Book Review: "Sand & Steel: A New History of D-Day"
/One of my favourite Christmas presents was Peter Caddick-Adams’ new book Sand & Steel: A New History of D-Day.
As the title suggests, the book covers everything Overlord from the background to the invasion, the training and preparation for the day, and then the action on the day itself and after.
I very much enjoyed PCA’s previous book about the Bulge (Snow & Steel) and am pleased to say that this work is as good if not better. It’s very, very detailed, and a well-balanced mix of military history fact and personal accounts: one often complementing the other.
It’s also huge: over 230 pages or, in the hardback edition I have, 2½ inches thick! Some military history books of that size would be a nightmare to wade through, but Sand & Steel reads almost like a novel in terms of the way each section draws you into the next. In some places, particularly when dealing with the beach assaults, it is un-put-down-able.
The other problem one can encounter with detailed military histories is the difficulty in identifying how what you are currently reading about fits into the action as a whole: it’s easy to get lost or confused. Again, not a problem here: everything is ordered and laid out very clearly indeed. The beach landings, as above, are dealt with very logically: I actually found that once I’d seen them once, I didn’t have to refer to the maps scattered throughout the book a second time to work out what was going on…very unusual for me and the late war period!
So a “highly recommended” for this book. The price is fairly hefty (ratecard is £35) but you can get it new on Prime at the moment for about £23. Well worth it.
