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Posted on Jun 6, 2019 in Armchair Reading, Front Page Features

75th Anniversary D-Day A Millennials Guide – Book Review

75th Anniversary D-Day A Millennials Guide – Book Review

Rick Martin

75th Anniversary D-Day A Millennials Guide – Book Review

Anthology edited by Jay Wertz, Monroe Publications.  2019 315 pages  Soft Cover  $19.99  ISBN 9781732631502

It is a sad truth that the youth today, in aggregate, know less about history than any other generation for the last 100 years even though they have access to more research material than almost any generation in history thanks to the Internet.  According to the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation’s October 3rd, 2018 report, just one in three American citizens would pass the United States Citizenship Exam which focuses on American history and civics.  This is a cultural crime and must be rectified in the immediate future if we are to have any semblance of an educated citizenry by the mid to late 21st Century.

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Monroe Publications and Jay Wertz hope to rectify some of this deficiency by the release of the new soft cover book entitled the “75th Anniversary D-Day A Millennials Guide”.  The book is comprised of an introduction plus 23 chapters written by different authors who are, in and of themselves, authorities on the various subjects surrounding D Day.  Contributors include Gerhard Weinberg, Jay Wertz, Gerald D. Swick (formerly of Armchair General), Dana Lombardy, William Floyd, Jr., Dennis Flake, Christopher Anderson, Lee W. Jones, Mark Weisenmiller and many others.

The chapters are concise and usually not more than 15 or 20 pages in length – many are far shorter in keeping with the perceived shorter attention span of the Millennials. 

The chapters include:

  1. Why the 20th Century Was So Violent
  2. A Short History of the European War
  3. Plan for the Invasion
  4. Leaders of the Axis
  5. Leaders of the Allies
  6. D-Day Pets and Mascots
  7. Men and Women in Uniform
  8. What Happened on D-Day
  9. Momentum Swings
  10. Finding Your D-Day Heritage
  11. D-Day in Popular Culture
  12. Saving Private Ryan including an Interview with Captain Dale Dye (Senior Military Advisor on Saving Private Ryan)
  13. 75th Anniversary of D-Day Commemoration
  14. Just for Fun
  15. Allied Flyers Epic Pub Crawl
  16. In the Footsteps of Heroes
  17. Beyond D-Day Travel
  18. Western European Military Sites
  19. D-Day Anniversary Takeaways
  20. Conflicts of the Late 20th Century
  21. A World Shaped by World War 2
  22. Monuments and Cemeteries
  23. Passing the History On

Weinberg’s chapter “Why the 20th Century was so Violent” is the perfect way to set the scene for the events that would lead up to World War 2.  It succinctly puts World War 2 in to perspective as the end result of the early 20th Century wars such as the Russo- Japanese War and World War I.

Wertz’s A Short History of the European War covers the events from the false flag events which lead to the German invasion of Poland to just before the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Of particular interest to me was the chapter on the making of Saving Private Ryan and the interview with Captain Dye, the senior military advisor to that film.

I also found Mark Weisenmiller’s D-Day Anniversary Takeaways to be a thorough analysis of how and why D-Day and the Allies succeeded in defeating the Axis and what we can learn from that Greatest Generation in order to apply it to our culture today.

There is even a D-Day quiz, crossword puzzle and Sudoku included.

I would make this book required reading in every high school and college history course.  It effortlessly draws the reader in to that fateful history of 75 years ago while establishing the context of the invasion in 20th Century history while also tolling a cautionary bell as to why we must all be aware of this history if we don’t wish to repeat it.  For those who are already World War II history buffs or war gamers, this book is a wonderful reference and a fitting tribute to soldiers who fought with such valor on that fateful day, June 6th, 1944 and, as such, “75 Anniversary D-Day A Millennials Guide” deserves to be on everyone’s shelf not just that of the Millennial target audience.

 About the Author

A college film instructor and small business owner, Richard Martin has also worked in game design as well as the legal and real estate professions, is involved in video production, film criticism, sports shooting and is an avid World War I and II gamer who can remember war games which came in plastic bags and cost $2.99 (he’s really that old)!  He is also the designer of the board games Tiger Leader, The Tiger Leader Upgrade Kit and Sherman Leader.

cover
Normandy Map
Tributes to those who fought on D Day

3 Comments

  1. While this is a good idea and a worthy effort, it is futile. The people it is supposed to target just don’t care.

    • Hi Tony,

      Jay Wertz here, editor and contributor to “D-Day 75th Anniversary – The Millennials Guide.” While I agree with you in general about the millennial generation, in the 6 weeks since the book came out we have interfaced with the public at events and historic sites in the US, UK and Normandy. I am happy to report that I have met and talked to a number of millennials who “get it.” These millennials, I predict, are the kind of quality people who will lead their generation and those that follow because they understand that the keys to effective leadership and decision-making come from experience and understanding history – how civilization has arrived at where it is now – not in understanding what makes a great craft beer or latte.

  2. Thanks for your rely, Jay. But as I read your response I see “we have interfaced with the public at events and historic sites in the US, UK and Normandy.” This indicates that these people already have an interest in this era of history. These people already ‘get it”. What concerns me is that the people who don’t get it, never will. THAT is your real target audience, and they aren’t interested. Hopefully, an effort like yours will help with that process.