The Rising Tide

Starred review from August 7, 2006
Shaara (To the Last Man
; Gone for Soldiers
), who has written bestselling and critically acclaimed historical novels covering the American Revolution through World War I, takes on World War II in the wonderful first volume of a planned trilogy. As the book begins, Hitler's forces control western Europe, and U.S. troops face off against the Germans in North Africa. From fall 1942 through spring 1943, the Allies battle Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. Shaara evokes the agony of desert warfare and the utter chaos of an airborne assault through the experiences of Pvt. Jack Logan, a tank gunner, and Sgt. Jesse Adams, a paratrooper. The challenges—and frequent frustrations—of command are seen through the eyes of such luminaries as generals Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and Rommel. The Allied victory in Africa is followed by the conquest of Sicily and the invasion of mainland Italy in 1943. With the Italian campaign sputtering, the Allies turn to planning for the decisive event of the European theater, the cross-channel invasion of France, which is where Shaara concludes this sprawling, masterful opening act.

Starred review from October 1, 2006
This is the magnificent opening volume of a trilogy about World War II in Europe. Author Shaara has already shown his skills with his very successful fact-based novels on Americas long military history (e.g., "To the Last Man", "The Glorious Cause"). In "Rising Tide", he takes readers from the early and uncertain days of the war in North Africa to the beginning of plans for D-day. Shaara says he does not write history. Instead, he enables readers to view history through the eyes of its participants, who in this case include both the greatse.g., President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Gen. George S. Pattonand the ordinary guys just trying to survive the war. The technique is exciting and engrossing and gives a you are there feel to the enormous events being described. Even readers who think they know a lot about the great drama and tragedy that was World War II will be fascinated, while those knowing little or nothing of the war will find themselves educated and intrigued. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 6/1/06.]"Robert Conroy, Warren, MI "

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2006
Shaara, best-selling author of numerous fictional accounts of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War I, opens his projected World War II trilogy in the deserts of North Africa, where Allied troops attempt to match wits and forces with the Desert Fox, wily German commander Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, and his formidable Afrika Korps. After Hitler overruns France, solidifying his position in Western Europe, he turns his attention eastward toward the vast Russian expanse. With the German focus split, the Allies sense the time is right to launch a united second front in North Africa, setting their sights on an eventual invasion of southern Italy. As plans for Operation Torch become a reality, Shaara vividly re-creates a cast of military and political heroes and villains, including General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General George Marshall, General George Patton, British general Bernard Montgomery, German field marshal Erwin Rommel, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Roosevelt. Interweaving these prominent historical figures with a cast of ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary circumstances, he fashions a page-turning introduction that will leave fans of first-rate military fiction awaiting the next installments.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)