"Caddick-Adams is probably the best military historian of his generation, and Snow and Steel is the definitive account of one of the key punctuation marks in history, when the western Allies thwarted Germany's last attempt to turn the tide of the Second Word War. Caddick-Adams combines a sweeping command of politics and strategy with authoritative detail worthy of Ian Fleming, and deep empathy for the individual characters in the story. His opening portrait of Hitler, turning in a moment from a 'broken man' to a passionate orator as he outlines the plans for Operation Autumn Mist is a masterly opening to a work combining scholarship and readability in perfect balance." Professor Chris Bellamy "Peter Caddick-Adams's SNOW AND STEEL offers readers, at long last, the entirety of the German Ardennes Offensive of 1944-5, popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge. Until now the story of the Bulge has been recounted unevenly, in bits and pieces and with emphasis upon pockets of heroism and horror. This book's singular achievement is to offer a balanced view of the strategy and tactics of both sides. Writing with authority yet wearing his scholarship lightly, Caddick-Adams offers an encyclopedic and immersive narrative of the battle that was, in Churchill's words, "an ever-famous American victory." Andrew Roberts "Peter Caddick-Adams is fast emerging as one of our most authoritative and exciting military historians. His immense knowledge and understanding oozes off every page of his utterly absorbing book. Combining analysis with anecdote, this is a thought-provoking and compelling account of one of the most iconic battles of the Second World War. Brilliant." James Holland "Snow and Steel is a fresh re-telling of a widely known story. Throughout the narrative Peter Caddick-Adams transitions smoothly back and forth between the highest strategic and operational echelons, down to the level of the frontline GI and Landser. The result is a rich tapestry of the single largest battle in American history." Maj. Gen. David T. Zabecki, PhD "Snow and Steel tells the story of the Battle of the Bulge from foxhole to the Fuhrer's Command Headquarters leaving the reader with a new appreciation for the largest battle America fought in the Second World War. With a soldier's insight into the flow and fog of battle, Snow and Steel demonstrates why Peter Caddick-Adams rates highly among the new generation of battlefield historians. A must have and must read for students of the European War." LTC (Ret) Roger Cirillo, PhD "Superb: an impeccably researched, finely judged reappraisal of a pivotal World War Two battle that still resonates today." Saul David, Professor of War Studies and Programme Director, MA in Military History by Research Humanities Research Institute University of Buckingham "This book highlights very effectively a chapter in American military history that has real resonance today. We all have something to learn from reflecting on it." General Sir Nick Parker, former Commander, UK Land Forces "Like its predecessor (Monte Cassino: Ten Armies in Hell), Snow and Steel brings a fresh and innovative approach to military history - so long restricted to the dry study of generals and operations. By exploring the cultures and motivations of the participant armies, as well as by excavating veterans' accounts of surviving the sharp end, Caddick-Adams suffuses life, spark, and dynamism into his new narrative of the incredible story of the Battle of the Bulge." Alexander Rose, author of Washington's Spies and the forthcoming Men at War: The American Soldier in Combat from Bunker Hill to Iwo Jima "Snow and Steel is a gripping account of one of the most important campaigns of the last year of the war. Caddick-Adams uses his narrative of the German Ardennes offensive to analyse key issues such as fighting quality and capability, resulting in a book that deserves attention from all those interested in World War Two." Professor Jeremy Black "Anyone with an interest in World War II in Europe should have this in their library. Dr Caddick-Adams has in masterly fashion inter-woven the personalties and events to fashion a compelling history of Hitler's last all-gut gamble to bring about a German victory." Major-General (ret'd) Graham Hollands "If I was to appear on Desert Island Discs I would be strongly tempted to select this superb book as one of the handful I could take with me...Peter Caddick-Adams has assembled a genuinely breath taking account of the great offensive. He layers events with great care, moving us across the length and breadth of the battlefield allowing us to picture it through the eyes of a stellar cast of big names and ordinary soldiers...This immense book sets a standard it will be a challenge for the author to follow. The scale of the telling is vast." -- Mark Barnes War History Online "Caddick-Adams knows more about the Bulge than any other historian I have read...I admire his originality...Snow and Steel offers an authoritative narrative of the drama..." -- Max Hasting The Sunday Times "Fantastic...incredibly readable." -- Al Murray "He [Caddick-Adams] has woven the threads together skillfully and written a book in which analysis and narrative combine to provide a brilliant anatomy of a modern battle. Above all, and this is what makes the book enjoyable for the general reader as well as the military buff, Caddick-Adams explains the context of the battle and examines the strengths or weaknesses of the antagonists, their leaders, equipment, ideologies, economic resources and intelligence systems." The Times "Caddick-Adams has written an encyclopedic and eminently readable book... a military-history version of [Walter] Benjamin's point that, "To articulate the past historically... means to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up at a moment of danger" - so that seventy years on, the explosions and hail of bullets become real again... a monument to the barbarism of war." Times Literary Supplement
