A Bridge Too Far: The Classic History of the Greatest Battle of World War II

Cornelius Ryan

Feb 2010 · Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

The classic account of the Battle of Arnhem—one of the most dramatic battles of World War II.

In September of 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Market Garden, a doomed attempt invasion of the German-occupied Netherlands. At the vanguard of this operation, British and American airborne forces were dropped into the Dutch city of Arnhem—behind enemy lines—to capture the crucial bridge across the Rhine. It was the greatest armada of troop-carrying aircraft ever assembled, but the massive effort cost the Allies nearly twice as many casualties as D-Day.

A Bridge Too Far is Cornelius Ryan’s masterly chronicle of this important battle. Focusing on a vast cast of characters—from Dutch civilians to British and American strategists to common soldiers and commanders—Ryan brings to life one of the most daring and ill-fated operations of the war. This classic of World War II history captures the terror and suspense, the heroism and tragedy of this epic operation.

Ratings and reviews

A great fact based well researched narrative on the battle.

About the author

Cornelius Ryan was born in 1920 in Dublin, Ireland, where he was raised. He became one of the preeminent war correspondents of his time, flying fourteen bombing missions with the Eighth and Ninth US Air Forces and covering the D-Day landings and the advance of General Patton’s Third Army across France and Germany. After the end of hostilities in Europe, he covered the Pacific War. In addition to his classic works The Longest Day, The Last Battle, and A Bridge Too Far, he is the author of numerous other books, which have appeared throughout the world in nineteen languages. Awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government in 1973, Mr. Ryan was hailed at that time by Malcolm Muggeridge as “perhaps the most brilliant reporter now alive.” He died in 1976.