The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II

Jeff Shaara continues the story of the European Theater of World War 2 with 'The Steel Wave'. This book focuses on the Operation Overlord and the D-Day invasion.

As with previous books by Shaara, he follows a style that takes historical information and adds in dialogue from the characters. The reader should keep this in mind while reading this book. This book is a novel with historical backing. It is not a history book. With the subject of the book, it is difficult for Shaara to avoid critical reviews. There are a number of books available that may be more accurate.

With the thought that this is a novel, I found this book to be very enjoyable. The characterization of Eisenhower, Patten, Rommel, etc are entertaining. The book moves along very well, switching from character veiwpoints. If you enjoy this book, you should move to other more historical accounts of these events such as 'Band of Brothers' by Ambrose.

Jeff Shaara continues to follow in the footsteps of his father, Michael ("The Killer Angels") with "The Steel Wave." The model is simple. Take a major event in military history and fictionalize it (slightly) by telling the story from the perspective of a revolving cast of characters from both sides, usually reflecting both the commanders and the low-ranking grunts. From the Civil War to WWI to the Mexican War to the Revolution and now to WWII, Jeff Shaara has turned out solidly entertaining, if not exactly exciting reads.

Nobody reads Jeff Shaara for operatic thrills or brilliant stylistic twists. Shaara's prose is workmanlike, at best - he is no Steven Pressfield or Bernard Cornwell. What makes Shaara's books so much fun is his amazing ability to put himself in the minds of such disparate characters and capture their unique perspectives. Each character brings his or her (usually his) own motivations and goals to the story, and Shaara blends all this into a cohesive whole that makes the pages fly by.

Shaara can do this because he knows his subject so well - the man has an amazing capacity for research. And while Shaara's prose may be workmanlike, it is also clear and precise, so the reader gets a terrific presentation of the chaos of battle. I might not want Shaara to write an angst-ridden novel about the troubles of an American suburban family over Thanksgiving weekend, but his style works for military historical fiction.

In the pages of "The Steel Wave," Shaara tells the story largely from the perspective of General Eisenhower, General Patton, and two front-line soldiers, Adams (a paratrooper) and Thorne (infantry). The Eisenhower chapters serve as a reminder that Americans have largely forgotten what an amazing man Eisenhower was, although it must be admitted that the Patton chapters won't surprise anyone who has seen the 1970 movie.

The most riveting chapters are told from the perspective of the Desert Fox, Field Marshall Rommell. On the "outs" with the German high command due to his brutal honesty and willingness to tell Hitler what Hitler does not wish to hear, Rommell is in a dangerous position. He learns of a plot to assassinate Hitler, and even though he believes Hitler is a monster, he is also a soldier, sworn to follow orders. Rommell's tale is the most tragic of the entire novel by far, and his fate provides much of the novel's emotional punch.

This is a must-read for fans historical fiction of a military nature, but should be read after Shaara's "The Rising Tide," which is the first in this planned trilogy. "SW" is much more exciting than "RT," but both books are excellent.

I have long been a fan of both Jeff and his Father; getting hooked on their style in reading Killer Angels. The Steel Wave used the same successful formula and I agree pretty much with the other reviewers. My difficulty was with the Audio Book. Knowing that the author moves from individual/situation to another, in previous books there was always a sequence to each situation. Not so in this Audio book. The stories were often out of sequence which caused confusion and did not lead to a smooth rendition. Often, The end portion of a particular narrative would appear before either an introduction nor middle portion or even in the middle. While I would give the book 5 stars, because of the limitations mentioned, I would only give the audio book 1.

This one kept me turning the pages! I've read each of Shaara's novels, and this is one of the best. This is not a book focusing just on the events along the Normandy coast on the morning of June 6, 1944; nor is it a story about one primary character. The strength of Shaara's writing is his ability to blend the stories of several key characters together, which, in the end, tells a greater story of a time in history. And it is anything but boring! The book is sewn together through the eyes of three main characters: General Dwight Eisenhower, General Erwin Rommel, and Sergeant Jesse Adams (a paratrooper dropped just behind Utah beach in the early hours of June 6). As the reader moves through the story, he/she sees events through the eyes of the various characters, lives the stresses, fears, highs and lows with each of them: Eisenhower's exhaustive communications with the likes of Patton, Churchill, Montgomery, and the strain of making decisions that can mean life or death to thousands; Rommel's frustration as he tries to field an army of men and armor to fight back the allied forces, only to realize that every movement must be approved by Hitler beforehand; Adams' exhaustion, fear, and apprehension as he and his men push deeper into enemy territory and encounter snipers, mortar attacks, and the loss of friends and countrymen. The stories blend well as Shaara takes you from one character to the next, allowing the reader to see the overall picture of what happened in France during that period. I highly recommend this book!

Jeff Shaara did an excellent job of putting D-day and the following invasion together in `The Steel Wave', and you get a real sense of the immensity, the inefficiency, the losses, the heroism, as well as the enemy's lack of cohesion and spontaneity (due of course to the `leadership' of Hitler). I like Jeff Shaara's story-telling and the way he gets into the heads of the characters of his stories, both the commanders and the foot-soldier types. He gives the flavor of the experience instead of the rote recital of the events, the dates, and the names. Although you don't get the entire story, you get good slices of the events. For a moderate buff like me, that is just what I wanted.
It was a treat for me to hear people like Ike, Patton, and Churchill talk in private and even think. You get the feeling that they are real people seeing things develop before their eyes. Historical fiction is dangerous and tricky, but I trust that Jeff Shaara is careful and accurate in his presentations.

`Steel Wave' doesn't cover every inch of WWII, actually the late-middle portion of the war in the European Theater, including D-day and the battle for France. You get a flavor for what it was like to be on the front lines, the horror, the confusion, the heroes, the cowards; and you find out what it is like in Allied headquarters with Ike, and Monty, and Churchill, and Patton, and the others. You also get to see Hitler and Rommel, and other German generals in Hitler's headquarters.

It impressed me that the Allied strategies were so political, important for keeping the Allies together. Montgomery, at least according to this book, was a sluggish warrior but a hero nonetheless to folks in Britain. The War could have been over quicker had he been replaced, but the political fallout would have been overwhelming. Ike even denied Churchill's request to fire his fellow Brit.

You get to know the salty Patton, forever seeming like the George C. Scott character of the great 1970 movie. He was the one guy who actually seemed to love war! On the other side of the picture, you follow an American sergeant and his unit from the 82nd Airborne through their training and then combat experiences in Britain and France.

Rommel is also given quite a bit of play. No question that he was a great general and a great man. It was a good thing for us that Hitler was his boss, constantly getting in his way with his poor judgement.

These are remarkable stories. I highly recommend it for any moderate history buff like myself.