The Rising Tide

The Rising Tide by Jeff Shaara

This is a historical novel of WWII, or more specifically - America's first steps into the wider European conflict. Throughout our lives we have seen movies and read plenty of America's involvement in WWII, Hitler, the Pacific front, D-day, VJ-day.... This is the first I've read of our involvement in north Africa.

I've long been a WWII history lover. I like the strategy of the battles, the gritty, dirty "boots on the ground" drama and the historical detail of different points of view. This novel delivers. We see how Eisenhower assumes command of the European front, how Montgomery revitalized a near beaten British army, how Patton bullied his way in the front, Rommels generalship, and the man in the tank doing the fighting...

Some months ago I was on a trip with a friend of mine who is in his 70s. He was there in the European front during WWII as an enlisted man. I asked him about Patton and what he remembered about him. His comment was "patton was the kind of leader that if he was asked to take that hill - he would get you that hill. No matter what the cost of human life, he got the hill."