They fought on Utah Beach, in Arnhem, Bastogne, the Bulge; they spearheaded the Rhine offensive and took possession of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden. Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory, Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company, which kept getting the tough assignments. Easy Company was responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. BAND OF BROTHERS is the account of the men of this remarkable unit who fought, went hungry, froze, and died, a company that took 150 percent casualties and considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals and letters, Stephen Ambrose tells the stories, often in the men's own words, of these American heroes.
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As grippingly as any novelist, preeminent World War II historian Stephen Ambrose uses Band of Brothers to tell the horrifying, hallucinatory saga of Easy Company, whose 147 members he calls the nonpareil combat paratroopers on earth circa 1941-45. Ambrose takes us along on Easy Company's trip from gruelling basic training to Utah Beach on D-day, where a dozen of them turned German cannons into dynamited ruins resembling "half-peeled bananas", on to the Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of part of the Dachau concentration camp, and a large party at Hitler's "Eagle's Nest", where they drank the his (surprisingly inferior) champagne. Of Ambrose's main sources, three soldiers became rich civilians; at least eight became teachers; one became Albert Speer's jailer; one prosecuted Robert Kennedy's assassin; another became a mountain recluse; the despised, sadistic CO who first trained Easy Company (and to whose strictness many soldiers attributed their survival of the war) wound up a suicidal loner whose own sons skipped his funeral. The Easy Company survivors describe the hell and confusion of any war: the senseless death of the nicest kid in the company when a souvenir Luger goes off in his pocket; the execution of a GI by his CO for disobeying an order not to get drunk. Despite the gratuitous horrors it relates, Band of Brothers illustrates what one of Ambrose's sources calls "the secret attractions of war ... the delight in comradeship, the delight in destruction ... war as spectacle". --Tim Appelo
Review
"The Times-Picayune" A valuable and fascinating record...In these pages, the reader can vicariously walk with the men of E Company, suffer and laugh with them.
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you are not accustomed to reading books concerning military history and/or are not familiar with this stage of World War II, I'd highly recommend that you watch the BBC/HBO series first. It's very accurate to what is written in the book with good character acting to the main guys involved in Easy Company, 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne.
The book is well written, with Ambrose setting out the events of each day/engagement/battle/incident, and then using quotes and excerpts from other books and memoirs to illustrate how it was for the actual men in those incidents. A lot of the quotes are directly from interviews the author had with the various enlisted men and officers who took part in D-Day and beyond. It is stated towards the end of the book that Ambrose was in constant contact with the veterans of Easy Company and showed them drafts of the book to make comments and corrections on. So this book is pretty much the definitive history of Easy Company's part in World War II, from the birth of the company to through D-Day and then duties of Occupation in Germany etc.
The book loses one star for these down points:
It IS hard not to be in awe of what Easy Company and all the 101st achieved, but in one or two places, objectivity would have been prefered to all out adoration. If you are a Brit and have any soft spot for the achievements of the British contribution to the Allied advance in 1944, be prepared for the author to spurt out the odd punch to British forces. In a lot of places he seems to suggest that the British were blind, ignorant, and badly trained buffoons; and takes one or two unprofessional incidents to act as a general overview of British standards.
The minor sour grapes accepted, this is still a fantastic book, and there will be something on every page that will make you smile, or shock, or bring you close to tears. Every World War II enthusiast and history fan should read this book!
The book is well written, with Ambrose setting out the events of each day/engagement/battle/incident, and then using quotes and excerpts from other books and memoirs to illustrate how it was for the actual men in those incidents. A lot of the quotes are directly from interviews the author had with the various enlisted men and officers who took part in D-Day and beyond. It is stated towards the end of the book that Ambrose was in constant contact with the veterans of Easy Company and showed them drafts of the book to make comments and corrections on. So this book is pretty much the definitive history of Easy Company's part in World War II, from the birth of the company to through D-Day and then duties of Occupation in Germany etc.
The book loses one star for these down points:
It IS hard not to be in awe of what Easy Company and all the 101st achieved, but in one or two places, objectivity would have been prefered to all out adoration. If you are a Brit and have any soft spot for the achievements of the British contribution to the Allied advance in 1944, be prepared for the author to spurt out the odd punch to British forces. In a lot of places he seems to suggest that the British were blind, ignorant, and badly trained buffoons; and takes one or two unprofessional incidents to act as a general overview of British standards.
The minor sour grapes accepted, this is still a fantastic book, and there will be something on every page that will make you smile, or shock, or bring you close to tears. Every World War II enthusiast and history fan should read this book!
80 of 82 people found the following review helpful
By father2
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Stephen E. Ambrose has written a very good account of the history of E-Company, which has now been turned into a major television series. I read this book in a couple of days and have to confess that it makes compelling reading. Those who have never experienced combat cannot fully understand what people like the young men that made up E-Company went through, but this account helps us to appreciate the debt we all owe to ones like Major Winters and the rest of the allied forces that defeated Nazi Germany in WWII. In an age where celebrity and hero worship are bandied around too liberally, these men show us that the real hero's are those who quietly do their job against a backdrop of constant danger and death.
One part of the book that demonstrates Ambrose's skill as a historian is the account of the attack upon Foy. This is contained in the chapter entitled: "The Breaking Point." Ambrose states: "Back in '42 the question was, Can a citizen army be trained and prepared well enough to fight Germans in a protracted campaign in Northwest Europe?" E-Company faced this test during this encounter with the Germans and the book provides the answer given by these young men to their test.
Ambrose relates events in a balanced way and is not blinded by the natural trap of accepting everything that he is told by those whose experiences make up the account. After reading this book you will be filled with an awe of the young men that fought and died to help remove the dark threat of Nazi Germany and retain the freedom that we all have enjoyed since that dangerous time. This book does not glorify the war, but simply tells it as it happened.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Well worth a read, even if you've seen the TV series, that will provide you with more information on Easy company, and will increase your enjoyment of the TV series if, make that when, you watch it again.
You might think that the written word will not come close to the impact of the images and sound of the TV series, but with "Band of brother", for me the best of Stephen Ambrose's books, he comes very close to matching that impact. Plus, with the luxury that the written word allows, provides you with far more information on Easy Company, how the harsh training under Captain Sobel helped forge the company, and the hardships it faced, and survived, during combat.
Remember, this is not a novel, but the recollections of a group of American soldiers, who present an American view of the war. If you want to read about other nations contributions to the war, look elsewhere ("Pegasus Bridge" where Ambrose attempts to do for the British para what he did for the American with "Band Of Brothers"), but don't blame Ambrose, and don't close yourself off to this book.
If you did, you would be denying yourself an insight into what makes soldiers fight, how in even the most inhuman conditions they can maintain their humanity towards their comrade, and the hardships they suffer for us.
You might think that the written word will not come close to the impact of the images and sound of the TV series, but with "Band of brother", for me the best of Stephen Ambrose's books, he comes very close to matching that impact. Plus, with the luxury that the written word allows, provides you with far more information on Easy Company, how the harsh training under Captain Sobel helped forge the company, and the hardships it faced, and survived, during combat.
Remember, this is not a novel, but the recollections of a group of American soldiers, who present an American view of the war. If you want to read about other nations contributions to the war, look elsewhere ("Pegasus Bridge" where Ambrose attempts to do for the British para what he did for the American with "Band Of Brothers"), but don't blame Ambrose, and don't close yourself off to this book.
If you did, you would be denying yourself an insight into what makes soldiers fight, how in even the most inhuman conditions they can maintain their humanity towards their comrade, and the hardships they suffer for us.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but THERE IS BETTER.
This is a GOOD book but there is a GREAT BOOK on the same topic and that is "With Geronimo Across Europe", available from Amazon, which is written by an actual combat veteran of... Read more
Published 11 days ago by WW2 Buff
4.0 out of 5 stars
Band of Brothers.
What an eye-opener.Just proves what a mess war is and how comradeship gets you through (with quite a lot guts and bravery).
Published 1 month ago by Ken Simpson
5.0 out of 5 stars
fabulous
absolutely loved the series and the book was just wonderful to give more detail. fascinating insight into the lives of those who fought for us all. highly highly recommend it.
Published 1 month ago by Snow angel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to read.
I first saw the TV series. I still prefer it. But the book gives more in-depth; however, it actually allows you to consider how could this book has been adapted for the silver... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Panagiotis Bevoudas
3.0 out of 5 stars
Book Not As Good?
Bought the book for two reasons - firstly I loved the series Band of Brothers and secondly Stephen Ambrose's Pegasus Bridge book is a fantastic read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jim Bettley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book ever
Inspiring, incredible and utterly captivating. Nothing more to say! But...since I need a minimum number of words for this review - how about brilliant too!
Published 2 months ago by mr jc hugill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Band Of Brothers Excellent
An excellent War story , very descriptive. Downloaded to my Kindle no problem.
Recommended to anyone intersted in true war stories
Recommended to anyone intersted in true war stories
Published 2 months ago by Harry
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
After waticing the TV mini series, i was looking forward to reading the book, and getting a deeper understanding of the characters, and the situations that they found themselves... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Feno
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing.
Everyone should read the book and watch the television series at least once in their lives to appreciate what these men did, what they lost but also what they achieved.
Published 3 months ago by Anthem
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
What else can be said? I can only use Stephen Ambrose`s comment from Pegasus Bridge when Wagger Thornton told him "Don`t go turning me into a bloody hero". Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ray Wells
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