Chronicler of WWll succumbs to lung cancer at 66:
- Ambrose spent much of his career as a relatively little known history professor until he burst onto the best-seller's list with his 1994 book "D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II."
Based in large part on interviews with veterans about their own combat experiences, the book recounted the chaotic, bloody beach invasions of Normandy from the typical American soldier's perspective.
"He was saying, 'There's all this obsession with high command, but the real story is these citizen soldiers who still live in every town and hamlet in the United States,"' said Douglas Brinkly, a former pupil who took over for Ambrose as director of the University of New Orleans' Eisenhower Center.
With unadorned but lively prose, Ambrose continued to captivate readers as he churned out history books at an industrial pace, publishing more than 30, including a half-dozen more best-sellers such as "Citizen Soldiers" and "The Wild Blue."
He "combined high standards of scholarship with the capacity to make history come alive for a lay audience," Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur Schlesinger said.
While best known for his World War II books and as the founder of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Ambrose wrote about numerous aspects of American history. Other books addressed former Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, the Transcontinental Railroad and the Lewis and Clark expeditions of the American West.
"His great gift was that he refused to allow people to think history was boring," said Brinkley, who also collaborated on several books with Ambrose. "He was always grabbing people by their lapels and saying, 'Listen to this. Isn't this fascinating?"'
Ambrose, who called himself a hero worshipper, said his focus on World War II developed from working on his Eisenhower biography and his memory of GI's returning home from World War II when he was 10 years old.
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Article comments
1 - Paul
Dammit. There goes the last modern historian I could read. Reading his books was enjoyable, as opposed to the convoluted babble of others who are so damned impressed with themselves that reading their books is a laborious exercise in self-abuse. Dammit.
2 - Joe Katzman
Thanks for the heads-up, Eric. I've posted a tribute of my own on Winds of Change, complete with links to some outstanding resources related to "Band of Brothers" in particular and WWII in general.
He was one of the good guys. He did good. And he was great fun to read. Thank heavens that we still have Victor Davis Hanson down here, to introduce a whole new generation to the fascinating tapestry that makes up the history of freedom in the West.
3 - Intars
Please, can enyone tell, is there any pictures or films taken by German side on Omaha beach during invasion? Or they so censured that never will be released?
4 - Intars
ON TV, IN INTERNET WE CAN EASLY FIND SOME PICTURES, VIDEO FRAGMENTS(AND ONLY!!)TAKEN BY ALLIED SIDE, BUT NEVER FROM THE GERMAN SIDE! IT GAVE ME DOUBTS THAT INVASION WAS SO BRUTAL AS IT'S SHOWN IN 'SAVING PRIVATE RAIYAN'
5 - DrPat
The one book my spouse and I love equally is Stephen Ambrose's Nothing Like It in the World. Just rereading the introduction is sufficient to bring tears to both of us.
Based on that, I quickly went out and bought Undaunted Courage, Band of Brothers and To America: Memoirs of a Historian. I also have the jornals of Teddy Roosevelt which Ambrose edited, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman & The Wilderness Hunter, which I love.
He will certainly be missed.
6 - George Randall
My brother was in WWII and I remember well the stories he told me. Ambrose tells his stories like my brother did - mesmorizing! I just can't get enough of his books, and he will be sorely missed.
George Randall
Chattanooga TN