"Eyewitness D-Day' tells the epic tale of the invasion of Normandy by documenting the experiences of men and women who were there, presenting their stories against the backdrop of World War II-era Europe.

When a machine-gun bullet ended the life of war correspondent Ernie Pyle in the final days of World War II, Americans mourned him in the same breath as they mourned Franklin Roosevelt. To millions, the loss of this American folk hero seemed nearly as great as the loss of the wartime president. If the hidden horrors and valor of combat persist at all in the public mind, it is because of those writers who watched it and recorded it in the faith that war is too important to be confined to the private memories of the warriors. Above all these writers, Ernie Pyle towered as a giant. Through his words and his compassion, Americans everywhere gleaned their understanding of what they came to call “The Good War.” Pyle walked a troubled path to fame. Though insecure and anxious, he created a carefree and kindly public image in his popular prewar column—all the while struggling with inner demons and a tortured marriage. War, in fact, offered Pyle an escape hatch from his own personal hell. It also offered him a subject precisely suited to his talent—a shrewd understanding of human nature, an unmatched eye for detail, a profound capacity to identify with the suffering soldiers whom he adopted as his own, and a plain yet poetic style reminiscent of Mark Twain and Will Rogers. These he brought to bear on the Battle of Britain and all the great American campaigns of the war—North Africa, Sicily, Italy, D-Day and Normandy, the liberation of Paris, and finally Okinawa, where he felt compelled to go because of his enormous public stature despite premonitions of death. In this immensely engrossing biography, affectionate yet critical, journalist and historian James Tobin does an Ernie Pyle job on Ernie Pyle, evoking perfectly the life and labors of this strange, frail, bald little man whose love/hate relationship to war mirrors our own. Based on dozens of interviews and copious research in little-known archives, Ernie Pyle's War is a self-effacing tour de force. To read it is to know Ernie Pyle, and most of all, to know his war.

This title examines the invasion of Normandy during World War II, focusing on the planning, the equipment, and the brave soldiers who ensured an Allied victory. Compelling narrative text and well-chosen historical photographs and primary sources make this book perfect for report writing. Features include a glossary, a selected bibliography, websites, source notes, and an index, plus a timeline and essential facts. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

"There was no way to anticipate the horrors of the holocaust that awaited us on the Dog Green Sector." --Dr. Harold Baumgarten It was the bravery and heroism of the 116th Infantry that began one of the longest days of combat in American war history. In the face of heavy fire and despite suffering the loss of eight hundred men and officers, the 116th Infantry overcame beach obstacles, took the enemy-defended positions along the beach and cliffs, pushed through the mined area, and continued inshore to successfully accomplish their objective. Dr. Harold Baumgarten, a multidecorated survivor, gives his eyewitness account of the first wave landing of the 116th Infantry on D-Day, June 6, 1944. As the spokesman for soldiers who perished on the sand and bloody red waters of the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach, it is his mission to make sure these men are never forgotten.

In 1983 the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans began a project to record the recollections of as many people as possible -- civilians as well as soldiers -- who were involved in one of the most pivotal events of the century. Skillfully edited by Ronald J. Drez and first published on the fifty-year anniversary of D-Day, the award-winning Voices of D-Day tells the story of that momentous operation almost entirely through the words of the people who were there.

From the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to the dropping of the atomic bomb that ended the war, the Pacific Theater of World War II comes alive in a compilation of eyewitness accounts of the battles, campaigns, events, and personalities of the war, complemented by hundreds of period photographs and a CD containing personal narratives.

Balkoski's depiction of 'Bloody Omaha' is the literary accompaniment to the white-knuckle Omaha Beach scene that opens Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. -- John Hillen, New York Post