The Liberator: Alex Kershaw's 500-Day Journey Through World War II

Jim F: If you are a WWII “student”, you will love this book. A true story, riveting and could not put it down. The author makes you feel as if you are actually witnessing the action and battles as they unfold. So many courageous patriots who wanted nothing more than to defend and support their country and fellow soldiers. A must read.

United States on Aug 16, 2023

Raymond F G: I liked this book because of the style it has been written. You could almost be their in some parts of the book. This man showed great leadership skill and also compassion for his men. It also showed how much he wanted home and wanted to be with his wife and child. What happened at Dauchau was a terrible thing and could have been a lot more of a war crime if this man had not stepped in.

United Kingdom on Jan 30, 2022

Jerome91: L histoire méconnue de Felix Sparks et de la 45eme division d infanterie « Thunderbird ». Sujet qui a inspiré une mini serie de Netflix.
Je la recommande a tous ceux qui s interessent aux destins individuels de la seconde guerre mondiale

France on Oct 06, 2021

Old Herbacious: I searched for this book after watching an excellent animated film series on Netflix based on this book. I was interested in learning more about the story of the soldiers of various different ethnicities including Native Americans who fought for the U.S. during WW2. However the book did not go as deeply into this aspect of the story as the animated film which was disappointing. The book is quite well written and despite covering many harrowing and graphic events of the war the authors style makes it an easy and quick book to read. It shed more light for me about the Italian theatre of war, which by all accounts was one of attrition and sacrifice for all who were part of it, as equal or more so than the Normandy campaign. It ends with a particularly harrowing event which I will leave for you to find out.

United Kingdom on Aug 23, 2021

GB: This is actually a really compelling story, however I don't think Kershaw was the best author to tell it. I found the narrative rather choppy - he did not do a good job of switching between Sparks' story and the broader military history of the campaigns. He is also not great at integrating meaningful and believable dialogue throughout.
It is good story, for sure, I just think it would have been a better read in the hands of a different author. Perhaps measuring it against The Splendid and the Vile, Band of Brothers, or Quartered Safe out Here is unfair....

Canada on May 19, 2021

RoseMary Griffith: I learned about Felix Sparks while attending a local history lecture series and thought it would be interesting to read about this understated World War II hero.
The first part of the book is so heavily concentrated on the battles that the Thunderbirds undertook that if you enjoy this type of strategy, you’ll like it. I was frequently lost and somewhat bored. I constantly seek the people side of war books. That didn’t come fully into play in Liberator until the liberation of the Dachau Concentration camp, where he commanded the 3rd Battalion of the 157th Regiment of the 45th Division as they reached the camp.
After that point, you get more involved in the story of Felix and come to realize what an unsung hero he was. It would be an incredible movie to follow him and his men throughout their battles.
During a lull of one battle, multiple men lay wounded on the battlefield. Sparks got so frustrated and angry that he went after them. The Germans were so astounded at his bravery that their leader forbade them to shoot.
The Thunderbirds had a massive amphibious assault on Sicily (lost to the public in the D-Day invasion), moved to the Italy mainland, traveled through...

United States on Feb 12, 2018

Robert J. Mack: Alex Kershaw, a British born journalist, historian, and author who has lived and worked in America for twenty years, has written an astounding book about an outstanding Army officer and his equally outstanding men. The name of the book is The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey From the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau. The officer's name was Felix Sparks, and Kershaw tells his story, a story that covers over 500 days of fierce combat in World War II involving four amphibious landings starting in Sicily, through Italy, into France, and ending in the hell of Dachau in Germany. Sparks started out in Sicily as an infantry captain and ultimately became a colonel of the Thunderbird division of the 157th Regiment, an outfit that saw more combat than any other regiment or division in World War II. "The men he had commanded had achieved something of lasting greatness, something of permanence. They had defeated barbarism...The graves of his men stretched across Europe, over two thousand miles. They had died in Sicily, in France, at the dark heart of Nazi Germany. There had been several hundred killed under his command, half of them buried in...

United States on Jan 12, 2015

Caracalla: Felix Sparks kämpft sich mit den "Thunderbirds", einem US-amerikanischen Infanterieregiment von Sizilien, über Anzio, Südfrankreich und die Vogesen bis nach München und erlebt hautnah den Untergang des 3. Reichs. Im Stil einer Realdoku schildert Kershaw den Weg dieses Regiments abseits der großen Schauplätze (Normandie, Ardennen). Mehrfach erlebt Sparks den kompletten Untergang seiner Einheit, er selbst überlebt, obwohl er als einer der wenigen Kommandeure direkt an der Front führt.

Dass dabei auch die deutsche Seite nicht pauschal in Grund und Boden verdammt wird, ist Kershaw hoch anzurechnen. Er stellt stattdessen überzeugend persönliche Schicksale und Erlebnisse deutscher Soldaten vor dem Hintergrund der Endsiegpropaganda der Nazis dar.

Ergreifend ist die Schilderung der Befreiung Dachaus durch Sparks und seine Einheit. Dass hier Einzelne vor dem erlebten Grauen kapitulieren und Ihrem Entsetzen im Mord an den Bewachern Luft machen, ist nur zu verständlich.

Schlussendlich zeichnet Kershaw den Lebensweg von Felix Spark und einigen seiner Mitstreiter, aber auch einzelner deutscher Zeitzeugen bis in die Gegenwart nach. Wie das Erlebte und Erlittene...

Germany on Dec 04, 2014