Uplifting and sad at the same time. The TV series was pretty true to the book so if you've seen it you'll know what to expect. Of course the length of a written book coupled with you as the reader setting your own pace allows you to find more detail and consider moments at length which generally makes reading a book a much deeper experience.

It's the injustices that often stick with me and a couple of things really struck me: One being the practice of the Army Stores people to steal the best food and equipment for themselves leaving the men fighting at the front, the ones who really deserve to get whatever is available, short. The other mind boggling statement the book made was that the US factories stopped making war material to a large extent before the war was finished and the Allies ended up running short on some types of ammunition. Apparently the factories were keen to witch back to civilian production as soon as possible and people in the US thought the war was a done deal. Unfortunately for the men fighting in Europe, the Germans were still shooting back with everything they had.

As to the writing, I think Steven Ambrose has done a fine job of telling a true story with accuracy, compassion and atmosphere. It's not just a verbatim account of what happened, rather it's a story of men's lives that draws the reader in, brings history alive and makes one care about the individuals.

Lest we forget.