Longest Day

First published in 1959, The Longest Day is one of the best-selling military history books of all time, and was the basis for the legendary war movie in 1962 released by 20th Century Fox. The author and war journalist, Cornelius Ryan, pioneered a new style of military-history writing based on interview research with over a thousand battle participants. The result is a vivid description of D-Day based on the stories of the people, on both sides, who took part in those crucial 24 hours. The great body of first-hand documents, interview transcripts and questionnaires he collected is now held in Ohio University Libraries. This beautifully designed illustrated edition incorporates 25 of these original research documents with Ryan's classic text, and is further enhanced with 120 photographs of D-Day.

Cornelius Ryan joined the London staff of Reuter's News Agency in 1941. In 1943 he joined the staff of the London Daily Telegraph as a war correspondent. Ryan was at Normandy twice on D-Day, on a bomber flying over the beaches, and on a patrol boat that took him back after he landed in England. Upon the activation of Patton's 3rd Army in Normandy after D-Day, Ryan joined that force and covered its activities until the end of the war in Europe. His three classic World War 2 books - The Longest Day , A Bridge Too Far and The Last Battle - brought D-Day, Operation Market-Garden and the Battle for Berlin to life through the meticulously researched stories of thousands of the men who fought on all sides in the last 11 months of World War 2 in Europe.

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