"Gentlemen, do not be daunted if chaos reigns; it undoubtedly will." So said Brigadier S. James Hill, commanding officer of the British 3rd Parachute Brigade, in an address to his troops shortly before the launching of Operation Overlord-the D-Day invasion of Normandy. No more prophetic words were ever spoken, for chaos indeed reigned on that day, and many more that followed.Much has been written about the Allied invasion of France, but award-winning military historian Flint Whitlock has put together a unique package-the first history of the assault that concentrates exclusively on the activities of the American, British, and Canadian airborne forces that descended upon Normandy in the dark, pre-dawn hours of 6 June 1944. Landing into the midst of the unknown, the airborne troops found themselves fighting for their lives on every side in the very jaws of the German defenses, while striving to seize their own key objectives in advance of their seaborne comrades to come.Whitlock details the formation, recruitment, training, and deployment of the Allies' parachute and glider troops. First-person accounts by the veterans who were there-from paratroopers to glidermen to the pilots who flew them into the battle, as well as the commanders (Eisenhower, Taylor, Ridgway, Gavin, and more)-make for compelling, "you-are-there" reading. If Chaos Reigns is a fitting tribute to the men who rode the wind into battle and managed to pull victory out of confusion, chaos, and almost certain defeat.Author/military historian Flint Whitlock graduated from the Army's Airborne School at Ft. Benning, GA, in 1965 and spent five years on active duty, including a combat tour in Vietnam. He is the author of nine books, six of which are about World War II, and is currently the editor of WWII Quarterly. He has appeared in documentaries on The History Channel and on the Fox Channel's "War Stories with Oliver North," and now lives in Denver, CO. REVIEWS "...excellent and well balanced view of the airborne operations on D-Day as well as tackling the background that led up to the events on that most famous of days...does a great job of organizing the stories of how that chaos sorted itself out so well and makes for a very readable set of accounts to give the wide story of the airborne operations that played such a vital part in the success of the D-Day Landings."Military Modeling, 07/2011"...for anyone with any interest in the airborne operations phase of D-Day...A well written and well researched book...A great book, well worth a read..."Arrse.co(UK) 8/1/2011"...an examination of the Normandy landings that concentrates exclusively on the activities of the American,British, and Canadian airborne forces that descended upon Normandy in the dark, pre-dawn hours of 6 June 1944. Drawing on numerous first-hand accounts, Whitlock details not only the formation, training and deployment of the Allies' parachute and glider troops, but the events on the ground at the many targets."Britain at War, August 2011