Mr. Shaara's research is finely woven into his narrative [He] can certainly bring a scene to life--whether he is inventing it from his own head or transforming a diplomat's memoir.... Mr. Shaara provides a nonfiction introduction to The Rising Tide that should be required for every middle-school American history class. It is far better in its brief account of the greatest conflict of the twentieth century than most of today's textbooks Mr. Shaara is apparently giving the people what they want--and what they need.

As Hitler sweeps through Europe, America is drawn into the war, standing side by side with her British ally, the last hope for turning the tide of the war. In North Africa, tank battles unfold in a tapestry of dust and fire unlike any the world has ever seen. In Sicily;the Allies attack their enemy with a barely tested weapon: the paratrooper. As battles rage along the coasts of the Mediterranean, the momentum of the war begins to shift, setting the stage for the Battle of Normandy.

TO THE READER

RESEARCH SOURCES

LIST OF MAPS

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

AFTERWORO