise.
  
  I recommend this book in any form. I found the Audio to add to the experience and can recommend it enthusiastically.
  
  Bart Breen
• 
  William J.

  Jeff Shaara like his father Michael write excellent historical fiction. This is an interesting book that blends real characters with a couple of fictional characters to present a rounded picture of World War II. The fictional characters present the front line soldiers perspective while the factual characters present the planning and leadership view. Jeff Shaara does put words into the mouths of factual characters and the only time I found it difficult to believe conversation was when he had General Eisenhower call General Marshall, George. From everything I have read about General Marshall the only two people who ever called him George were his spouse and President Roosevelt. This is a good break from non-fiction because it doesn't stray too far from history and facts. Easy to read and enjoyable, The Rising Tide is a Good Read!
• 
  Tim

  Damn fine novel from a gifted author. Geronimo!!!
  
  Mr. Shaara is a gifted author that both educates and entertains with his historical novels. Whenever I read his work I often get immersed to the point that I feel that I am almost there. He never disappoints. I count his father's work "Killer Angels" as one of the finest historical novels I have ever read. We are all fortunate that he inherited his father's wonderful gift. If not in many ways exceeding it.