The Last Hill - The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle that Defined WWII (Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, 2022)

(364 pages)

I liked this.  Kind of a pop history style (as can be told from the overwrought title), but no question that the authors did plenty of research to support the story line.  I also like that it focuses on a small group.

Brits had some success with "commando" (special forces) units early in WWII, and the US decided to do a similar concept though with a different name ("Rangers").  Though the Army didn't have a clear concept of how to use the units, and there were plenty of folks within the Army that didn't like the idea.

The book focuses on the 2nd Ranger Battalion - through intense training (lots of washouts); then onto Omaha beach and up the cliffs to Pont d'Huc; attacking Brest (Brittany - achieving a rather incredible surrender with two Rangers and a grenade in the commandant's crotch); then (after some less intense assignments) into the Hurtgen Forest and Hill 400.

All of these deployments were highly interesting to read about; impressive.  I hadn't known about the Brest surrender before (I assume the description is accurate if unbelievable).  Also hadn't read about Hurtgen Forest - the authors suggest this was not much discussed because (at least in their opinion) so many US lives were wasted repeating attack methods that were proven failures.

A Line in the World - A year on the North Sea Coast (Dorthe Nors, 2021)

Saw a favorable review and gave the book a try - I liked it.

Very much out of my experience geographically - author explores the rugged west coast of Denmark - where she has, or at least had, family ties.  Kind of connected, but kind of not.

EXCEPT - I read this shortly after our visit up to Nome - this made it much, much easier to imagine the coastal ruggedness that the author describes.

And - there is some overlap with the feel of return visits to Iowa over the years.