Cornelius Ryan – författare

This is the story of D-Day, told through the voices of over 1,000 survivors.6 June, 1944. 156,000 troops from 12 different countries, 11,000 aircraft, 7,000 naval vessels, 24 hours. D-Day - the beginning of the Allied invasion of Hitler's formidable 'Fortress Europe' - was the largest amphibious invasion in history. There has never been a battle like it, before or since.But beyond the statistics and over sixty years on, what is it about the events of D-Day that remain so compelling? The courage of the men who fought and died on the beaches of France? The sheer boldness of the invasion plan? Or the fact that this, Rommel's 'longest day', heralded the beginning of the end of World War II?One of the defining battles of the war, D-Day is scored into the imagination as the moment when the darkness of the Third Reich began to be swept away. This story is told through the voices of over 1,000 survivors - from high-ranking Allied and German officers, to the paratroopers who landed in Normandy before dawn, the infantry who struggled ashore and the German troops who defended the coast. Cornelius Ryan captures the horror and the glory of D-Day, relating in emotive and compelling detail the years of inspired tactical planning that led up to the invasion, its epic implementation and every stroke of luck and individual act of heroism that would later define the battle.

Arnhem 1944: the airborne strike for the bridges over the Rhine.The true story of the greatest battle of World War II and the basis of the 1977 film of the same name, directed by Richard Attenborough.The Battle of Arnhem, one of the most dramatic battles of World War II, was as daring as it was ill-fated. It cost the Allies nearly twice as many casualties as D-Day. This is the whole compelling story, told through the vast cast of characters involved. From Dutch civilians to British and American strategists, its scope and ambition is unparalleled, superbly recreating the terror and suspense, the heroism and tragedy of this epic operation.'I know of no other work of literature of World War II as moving, as awesome and as accurate in its portrayal of human courage.' - General James A Gavin

The Battle for Berlin was the final struggle of World War II in the European theatre, the last offensive against Hitler's Third Reich, which devastated one of Europe's historic capitals and brought an end to the Nazi regime. It lasted more than two weeks across April -- May 1945, and was one of the bloodiest and most pivotal episodes of the war, one which would play a part in determining the shape of international politics for decades to come. THE LAST BATTLE is a story of brutal extremes, of stunning military triumph alongside the stark conditions that the civilians of Berlin experienced in the face of the Allied assault. It is history at its best, a masterful illumination of the effects of war on the lives of individuals, and one of the enduring works on World War II.

Cornelius Ryan tells the story of the hours that preceded and followed H-Hour of D-Day ? June 6, 1944, when as dawn approached, as paratroopers fought in the hedgerows of Normandy, the greatest armada the world had ever known assembled off the beach -- almost 5000 ships carrying more than 200,000 soldiers. a military This is the story of people: the men of the Allied forces, the enemy and the civilians caught up in the confusion of battle. 700 D-Day survivors were interviewed for the book.

Den längsta dagen var en av de första moderna dokumentära krigsskildringarna, som blandade överblicken med den enskilde soldatens upplevelser. Den 6 juni 1944 var för många av soldaterna som var packade i landstigningsbåtarna på väg mot Normandies kust, just den längsta dagen. För många av dem var det dessutom den sista dagen, striderna på stranden var oerhört hårda. Vi får genom Ryans skildring följa invasionen i Normandie från de första förberedelserna för andra världskrigets enskilt största kraftsamling. Cornelus Ryan var själv med på stränderna för invasionen som korrespondent. Han har på det sättet naturligtvis en fördel framför andra som senare skildrat samma händelseförlopp. Hans egna erfarenheter fick sedan bli bakgrund , när han under flera år på femtiotalet gick igenom olika arkiv och intervjuade mängder av personer som deltagit i invasionen. Hans bok väckte mycket stort uppseende när den gavs ut 1959 och gjordes strax därefter till en mycket framgångsrik film. Cornelius Ryan var amerikansk medborgare med irländskt påbrå. Han gav ut ytterligare två böcker om händelser under andra världskriget. Claes Elfsberg ,välkänd nyhetsförmedlare för alla svenskar, ger inläsningen en extra tyngd.