It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
Normandy ‘44

Normandy ‘44

D-Day and the Battle for France

Summary

'A devastating new account..Holland knows his stuff when it comes to military matters' Daily Mail, Book of the Week
'A superb account of the invasion that deserves immense praise. To convey the human drama of Normandy requires great knowledge and sensitivity. Holland has both in spades' The Times
_____


Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent history, unflinchingly examining the brutality and violence that characterised the campaign.

D-Day and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed have come to be seen as a defining episode in the Second World War. Its story has been endlessly retold, and yet it remains a narrative burdened by both myth and assumed knowledge.

In this reexamined history, James Holland presents a broader overview, one that challenges much of what we think we know about D-Day and the Normandy campaign. The sheer size and scale of the Allies' war machine ultimately dominates the strategic, operational and tactical limitations of the German forces.

Drawing on unseen archives and testimonies from around the world and introducing a cast of eye-witnesses including foot soldiers, tank men, fighter pilots and more, James Holland's epic telling profoundly recalibrates our understanding of its true place in the tide of human history.

The new, sweeping World War II book from James Holland, THE SAVAGE STORM, is available now.

Reviews

  • As an account of this mighty and vitally significant clash of armies, Normandy ’44 stands as richly impressive, hard to surpass
    William Boyd, TImes Literary Supplement

About the author

James Holland

James Holland is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning historian, writer, and broadcaster. The author of a number of best-selling histories he has presented - and written - a large number of television programmes and series. He has a weekly Second World War podcast, We Have of Making You Talk, with Al Murray, and is Chair of the Chalke Valley History Festival. He is a research fellow at St Andrew's University.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more