'Cornelius Ryan: D-Day War Reporter' - new biography

Hello all,

Please excuse a little self-promotion on my part but I'm sure members of this forum will be interested in a short biography I've just published about war correspondent Cornelius Ryan. As you all probably know he witnessed D-Day, followed Patton's Third Army across Europe, emigrated to the US after the war (he was Irish by the way) and went on to write bestsellers The Longest Day, The Last Battle and A Bridge Too Far.

I'm a writer based in Ireland and have been working on this project 'on and off' for years but have decided to publish it in time for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Although Ryan himself died in 1974, I interviewed several of his brothers in-depth for the research and was also fortunate to talk to his wartime friend Walter Cronkite before he passed way.

Any feedback (or some Amazon reviews) would be greatly appreciated!

Here's the link to the book:http://www.amazon.com/Cornelius-Ryan-D-Day-War-Reporter/dp/1497432545/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1397844003&sr=8-7&keywords=cornelius+ryan

Many thanks,
Dominic Phelan

 

Considering the week that's in it, I thought some of you might be interested in this letter I had published in the Daily Telegraph newspaper about Ryan...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/10863395/The-makings-of-the-author-of-The-Longest-Day.html

 

I prefer Arsenic and old Lace to The Longest Day .

 

Joseph Kesselring wrote "Arsenic And Old Lace" not- oh... :headbonk:

In any case I will be ordering this book soon. A war correspondant's Journey. Sounds really great.

Was Ryan the first to break down such a huge event into parts dealing with individual witness accounts?

I know Walter Lord used the same journalistic technique when writing his books ("Midway" and "A Night To Remember" spring to mind). Many historians I have read would approach the story more descriptively with a broader perspective, with a more omnicient point of view if you will. Others are participants who simply wrote their memoirs from their limited view point ("Brazen Charriots" by Bob Crisp, for example). Some try to write with authority (Churchill) with a more historical perspective.

The two that had the greatest impact on me growing up were Lord and Ryan. Looking forward to reading it. Thanks.

 

UK readers might be interested to know the Kindle version of my book is 50% off for the rest of the week on Amazon as part of a 'Kindle Countdown Deal' promotion...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cornelius-Ryan-D-Day-War-Reporter-ebook/dp/B00JS7QP32/ref=sr_1_5_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1403721185&sr=8-5&keywords=cornelius+ryan

If you are one of those that bought it over the D-Day week already - many thanks for your support!