Masterful history
Deighton wrote this wonderful examination of the men, material and events of the World War Two German blitzkreig of France. This gifted novelist takes the time to explore the armaments in play from tanks to aircraft to transportation and explains how they came to be there, their history of development and their impact on the conflict. Sounds dry in my description but history is all about the play of personality on the events that shape our world and Deighton is brilliant at characterizing and personalizing the choices that changed what the Nazi regime had envisioned as essentially a replay of WWI into the rout of the French that led to 4 years of absolute Axis dominance of the whole of Europe. History is written by the winners, as the axiom goes, but Deighton avoids falling into cliches about the German army and it's characteristics and capabilities, drawing a distinction between the horrific barbarity of the Nazi regime and the (often noteworthy and occasionally noble) activities of the German Army. A balanced and scholarly work that manages to be both highly entertaining and deeply educational, this is a book that repays a readers attentions tenfold