No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II Mass Market Paperback – April 26, 2011

great read

I admit my bias up front on this review. I really enjoy Jeff Shaara's books. He is my favorite author in the historical fiction genre. I pre-ordered this book, and I cannot tell you how excited I was when it arrived at my door on the day of its release. So that's my bias. I don't think Jeff Shaara writes a bad book.I found this book very different from the previous two of the WWII trilogy. Compared to those novels and many of his others, No Less Than Victory stood out to me for how few characters Shaara utilized to tell this story. He mainly follows Eddie Benson's journey through just prior to the Battle of the Buldge to the conclusion of the war in Europe. Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Albert Speer, and German Field Marshall van Rundsteldt also play focal roles in the story; yet Speer doesn't appear until the final 3 chapters, just as van Rundsteld exits the novel.The focus on Benson, in my opinion, made the story very good. I have read many books on WWII and found Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers to be one of the best I have read on the Battle of the Buldge. I worried about how Shaara would approach this portion of the war with so much out there on this topic. His solution was to tell a very personal story of a private as he made his way through the end of the war in Europe. The first 100 pages contain almost no battle scenes, which is atypical of Shaara. One of his strengths is writing battle scenes. He departs from his strength, and I think the book is better for it. Instead of actual battle scenes, Shaara provides a gripping account of what it must have felt like for a private from Missouri to struggle through Hitler's Watch on the Rhine assault. You could feel Benson's anxieties, his fears. You could empathize with him. That's what made this story different than many of the other novels in this genre. It was personal. And I thought it was great.On Shaara's website, he has alluded in the past that this will not be a trilogy but a series of four WWII books. He leaves No Less Than Victory with a quote about the war in the Pacific. That's his next stop. I can't wait until that books is written and published. No Less Than Victory, in my opinion, is the best of Shaara's WWII efforts. It might not be up to par with the books that I consider his best (Glorious Cause, To the Last Man, Last Full Measure), but I really enjoyed this book.

Though his books on the States War are no doubt his best (to date), in Victory he has attempted and succeeded in giving us a very realistic view of the complexities of command in the battle of Europe and the same complexities, of an entirely different type, in the day to day fears and actions of those who actually fought the battles. I have read many novels of WWII and think this novel does the best job of actually telling both stories and also does not attempt to glorify war or try to make us believe in soldiers that were unafraid and we're destined to survive. Even the best general or private needed some luck to come home and come home in with their minds intact (though changed forever). Shaara makes this point without taking you out of the story. At times it was difficult to stay with the change from the front lines to rear. Difficult but necessary to truly see the whole. The one area where I felt he missed the mark slightly was regarding the carpet bombing. A lot is said about the bombing of civilian targets, but little about the way the Air Force treated the bomber crews. I think many a man was lost because of a lack of vital equipment and preparation. I admit I may not know what I am talking about and my opinion is based on other reading. Overall a novel that should make all readers appreciate what what all the Allies gave. todefeapHHitlerHitlerthemajorityoGermanswwhowho loved him.

Achingly honest portrayals of life in war. Brutally told. Impressive knowledge of the major figures and their thoughts. The light shed on the reasons for the actions of major combatants is enlightening. Hard to read but so worth it.

I just finished the two books of Sharra's on the American Revolution. I never feel I'm reading fiction with Shaara. I first got interested in War with Saving Private Ryan. I stumbled into Gods and Generals and I liked it but I wasn't ready for the Cival War. After reading all of Shaara's other books, I am ready to start the Civil War series again. I just completed the WW2 trilogy and No Less Than Victory doesn't disappoint. Never did I feel I was reading fiction, and Shaara is always entertaining in his prose. The battle scenes are tightly written. I can see the Speilberg camera angles in every paragraph. Sharra makes you understand the politics, emotions and tragedy of war. Whenever I want to learn about a particular war, I'll go to Shaara first. Then I want to read the historical texts. He gets you engaged. I also find that I relate all historical text back to his stories. His facts are right on. The WW2 series is facinating. Start with the first novel and you will read through to this one. This book will not disappoint.

We loved it

Wieder ein Shaara, der Geschichte und Amerikaner erklärt.Übrigens ein Wort zu Rezensionen: wenn die zumeist besonders positiv ausfallen, dann ist das kein Kniefall vor Verlag oder Autoren sondern schlicht der Tatsache geschuldet, dass man im Wesentlichen nur solche Bücher zu Ende liest, die man mag und jedenfalls nur mit positiven Büchern in Verbindung gebracht werden will. Eine negative Besprechung setzt auch erst Recht voraus, dass man das Buch gelesen hat.AP

As the third part, of what has now become a quartet of novels, this volume deals with the end of the second world war in Europe.Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the two earlier parts I could not wait for this part to be published. As soon as it was available on the Kindle, my new form of reading, I had to get to it. I immediately put the novel I was reading to the side and commenced on this gripping story.Being a fan of Mr Shaara's books, and his father's before him,as they deal with subjects I am particularily interested in, I am perhaps giving a biased view.However this will not prevent me from extolling the merits of this novel as that is what it is. Though based on fact and using historical events it centres of characters, real and imagined and how they fit in to events as they unfold. I enjoy this type of prose as it gives the author the ability to enlighten us on what it must have been like to be present at the time via the narrative.A new reader could start at this novel quite easily, and no doubt it will not suit everyone, however I guarantee for most of you it will leave you wanting more of Mr Shaara.

Picked up the 1st book from a charity book shop. Enjoyed it so much, I had to order the next 2 in the trilogy, of which this is the 3rd. Fast moving insight into the last year of the war in Europe, which brings to life the personalties of the main commanders and also the lives and tribulations of a selected number of real individual soldiers.

Son loved it