Review: A Bridge Too Far

Full title: A Bridge Too Far - The Classic History of the Greatest Battle of World War II
Author: Cornelius Ryan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 670

Perhaps better known as a movie bearing the same title, A Bridge Too Far is tale of the struggle of the Allies to reach Germany in an effort to end World War II as quickly as possible.  Their plan calls for an aggressive strategy, capturing and holding a number of bridgeheads that will allow them access into Germany.  The story ultimately centers on the Dutch town of Arnhem and the struggle that was waged there for one bridge.

Ryan begins his telling of this event through the eyes of the Dutch people, who will, in a manner of speaking, host this battle.  From there, he expands to include the German and Allied planning up to the launch of Operation Market-Garden, which will have a major impact both on the war and the Dutch.  The author includes first hand accounts from participant on all sides, including civilians. In his writing, Ryan beautifully recreates the conditions during this time and allows the reader to easily identify with the people he is writing about. As the story unfolds, Ryan moves seamlessly from the viewpoint of one group to another.

Because so much of this story is told within the context of military action and the effort to move large groups of men over vast expanses of territory, the fact that the book contains many, many maps is very helpful to the reader.  Due to the sheer enormity of this battle and Ryan's efforts to provide as much information as possible, the number of people included in the book is quite large.  While it does become a bit difficult remembering who is who (especially two British officers who share the same surname), the book does include pictures of some of the more notable and note-worthy participants, which does help.  One of my favorite features (if you haven't already picked up on this from other entries) included in this book is a comprehensive list of what all those mentioned throughout were doing as of publication.

I came away from this book extremely impressed with Ryan as an author and having learned quite a bit about a part of World War II I was not previously familiar with.  While a tad long, it is an easy, riveting read and another instance in which the movie adaptation truly does not do the book justice.

Bottom line:

Would I read it again? Yes

Would I recommend this book to someone else? Yes