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In the early morning of 6 June 1944, thousands of men stood in Higgins boats off the coast of Normandy. They could not see around them until the bow ramp was lowered — when it was time for them to storm the Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and Omaha beaches. Over 10,000 of them would die in the next 24 hours. The largest amphibious invasion the world has ever seen took place seventy years ago today.

In the videos below, Craig L. Symonds, author of Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings, discusses the planning and execution of the invasion. Numerous, often contentious, discussions took place behind the scenes between the United States and the United Kingdom regarding the D-Day invasion strategy. And while most people believe that strategy is the key focus on winning a war, this is not often the case. Rather the concept of logistics often plays a key role in victory, and in this instance, in helping forces succeed in the storming of Normandy beach. Symonds also reveals why it’s so important to learn about the personal histories of those involved in and affected by the allied invasions of World War II, and the story of a remarkable lieutenant by the name of Dean Rockwell who played a pivotal role in the D-Day invasion. You can also learn more by entering our giveaway for signed copies of Craig Symonds’ new book.

What was the Anglo-American debate over invasion strategy?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Why did logistics trump strategy on 6 June 1944?

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Why are lesser known personal accounts important to understanding the history of D-Day?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Were there any individual accounts that demonstrated the circumstantial pressures of the invasion?

Click here to view the embedded video.

For the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Oxford University Press is giving away 15 signed copies of Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings, by Craig L. Symonds. The contest ends on June 6, 2014, at 5:30pm.

Craig L. Symonds is Professor of History Emeritus at the United States Naval Academy. He is the author of many books on American naval history, including Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings, The Battle of Midway and Lincoln and His Admirals, co-winner of the Lincoln Prize in 2009.

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The post Reflecting on the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings appeared first on OUPblog.

        

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Ten years after the TV series was heartbreakingly axed Veronica Mars is making a comeback. First there was the much-anticipated, kickstarter funded, movie and now there is a series of novels that continue the Neptune universe.

A TV/Movie spin-off book is not usually on my radar and I don’t think I would have read this but when I found out Kristen Bell was reading the audio book I was in. (Plus the movie was sooo good!)

(SPOILER ALERT: you must see the film before reading the book and the rest of my review will talk about the movie’s ending)

At the end of the movie Veronica has returned to Neptune and is in the PI business again. The book takes off right from there with Veronica taking on her first big case. The storyline is like a good, solid double episode from the show. Now older and wiser things get a better darker and more dangerous for Veronica than her school/college PI days. It is spring break in Neptune and a teenage girl has gone missing. Fearing the negative press coverage Neptune’s Chamber of Commerce hires Veronica to look into the case which is being handled with the ineptitude and laziness we have come to expect from the Sheriff’s department. When a second girl goes missing Veronica must quickly re-find her PI shoes before it is too late.

All our favourite characters make an appearance with a surprise thrown in. My only grumble was that the story is told in the third person, which still works but I was really looking forward to being inside Veronica’s head more (like the TV show) especially with Bell narrating the audio book. Otherwise it was a really fun story and it is really great to see the story being kept alive, whatever the format and I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.

Buy the book here…

The search for the elusive Planet X continues.  Is an undiscovered planet influencing the motions of Uranus and Neptune?  Is this mysterious body Nibiru, a legendary world described by Sumerians over 6,000 years ago?  Is this planet approaching the Earth, bringing with it death and destruction? Will Nibiru bring the end of the world that many think is coming in 2012?

John Couch Adams was the first to suggest that the deviations of Uranus and Neptune were caused by another planet.  In 1841, Adams began studying these planetary deviations.  Later, astronomer Urbain Le Verrier claimed the motion anomalies were caused by two planets.  In 1877, David Todd made the first attempt to find Planet X.  The United States Naval Observatory proved the orbital disturbances shown by Uranus and Neptune in 1991.

6,000 years ago,  the Sumerians made a detailed description of the Solar System which included a planet they called Nibiru.  Nibiru means “planet of the crossing”.  The Sumerian depiction of this planet matches the specifications of Planet X.  Supposedly, this planet has not been seen because it has an elliptical, comet-like orbit.  This orbit takes it into deep space, beyond the orbit of Pluto.

Some people believe that Nibiru is Planet X, which is approaching the Earth, perhaps to destroy it.  Based on his translation of Sumerian texts, Zecharia Sitchin wrote a book called “The Twelfth Planet”.  It tells the story of a race of people called the Anunnaki.  The Anunnaki came to Earth from Nibiru thousands of years ago.  As Nibiru approaches,  researchers say Earth will be struck by massive, catastrophic changes.

There is even a theory that ties together Nibiru and 2012.  The Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012, which implies to many people that the world will end on that date.  The Nibiru theory holds that Nibiruwill enter the inner solar system and bring disaster upon the Earth on that date.  This is also  a conspiracy theory because supposedly astronomers are tracking Nibiru, however, the information is being kept from the public.  But most scientists say that the world is not about to end.  They are surprised at the anger of people who seem to want the world to end.

SUMMARY

Scientists have long searched for the mysterious Planet X, which they say is disrupting the orbital motions of Uranus and Neptune.  Many people believe that this planet is Nibiru, which Sumerians supposedly discovered about 6,000 years ago.  Some also think that Nibiru could approach the Earth and cause a devastating catastrophe.  This might occur on December 21, 2012, when the Mayan calendar runs out. 

The search for the elusive Planet X continues.  Is an undiscovered planet influencing the motions of Uranus and Neptune?  Is this mysterious body Nibiru, a legendary world described by Sumerians over 6,000 years ago?  Is this planet approaching the Earth, bringing with it death and destruction? Will Nibiru bring the end of the world that many think is coming in 2012?

John Couch Adams was the first to suggest that the deviations of Uranus and Neptune were caused by another planet.  In 1841, Adams began studying these planetary deviations.  Later, astronomer Urbain Le Verrier claimed the motion anomalies were caused by two planets.  In 1877, David Todd made the first attempt to find Planet X.  The United States Naval Observatory proved the orbital disturbances shown by Uranus and Neptune in 1991.

6,000 years ago,  the Sumerians made a detailed description of the Solar System which included a planet they called Nibiru.  Nibiru means “planet of the crossing”.  The Sumerian depiction of this planet matches the specifications of Planet X.  Supposedly, this planet has not been seen because it has an elliptical, comet-like orbit.  This orbit takes it into deep space, beyond the orbit of Pluto.

Some people believe that Nibiru is Planet X, which is approaching the Earth, perhaps to destroy it.  Based on his translation of Sumerian texts, Zecharia Sitchin wrote a book called “The Twelfth Planet”.  It tells the story of a race of people called the Anunnaki.  The Anunnaki came to Earth from Nibiru thousands of years ago.  As Nibiru approaches,  researchers say Earth will be struck by massive, catastrophic changes.

There is even a theory that ties together Nibiru and 2012.  The Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012, which implies to many people that the world will end on that date.  The Nibiru theory holds that Nibiruwill enter the inner solar system and bring disaster upon the Earth on that date.  This is also  a conspiracy theory because supposedly astronomers are tracking Nibiru, however, the information is being kept from the public.  But most scientists say that the world is not about to end.  They are surprised at the anger of people who seem to want the world to end.

SUMMARY

Scientists have long searched for the mysterious Planet X, which they say is disrupting the orbital motions of Uranus and Neptune.  Many people believe that this planet is Nibiru, which Sumerians supposedly discovered about 6,000 years ago.  Some also think that Nibiru could approach the Earth and cause a devastating catastrophe.  This might occur on December 21, 2012, when the Mayan calendar runs out.