First Edition A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan, 1974
This first edition print of A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan is in good condition, a great read and even better value.
A Bridge Too Far (1974) by Cornelius Ryan gives an account of Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied attempt to break through German lines at Arnhem by taking a bridge in the occupied Netherlands during World War II.
Ryan named his book after a comment attributed to Lieutenant General Frederick Browning before the operation, who reportedly said to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, "I think we may be going a bridge too far."[1] But Antony Beevor disputes this, saying that Browning had supported the operation, especially in view of receiving more resources. Secondly he did not appear to have encountered Montgomery that day.[2]
Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Ryan documented his account of the 1944 battle with pictures and maps. He included a section on the survivors, “Soldiers and Civilians – What They Do Today”.
He addressed tactical mistakes made in planning the operation. Until Ryan's book, Market Garden had been a classic example of victors writing the history; that is, popular accounts of World War II tended to overlook the battle or Field Marshal Montgomery's spin on it as being a "partial success".[3]
The 1974 book was published by Simon & Schuster in New York and by Hamish Hamilton in London. There were frequent later editions, and a film based on it was released in 1977.
