Joseph balkoski biography
History Happy Hour
This Week on History Happy Hour: Chris and Rick welcome back Joe Balkoski, one of the most respected WWII historians there is, and a personal favorite of ours. Joe literally wrote the book(s) on D-Day, as well as a highly -detailed five-volume-history of the storied 29th Division.
This week we&#;ll talk about his book From Brittany to the Reich, which chronicles the war weary division’s arrival on the German border as the northernmost division of the United States Army. We’ll also touch on the recent controversy regarding the 29th Division blue/gray Insignia.
The incredible story of the 29ers continues, this Sunday at 4 PM on History Happy Hour, where history is always on tap
Joe Balkoski is a renowned American military historian who has authored eight books on American involvement in the EDO during World War II, including a five-volume series on the history of the 29th Infantry Division in World War II and a two-volume set on American participation in the D-Day invasion. He has appeared as a D-Day expert on MSNBC, and his work has been praised by Joe Scarborough, the New York Post, World War II Magazine, and others.
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Joseph Balkoski
Goodreads Author
Born
in New York City, The United StatesWebsite
Genre
History, Biographies & Memoirs, Nonfiction
Influences
Bruce Catton, Rick Atkinson, Shelby Foote, Cornelius RyanBruce Catton, Rick Atkinson, Shelby Foote, Cornelius Ryanmore
Member Since
August
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Joseph Balkoski is one of the world's leading authorities on the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He currently serves as Command Historian for the Maryland National Guard and for more than thirty years has chronicled the WWII history of the 29th Infantry Division. Joseph Balkoski is one of the world's leading authorities on the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He currently serves as Command Historian for the Maryland National Guard and for more than thirty years has chronicled the WWII history of the 29th Infantry Division. more
Joseph Balkoski
American military historian
Joseph Balkoski is an American military historian and board game designer who has authored eight books on American involvement in the European Theater in World War II, including a five-volume series on the history of the 29th Infantry Division in World War II and a two-volume set on American participation in the D-Day invasion.
Life and career
Joseph Balkoski was born in New York City, the son of Itala Balkoski and John Balkoski, a World War II veteran of the Pacific theater. He graduated from Great Neck South Senior High School in June and later from Vassar College in He received an M.A. in history from New York University in
When he moved to Maryland in , by chance he met many residents who were veterans of the D-Day invasion, all members of the 29th Infantry Division, which spearheaded the assault. His first book, Beyond the Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy, was published in and remains in print thirty years later, was defined by Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, as "an amazing book If you want to know what D-Day and Normandy were like, from private to general, from rifle to tank, from beginning to end, this is the book for you." Balkoski's highly detailed series on the history of the 29th Division in World War II closed in with the publication of the fifth volume, The Last Roll Call, which recounts the end of the war in Europe and the GIs' return to civilian life. His thirty-year effort to detail the history of this celebrated outfit was praised by author Rick Atkinson, who described the series as "a magnificent achievement; the U.S. Army and the 29th Division are lucky to have an historian of Joe Balkoski's stature and skill to tell the tale of combat in Western Europe from the perspective of both the ordinary GI and his leaders." In , Balkoski published Omaha Beach, which meticulously documented the June 6, , America
.