No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II
Posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 7:38 am
- ISBN13: 9780345497925
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
No Less Than Victory is the crowning achievement in master storyteller Jeff Shaara’s soaring World War II trilogy, revealing the European war’s unforgettable and harrowing final act.
After the success of the Normandy invasion, the Allied commanders are buoyantly confident that the war in Europe will be over in a matter of weeks, that Hitler and his battered army have no other option than surrender. But despite the advice of his best military minds, Hitler will hear no talk of defeat. In mid-December 1944, the Germans launch a desperate and ruthless counteroffensive in the Ardennes forest, utterly surprising the unprepared Americans who stand in their way. Through the frigid snows of the mountainous terrain, German tanks and infantry struggle to realize Hitler’s goal: divide the Allied armies and capture the vital port at Antwerp. The attack succeeds in opening up a wide gap in the American lines, and for days chaos reigns in the Allied command. Thus begins the Battle of the Bulge, the last gasp by Hitler’s forces that becomes a horrific slugging match, some of the most brutal fighting of the war. As American commanders respond to the stunning challenge, the German spear is finally blunted.
Though some in the Nazi inner circle continue the fight to secure Germany’s postwar future, the Führer makes it clear that he is fighting to the end. He will spare nothing–not even German lives–to preserve his twisted vision of a “Thousand Year Reich.” But in May 1945, the German army collapses, and with Russian troops closing in, Hitler commits suicide. As the Americans sweep through the German countryside, they unexpectedly encounter the worst of Hitler’s crimes, the concentration camps, and young GIs find themselves absorbing firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust.
Presenting his riveting account through the eyes of Eisenhower and Patton and the young GIs who struggle face-to-face with their enemy, and through the eyes of Germany’s old soldier, Gerd von Rundstedt, and Hitler’s golden boy, Albert Speer, Jeff Shaara carries the reader on a journey that defines the spirit of the soldier and the horror of a madman’s dreams. No Less Than Victory further solidifies Shaara’s reputation as this era’s most accomplished author of historical military fiction.Amazon.com Review
Jeff Shaara on No Less Than Victory
In all the stories I’ve written, from the American Revolution, up through World War Two, one of the most gratifying comments I have received from readers has been, “I didn’t know that.” Whether writing about Benjamin Franklin or The Red Baron, Robert E. Lee or Black Jack Pershing, my favorite moments have come when a discovery is made, when I can offer the reader some tidbit or episode of history that is an entertaining surprise.
By any pure definition, I am not a historian. My job is not to bathe you with the raw facts and figures, all those things many of us dread when opening the high school history text book. Instead, my goal is to tell you a historically accurate story through the eyes of those special characters, by digging deeply into their memoirs and diaries, letters and the accounts of those who stood beside them. The most satisfying part of that to me is that I do not have to “fudge” history. Unlike Hollywood, where too often filmmakers seem not to trust that an honest historical tale can be sufficiently entertaining, I have been surprised by how the characters themselves, so many of them familiar names, can tell us a true story that not only entertains but reveals something of our past. My job is to be the storyteller, to bring these characters out of their world and into ours. History is not about numbers, but about us.
When I began to tackle the subject of the Second World War, I was concerned that I would be unable to find a story to tell that you did not already know. This is one subject that even Hollywood has (sometimes) treated with an honest hand, magnificent stories that may or may not be genuine history, but at least are honest in their ambitions. What can I add to that? What can I tell you about George Patton or D-Day or the Holocaust that you don’t already know? The answer to that was a surprise to me, and it is my fervent hope that in the trilogy I’ve just completed, it is a surprise to you.
Heroes come in strange packages, and often, the decent and the honorable emerge in places we don’t expect to find them. Throughout my research on World War Two, I was caught off guard many times by the strength of character that came not just from the familiar names, the leaders, but the unfamiliar: the men of the Airborne and the tanks and the men who carried the rifle. I was surprised as well by the enemy, in this case, the Germans. Not every man who obeyed Hitler was simply a goose-stepping monster, and so, some of them, Rommel and Kesselring and von Rundstedt and Speer… add to these stories in ways I did not expect.
Ultimately, the stories I write must entertain, which, when writing about war, can seem terribly inappropriate. World War Two gave us more horror than most of us can possibly absorb. But we must not forget that many did absorb it. Many carry those stories still, often unspoken, unrevealed, those aging GIs whose memories have always been stirred by the sights and smells and the horrific loss. And throughout the horror there are different memories, the uplifting, the humorous, and alongside the tears and the screams there is laughter. It is after all, how the veteran survives.
Their numbers are fewer every day, and as they leave us, many will carry the stories with them. Often, as we watched them grow older, we dared not ask for the tales, cautioned by a parent perhaps, warned against prying or digging too deeply into the old veteran’s silent horror. Even in the name of research, it is not my place to probe where I am not invited. But the history is there for us to explore, the events real, the people true to life, the heroism and the horror a part of their legacy, a legacy we must not forget. It’s the least we can do. –Jeff Shaara
(Photo © Adrian Kinloch)
About a year ago, I found one of Shaara’s books in my library by “accident”. I was so taken aback, I read every one he wrote (including his father’s book). I have been waiting for this one, and it did not let me down. I wish kids in school were taught US history from these books rather that the PC versions they are most likely getting. This story reminded me of a line I heard, “A concentration camp was never liberated by a peace activist”.
Rating: 4 / 5
World War II has ravaged Europe under the onslaught of Hitler’s forces, but his grip is weakening. Allied troops have begun to press him back, leading him to undertake desperate measures. Author Jeff Shaara takes up the final installment of his World War II trilogy — begun with THE RISING TIDE and THE STEEL WAVE — and brings to a close one of the most harrowing moments the world has known.
NO LESS THAN VICTORY opens in November 1944, highlighting the buildup to the start of the Ardennes Offensive, also known as the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler is now desperate to splinter the Allied forces so that his army can retake Antwerp. The Allies, under the command of Eisenhower, turn the tide against Hitler, and his dream begins to unravel.
Hitler’s own leaders have seen the folly of the plan, particularly Gerd von Rundstedt. The elder Field Marshal, the oldest of Hitler’s commanders and a soldier long before many fighting under him were born, had devised his own scheme that Hitler refused. Since the failed assassination, Hitler held little trust in his men, though he knew he needed them to carry out his plans.
Failing in Ardennes, some of the inner Nazi circle begin to plot Germany’s postwar future even as Hitler defiantly screams that he will not hear talk of defeat. He makes it clear that his battle is to the end, which comes sooner than later. With Russian troops pressing from the east and with continuing losses on the western front, Hitler commits suicide. Meanwhile, the Americans sweep into the German countryside and uncover the most savage secret of Hitler’s machinations: the camps.
The horror of the Holocaust comes to the fore, and Shaara very deftly walks into this grievous crime with a clinical eye and a compassionate heart. The result is simply powerful. One does not need to imagine the view of walking into Ohrdruf in April 1945 because Shaara, through meticulous research and exceptional skill as a storyteller, puts you in that moment, and you see all of it as Eddie Benson sees it.
That is the great success of NO LESS THAN VICTORY, much as it has been for the previous works in this saga. Shaara has taken the words and memories of those who fought and crafted them not into a dry historical text, but into a living and actionable event of intensity and passion. The battle sequences rage, and the reader is caught up in the explosive panic of war, yet all of this is tempered by the quieter introspections of the primaries: Eisenhower and Patton, von Rundstedt and Speer, Benson and Buckley. The stories of the men behind the men are no more valuable in Shaara’s telling than those who carry the guns, ride the bomber planes, or man the tanks.
Ultimately, there is not much to uncover in terms of revelations or new insights into these events, but that is hardly the point. Rather, NO LESS THAN VICTORY is the final piece of an exceptionally crafted puzzle. While the story may not be wholly new, it is magnificently told in a way that rekindles a love of history.
— Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard
Rating: 5 / 5
As in his other novels, Jeff Shaara brings history to life. I am amazed at his ability to combine history with the personal stories of his characters. Although he puts words into the mouths of historical figures, one ends up believing that is exactly what that person would have said under the given circumstances. Great book!
Rating: 5 / 5
The book is an excellent read. I started with the Killer Angel’s which was written by Shaara’s father. Then I read all of Jeff’s work which included historical novels on the Revolutionary War, Mexican-American War, Civil War, WWI and now WWII. These are great because they include actual historical figures with some fictional ones surrounding actual events. These are great books for history and non-history buffs.
Rating: 5 / 5
Solid Historical Fiction
Jeff Shaara writes solid historical fiction. Doing excellent research, Mr. Shaara weaves a very readable novel about the conclusion of WW2 in western Europe. He combines both fictional and real characters to show the difficulties the Allies experienced at the end of the greatest War ever fought. Using literary license he attempted to demonstrate how possible conversations might have occurred between those engaged in this monumental struggle. I particularly liked his portrayal of the main German generals and how they dealt with the ever growing realization that the Third Reich was losing the war. Regardless of perceived outcome, Mr. Shaara pounded home that the Generals did their duty to the very end. It was not their place to question but to follow orders and this keep many of them from simply collapsing under the weight of obvious defeat.
Historians question the use of historical fiction, but as a historian I like that Mr. Shaara is able to involve the public in general in what and why certain events happened. He does not deal in technical historical depth but rather concentrates on the more personal side of events. I particularly liked how he closed out the novel with an thumbnail sketch of “what happened” to the real characters involved in his Afterword.. If you read this book for the technical aspects of the final climatic months of the war you will be letdown. It is NOT about the order of battle but rather an analysis of the major and minor personalities involved. How did the grunt see his place in the battles and how did the leaders see theirs. Rarely were they the same view and in fact many times they were diametrically opposed. Still, the complexity of war is just that: Where the leaders see the bigger picture and the individual soldiers sees only the very small lower right-hand corner sliver. War is messy and ugly and valor is only realized after the guns go silent, yet in No Less Than Victory Mr. Shaara attempts to interject the more human side of the complex equation and this he does quite well.
No gratuitous violence, language or sex. Some combat but not graphic. Character development was cursory.
Recommended as a paperback. Mr. Shaara has become a master at historical fiction but his best work is still his civil war novels. I think if he would have followed Herman Wouk’s literary recipe and used one central character to bind the trilogy together it would have had more of an impact. Still it is very good just not terrific.
I am looking forward to more books by Jeff Shaara.
Rating: 4 / 5