The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II is a historical novel written by Jeff Shaara about Operation Overlord. The book is the second book in a trilogy written by Shaara.The novel begins in January 1944, nearly six months before the invasion of Normandy. Nearly half of the novel deals with General Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, and the rest of the SHAEF's attempt to prepare for D-Day and Erwin Rommel's attempt to prepare for such an assault.