D-Day - by Jonathan Mayo (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

June 6, 1944 was a truly historic day in World War II, but it was also a day where people found themselves in extraordinary situations...

Lieutenant Norman Poole jumped from a bomber surrounded by two hundred decoy dummy parachutists. French baker Pierre Cardron led British paratroopers to his local church, where he knew two German soldiers were hiding in the confessional. Southampton telegram boy Tom Hiett delivered his first "death message" by midday. At the sound of Allied aircraft, Werner Kortenhaus of the twenty-first Panzer Division ran to collect his still damp washing from a French laundrywoman. And injured soldiers wept in their beds in a New York hospital, knowing that their buddies lay dying on the Normandy beaches.

Drawing on memoirs, diaries, letters, and oral accounts, D-Day is a purely chronological narrative, concerned less with the military strategies and more with what people were thinking and doing as D-Day unfolded, minute-by-minute. Moving seamlessly from various perspectives and stories, D-Day sets us in the midst of it all, compelling readers to relive this momentous day in world history.

Review Quotes

"An engrossing work [and]...an accessible history that conveys the havoc and vast international spread of D-Day."--Kirkus Reviews

"Accesible [and] fast-paced...Mayo's clear descriptions and engaging storytelling work as a great introduction to the battle as it unfolds."--Publishers Weekly

"This account stands out by focusing more on the people caught up in events."--The Bookseller

Praise for The JFK Assassination: Minute by Minute

"Packed with vivid detail, and arranged in the minute-by-minute style that Jonathan has pioneered on the radio, this account of the murder of John F Kennedy gripped me from the first page to the last."--Jeremy Vine

"Reads like a pacey page-turning cold war political thriller, whilst never forgetting that at its heart, this story is one of a nation's, and a family's tragedy."--Dermot O'Leary