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RETURN TO NORMANDY
June 6th, 2014, the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Over 1,000 paratroopers will jump in Normandy, France, to honor the Allied soldiers who made the historic WWII airborne assault. A platoon from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team is in the lead plane. The planes approach the drop zone and . . .
In the blink of an eye, day turns to night. The platoon’s plane is now the only one in the sky. They encounter massive anti-aircraft flak trying to shoot them down. Platoon Leader Lieutenant Spike Wilson is astounded. Where are they? More important, he realizes, is not where they are, but when.
Wilson has a revelation. A rift in the space-time continuum propelled them from one time dimension to another into the actual D-Day Invasion. How? Why? Will their actions inadvertently change future events? Will they return to 2014? These are the dilemmas the time-traveling platoon face as they wander the battlefields trying to stay alive long enough to find their way home.
In the blink of an eye, day turns to night. The platoon’s plane is now the only one in the sky. They encounter massive anti-aircraft flak trying to shoot them down. Platoon Leader Lieutenant Spike Wilson is astounded. Where are they? More important, he realizes, is not where they are, but when.
Wilson has a revelation. A rift in the space-time continuum propelled them from one time dimension to another into the actual D-Day Invasion. How? Why? Will their actions inadvertently change future events? Will they return to 2014? These are the dilemmas the time-traveling platoon face as they wander the battlefields trying to stay alive long enough to find their way home.
- GenresAlternate History
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 22, 2017
57 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
John R. Taylor
200Ìýbooks17ÌýfollowersJohn Taylor is Professor of Physics and Presidential Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He took his B.A. in mathematics from Cambridge University and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied the theory of elementary particles. He has taught at the Universities of Cambridge and London in England, and at Princeton. and Colorado in the U.S. He first came to Colorado in 1966. Since then he has won five university and departmental teaching awards. He is the author of three text books: a graduate text on quantum scattering theory; an undergraduate text on error analysis, which has been translated into German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, and Spanish; and an undergraduate
text on modem physics. The second edition of the book on error analysis appeared in 1997. His research interests include quantum scattering theory and the foundations of quantum theory, and he has published some fifty articles in journals such as the Physical Review and the Journal of Mathematical Physics. For several years he was Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physics.
For the past eighteen years he has given his "Mr. Wizard" shows to some 60,000 children on the Boulder campus and in many towns in Colorado. He received an Emmy Award for his television series "Physics for Fun", which aired on KCNC TV in 1988 -1990. In 1989 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation of the American Association of Physics Teachers. In the same year, he won one of eleven Gold Medals in the national "Professor of the Year" program and was named Colorado Professor of the Year. In 1998, at the invitation of the International Science Festival in Dunedin, he toured New Zealand and gave IS "Mr. Wizard" shows in various museums and colleges.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 30, 2017
There is very little in the world as satisfying as reading a work of military science fiction written by a veteran. They can portray things in a manner that is believable and authentic because they've been there. The relationships between the characters work on a level that can't be faked. The tactics make sense. The characters are neither cowardly nor psycho gung-ho and eager to die. They are, in short, just like members of the real life military. All of this is true of John R Taylor's Return to Normandy. He nailed it. I really enjoyed this book.
The premise of the book is pretty simple: In celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day invasion, several of the nations that participated in the battles on D-Day, including the Germans, send paratroopers to drop on Normandy. This actually happened in the real world. In Taylor's version the lead plane is filled with American paratroopers who are transported back in time to June 6, 1944 and arrive before the invasion troops. They have period weapons and uniforms as part of the festivities, but no ammunition. Things get interesting quickly.
Our heroes don't know what to do at first but that makes sense. They were planning on landing in a wide open field in front of a huge crowd of spectators and instead they're getting shot at by Germans at night. I can't help but think that confusion is the only possible reaction. It's not like this was some kind of experiment intended to transport them. I mean, when they first hit the ground they don't know when or where they are. Once they figure it out they can't figure out how they got there and a few members of the platoon reject the idea. It's natural and believable.
The premise of the book is pretty simple: In celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the D-Day invasion, several of the nations that participated in the battles on D-Day, including the Germans, send paratroopers to drop on Normandy. This actually happened in the real world. In Taylor's version the lead plane is filled with American paratroopers who are transported back in time to June 6, 1944 and arrive before the invasion troops. They have period weapons and uniforms as part of the festivities, but no ammunition. Things get interesting quickly.
Our heroes don't know what to do at first but that makes sense. They were planning on landing in a wide open field in front of a huge crowd of spectators and instead they're getting shot at by Germans at night. I can't help but think that confusion is the only possible reaction. It's not like this was some kind of experiment intended to transport them. I mean, when they first hit the ground they don't know when or where they are. Once they figure it out they can't figure out how they got there and a few members of the platoon reject the idea. It's natural and believable.
July 31, 2017
Return to Normandy
Very interesting story and a book. A Time-Travel mystery with a huge Airborne jump and a fantastic 'Character' to move the Plot along. Airborne terminology and tactics/techniques were top notch and Done well. The Ground combat, both in Afghanistan and elsewhere felt very real. Well Done, all Around.
Rich Johns
1/505 and Army Special Forces
1974 - 1998.
Very interesting story and a book. A Time-Travel mystery with a huge Airborne jump and a fantastic 'Character' to move the Plot along. Airborne terminology and tactics/techniques were top notch and Done well. The Ground combat, both in Afghanistan and elsewhere felt very real. Well Done, all Around.
Rich Johns
1/505 and Army Special Forces
1974 - 1998.
May 11, 2017
Good
Great read hope that he gives us more. Airborne and welcome home. Hopefully this will be a good future for you.
Great read hope that he gives us more. Airborne and welcome home. Hopefully this will be a good future for you.
June 23, 2017
Nice little adventure
I enjoyed the story but was a little disappointed. I'd never pass up the chance to liberate concentration camps. Other than that good story
I enjoyed the story but was a little disappointed. I'd never pass up the chance to liberate concentration camps. Other than that good story
October 5, 2017
Great time travel story
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good evening of entertaining, can't put it down reading. Kudos to the author.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good evening of entertaining, can't put it down reading. Kudos to the author.
February 5, 2018
Flying into time
They were on a mission that they did not know. It became a life changing event. The war was on. D day was here. Time to fight.
They were on a mission that they did not know. It became a life changing event. The war was on. D day was here. Time to fight.
November 20, 2018
Good book.
A little slow but it was a good story. I liked the overall story and enjoyed the Band of Brothers reference.
A little slow but it was a good story. I liked the overall story and enjoyed the Band of Brothers reference.
April 8, 2017
Good but too coincidental
I really enjoyed the premise of this book. The writing seemed to get better as the story continued. There were a few too many coincidences and easy explanations for certain things, but overall I found myself cheering for Spike and his men throughout the book.
I really enjoyed the premise of this book. The writing seemed to get better as the story continued. There were a few too many coincidences and easy explanations for certain things, but overall I found myself cheering for Spike and his men throughout the book.
April 21, 2017
A little too corny
The premise was extremely interesting, but the execution was a disappointment. The characters were shallow and plot evolved into a very predictable outcome.
The premise was extremely interesting, but the execution was a disappointment. The characters were shallow and plot evolved into a very predictable outcome.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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