Are these Normandy books any good?

gents,

Are these Normandy books worth the buy or should I spent my monies on other books?

Eddy Florentin, Battle of the Falaise Gap, (Elek Books) Londen 1965

James Lucas and James Barker, The Killing Ground: The Battle of the Falaise Gap, August 1944, (Book Club Associates) London 1978

Henry Maule, Caen: The Brutal Battle and the Break-out from Normandy, (Book Club edition/Purnell Book Services Ltd) Albingdon 1976

Also, is this a 'must have'?;

Charles B. MacDonald, The Mighty Endeavour. American Forces in the European Theater in World War II, (Oxford University Press) New York 1969

and

Geoffrey Powell, The Devil’s Birthday: The bridges to Arnhem, 1944, (Macmillan) Londen 1985


TIA,

Stevin

 

Some very good books there, Stevin.

I would definitely get the Florentin title which is now very scarce and sought-after in the Elek edition. A superb book benefitting from many first-hand accounts of those who were still alive in the 60s. Worth having just for the account of the chaos at Moissy Ford.

Lucas/Barker is another good ( and well-illustrated ) Falaise book but don't pay too much. Likewise, Geoffrey Powell's 'Devil's Birthday' is an essential Arnhem book - one of the few to cover all of 'Hell's Highway'.

Maule is OK but I personally prefer Alexander McKee's Caen book. The MacDonald book is a good general introduction, but not as detailed as his other work.

 

Excellent as always, Martin. Thanks. I would probably have passed on most titles as I have some of James Lucas his books and am not particularly thrilled with them. Maule and Florentin I had no idea about, but stuck with me as being outdated and 'proven in error'. Don't ask me were I got that 'wisdom' from...

Thanks again!

 

I could be wrong but I think Eddy Florentin's book remains the most detailed ever written on that one particular action. It's certainly way ahead of Rohmer's 'Patton's Gap' which is nowhere near as good.

If I had to pick two from your list, it would be Florentin and Powell......

 

Check out six armies in Normandy by John Keegan, His book is good, all his books are good.