United Kingdom
"In the meticulous narrative style he first employed in Stalingrad, he recreates the operation from the dropping of the first troops on September 17th to the evacuation of the remnants of the British 1st Airborne Division eight days later. . . The outline of the story of Arnhem may be familiar, but Sir Antony’s unearthing of neglected sources from all the countries involved—British, American, Polish, Dutch and German—brings to life every aspect of the battle."
The Economist
"In Arnhem as in his previous books, Beevor combines an epic political sweep with riveting human detail."
Radio Times
"Antony Beevor’s account is, as you would expect from this master-narrator, completely gripping; the story is played out day by day, sometimes hour by hour, but always with one eye on the strategic thinking (or lack of it) and the key causal factors involved. . . This is a much more rounded account than than any that have appeared so far."
- Noel Malcolm The Sunday Telegraph*****
"It is, in short, a chapter of the Second World War that was crying out for the storytelling talents of Sir Antony Beevor, arguably the finest narrative historian of his generation. This is the result – and his many fans will not be disappointed. . . Beevor’s particular skill is his ability to unearth new sources that articulate the experience of war felt by ordinary people: soldiers and civilians, men and women. . . Beevor has produced another superb book, tirelessly researched and beautifully written, that will long be the benchmark for this subject.
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- Saul Davi The Daily Telegraph *****
"Antony Beevor’s magnificent account. . . Beevor’s skill lies in his ability to recreate the tumultuous brutality of battle. . . With stark honesty, Beevor describes the terrible panoply."
- Gerard De Groot The Times
"Another masterwork from the most feted military historian of our time. . . Does the story need to be retold? Beevor is such a good writer, with a gift for clarity and a knack for the telling personal portrait that the answer is undoubtedly yes."
- Jay Elwes Prospect
"Beevor describes the battle and its aftermath with his customary deep understanding of the human factor – both of the soldiers who risked everything and of the plight of the Dutch civilians."
- General Mike Jackson The Spectator
"Beevor tells a story that is more human and complex than what he calls the great myth of heroic failure, a tale of vanity, hubris, occasional incompetence, human frailty and remarkable grit. . . In Beevor’s hands, Arnhem becomes a study of national character."
- Ben Macintyre The Times
"The analysis he has produced of the disaster is forensic. Aficionados of military history will revel in Beevor’s microscopic detail, with every skirmish given its rightful place. . . Beevor’s prodigious research has nevertheless unearthed many treasures, particularly his record of the sufferings of Dutch civilians who risked their necks by nursing wounded allied soldiers.
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- Giles Milton The Sunday Times
"Complete mastery of both the story and the sources. The beauty is in the details. . . . This gripping book, with its tightly focused timescale and subject matter, shows him once again at his very best."
- Keith Lowe Literary Review
"Our greatest chronicler of the Second World War . . . The drama of manoeuvre and counter-thrust, the courage and cowardice of soldiers and civilians, the follies and vanities of commanders, which are especially rich in this story, are deployed with colour and humanity. His fans will love it."
- Robert Fox The Evening Standard
"This absorbing new account of the battle with the eye for telling detail which we have come to expect from Antony Beevor. . . this time, though, he turns his brilliance as a military historian to a subject not just of defeat, but dunderhead stupidity."
Daily Mail
"As Antony Beevor showed in Stalingrad, he is a master of his craft as a military historian. . . We have here a definitive account of one of the most painful episodes of the Second World War."
- Piers Paul Read The Tablet
"The master of combining the vivid particulars of battle with a lucid explanation of its course."
Sunday Express
"Beevor’s superlative new book . . . Arnhem: Battle For The Bridges sees him return to Stalingrad form. Forensic is too soft a word to describe the breadth of detail he brings."
Daily Express *****
"Antony Beevor deploys all the qualities in this book that have made him our pre-eminent historian of the Second World War. His seamless narrative effortlessly mixes grand strategy, telling anecdotes and humane sympathy into a gripping, coherent and authoritative whole. "
Times Literary Supplement
"With devastating command of his subject, Antony Beevor shows how one commander’s hubris destroyed an army. This is not a tale of heroes, although heroes are present. It’s a story about the ugliness of war... No one beats Beevor at recreating the bewildering cacophony of war."
The Times History Book of the Year
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Denmark
"Antony Beevor is one of the blazing, bright and bestselling British historians, who are shaping our perception of World War II. . . a true pleasure to read."
Berlingske Tidende *****
"Through the years Beevor has marked himself as the greatest military historian of our time."
Danmark *****
"The most important military historian today."
- Niels Frid DR2 TV
"Beevor has an eminent talent to track down new and unknown sources that bring the events into a fresh light, and on the other hand he is gifted with epic skills that give his books a literary dimension."
- Steffen Heiberg Politiken ******
Netherlands
"This man knows how to tell a story. He draws you in directly. He knows how to compose it and how to hold your attention."
- Dutch historian Wim Berkelaar VPRO Gids
"Beevor lets the reader become a part of the battle scene. A compelling story, filled with gripping details found in oral history of the men who were there."
AD Magazine
"Beevor has an eye for the fate of civilians stuck in the field of battle. In De Slag om Arnhem he writes with compassion and sympathy about the people in Northern Netherlands, who had to put up with the vengeful Germans half a year longer because of Montgomery’s failure."
Historisch Nieuwsblad
"In De Slag om Arnhem Beevor uses the method that made his previous books so very successful: the information on military strategy and the course of battle is peppered with eyewitness reports of civilians and military alike. He worked through endless amounts of diaries, telegrams and letters, consulted the many archives (including Dutch and German ones) and spoke with eyewitnesses. Beevor knows his stuff . . . he also knows how to write. All in all it makes for an incredibly readable, complete and impressive book on the dramatic Slag om Arnhem."
Trouw
United States of America
"his is destined to be a World War II military history classic . . . Excellent maps make the action easy to follow, and the author’s clear, quick prose makes for fascinating, informative reading. Beevor seamlessly transitions from the soldier perspective in the trenches to the perspective of the generals commanding in their headquarters, and balances the points of view of all the participants, including the Germans and Dutch civilians . . . Beevor’s superb latest offering, in keeping with his established record of excellence, is a must-read for the general military history enthusiast and the WWII history expert."
Publishers’ Weekly starred review
"Beevor, a consummate chronicler of desperate military endeavors. . . brings to the familiar story a vast amount of research in German, British, American, Polish, and Dutch archives. As usual, his narrative bristles with specifics, including countless observations gleaned from eyewitnesses to every stage of Market Garden. Devoted readers of military history will enjoy the wealth of details. . . thrilling and deeply involving.
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Christian Science Monitor
