The Longest Year: America at War and at Home in 1944 by Victor Brooks | eBook

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“The Longest Year will interest both WWII buffs, with its descriptive blow-by-blow approach, and newcomers to the topic, with its clear-cut context. . . . [T]his account offers an accessible review of a decisive year for a world at war.”—Booklist

“Brooks unravels the story with accessible detail for lay readers so that his work feels less like a history lesson than a suspenseful drama. . . . A seasoned historian delivers a fluently readable history.”—Kirkus

“A fascinating, fluent account of arguably the most important year in modern history.”
–Alex Kershaw, author of The Longest Winter and The Liberator

“The year 1944 is usually understood triumphally, with victory on the horizon and America beginning to relax. Instead, Brooks shows peace still lay across the beaches of Anzio, of Normandy, and nameless Pacific islands; in the sky over Germany—and through the myriad domestic strains of sustaining a total war effort. Newcomers to the subject will find this a splendid introduction to a year of stress and sacrifice.”
–Dennis E. Showalter, author of Armor and Blood: The Battle of Kursk, The Turning Point of World War II

“In this powerful and fast-paced book, Brooks makes a convincing case that 1944 is one of the most important years in American history. He chronicles the epic battles that tipped the balance of power and set the stage for victory abroad while also reminding us that the war was won in the factories and shipyards at home. A great read. Highly recommended.”
–Steven M. Gillon, scholar-in-residence, The History Channel

Kirkus Reviews

2015-05-16
A clearly delineated thesis that examines the decisive battles in turning back the Axis powers of World War II. Using comparative examples of the Union-won battles that shattered the Confederacy in 1864, Brooks (Education and Counseling/Villanova Univ.; Hell Is Upon Us: D-Day in the Pacific, 2005, etc.) finds in the long months of 1944 the important battles that would eventually defeat the Germans and the Japanese in turn, including the iconic Operation Overlord in Normandy and the equally important, less-well-known campaign of arduous Pacific island-hopping to dislodge the Japanese imperial army in the Marianas, Operation Forager. As a historian who delights in relaying his research and expertise, Brooks unravels the story with accessible detail for lay readers so that his work feels less like a history lesson than a suspenseful drama. The squabbles among the top military high command—a wonderful clash of brash male personalities, including that of the president himself—eventually gave way to some sound decisions. In discrete, tidy chapters Brooks takes one chronological portion of the "longest year" and breaks it down: the January attack on "the soft underbelly of Europe" via the Italian beaches at Anzio and Nettuno; the beginning destruction of the German aircraft industry and control of the skies in preparation for Operation Overlord over the "Big Week" of aerial dogfights in February; the "invasion" of the Yanks in Britain in preparation for Overlord and the massive launch in June; and the hugely costly campaigns on the Pacific islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, which were met by the stunning surge of suicidal imperial warriors. While the taking of Paris and "redemption" at Leyte, Philippines, crowned the year, the Germans and Japanese proved they were still not down for the count. A seasoned historian delivers a fluently readable history.

The Longest Year: America at War and at Home in 1944

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