Rating: 
Summary: Excellent , quick reading
Review: I was totally "taken in" by this book. I had begun watching BOB on HBO and started the book. I completed it in 3 days. I am an ex- army officer and Gulf War veteran. I served with the 101 from '86 to '89. I came away with the utmost respect for the characters of the book. Ambrose is an excllent history writer for non-historians. I've read other reviews of him and those folks are full of themselves. Anyone who can teach me history and keep me awake and on the edge of my seat while doing it, desrves the hughest praise. I plan to buy more Ambrose books soon.
Rating: 
Summary: good read
Review: I found this book really great. It gave me a real feeling of how WWII was and I learned more about the war than I would in history class. A thing that would make this book better is if Ambrose got more into the characters emotions. There were many characters in this book, but if he could just get more into Winters's, or Nixon's, or Malarkey's feelings, this would be an awesome book. That's why I have to say the mini-series based on these men of Easy is in ways better than the book. It really digs deep into all the guys's emotions. But the book is better with actually telling the story of these men. It's really worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: An Oral History of Our Bravest Warriors
Review: Band of Brothers is a detailed and personal account of the experiences of the 101st Screaming Eagles' Easy Company as they fight across fortress Europe. This book is not an history lesson, nor is it guide to WWII tactics and strategy. It is a true story collected from the yarns of Easy Company survivors that tells the tale of citizen soldiers and their experiences as they battle the Nazi menace. Ambrose is in top form as he organizes and puts to pen the tragedies and victories of Easy Company. Watch the HBO series if you want, but READ THIS BOOK.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative Read
Review: I'm a WWII history buff and I enjoyed this book, found it hard to put down. It's very detailed and well written. I only give it 3 stars because it seemed a bit short. There were only 2 pages of photos!? What happened to visual history? And there were no maps! This is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to history books. Why is it so hard for an author to include some maps--or better yet, battle diagrams--to coincide with what it being written about?
Rating:
Summary: A look at those who served
Review: Band of Brothers is a great read about the men Easy Company as they crossed Europe in WWII. It always surprises me when people attack Ambrose for his use of interviews with the men who were there. I don't see why people insist that history must be written looking only at quartermaster records, officer journals, or the opinions of those who were never there. People gripe about the insignificant details totally discounting the recollections & emotions of those present. The debate in trivia misses the whole point. And the idea that a state side army record is more reliable than the word of a soldier in the field is questionable. We are very lucky to have a book using truly original sources instead of depending solely on archival sources. Ambrose's writing style is also criticized. If his writing attracts those who are usually turned off by history books, I think that is great. It is important for every to be educated in history, not feel threatened because a history writer has a mainstream following outside of academic circles. If you want a griping account of what our fathers or grandfathers faced in WWII this is your book.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip the book, see the movie
Review: Unless you're a real military history buff, reading about battle isn't as fascinating as one might think. I love history - particularly World War Two - so I was excited to read Ambrose's book, particularly in light of the HBO miniseries. For the first 150 or so pages, I found the book compelling not just as history but as a vivid account of the human spirit and resiliency under extreme conditions. Unfortunately, my interest started to wane at the halfway point as Ambrose lays on thick the American patriotic chest-thumping. While America certainly helped bring WW2 to a close, this book portrays the British as a bunch of disorganized . (A common characteristic I've found in American literature written about the era.) The British withstood the Nazis for two years before America came in. To portray them as anything less than heroes does them a severe disservice and fatally taints what should have been an enlightening read. Based on the first two episodes of HBO's miniseries adaptation, in this case, I recommend skipping the book in favor of the movie where, rather ironically, the role of Winters, unquestionably Easy Company's most stalwart hero, is brilliantly played by a Brit.
Rating:
Summary: An inspring read worth reading aloud to the entire family
Review: If you have children who are 10 or older, you might consider reading this one aloud, sharing it as a family. The courage, the strength and heroism of the men in Easy Company make for a powerful story, one that deserves to be shared. And Ambrose's writing is irresistable, pulling the reader (and listeners) into the thoughts and actions of the soldiers.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but certainly not great
Review: I'm a big fan of Ambrose's Undaunted Courage, and I had read all the hype about this book. Unfortunately, the lavish praise for Band of Brothers is not deserved. The writing is surprisingly flat, colorless, and devoid of detail, emotion, or perception. The problem seems to be that few of the members of Easy Company were particularly expressive or literate. Most of the accounts are as flat as an entry in the typical business person's DayTimer. Some examples of Ambrose's writing, picked more or less at random: "Speirs led an attack on the final gun, which he took and destroyed, losing two men killed." "Hill raised his head to look. A bullet hit him in the forehead and came out behind his ear, killing him instantly." " 'Fire at will,' Williams called out.
It was a duck shoot. The Germans were fleeing." "Contact was reestablished. Easy moved out again." And so on -- the book appears to have been written for a grade school reading level. Band of Brothers represents passable storytelling, but falls far short of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Don't just watch "Band of Brothers"--read it!
Review: I highly recommend "Band of Brothers" for history readers and general readers alike. The new HBO miniseries will cause renewed--and well justified--interest in this slim and often overlooked volume by Stephen Ambrose. Unlike his other WWII books, which either provide biographical detail on a certain individual (e.g. Eisenhower) or cover a huge event from many angles (e.g. D-Day), this book puts you in the boots of an elite unit of paratroopers--Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army--and sticks with them throughout the war. The narrative follows this small group of men from basic training through an absolutely amazing series of combat experiences: from D-Day, to the Battle of the Bulge, to the concentration camps, to the the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. It seems this unit was everywhere, and did everything, in the European Theater. You would swear the tale is fiction, but it's true, and it's very compelling. As always, Ambrose, with his straightforward prose, does a great job of describing the circumstances, thoughts and feelings of the characters--you can almost feel the cold when he describes hunkering down in a foxhole in the Battle of the Bulge. And while Ambrose lauds Easy Company as heroes, he describes their faults and frailties as well, and neither shies away from nor unduly revels in the horrors of war. The scenes at the end of the war--with American paratroopers driving around Berchtesgaden in the cars of Hitler's senior staff and swiping the swastika silverware--are almost over-the-top; a fantastic addition to an already gripping story. I strongly recommend this book, even if you watch (or watched) the HBO miniseries. It's a quick, engaging, and fast-paced read that will give you new appreciation for these extraordinary men.
Rating:
Summary: Great War Story -- The Human Side
Review: Very well written. Ambrose tells an absorbing tale of what the war was like to men who fought it. I could not put it down. This book is a good compliment to Ambrose's "Citizen Soldiers." In that book, Ambrose takes a look at the condition of the G.I. in Europe as a whole. While offering interesting personal accounts, it is intended as a survey of all soldiers and as such is somewhat impersonal (although very good). Band of Brothers, on the other hand, is intimate and personal. By following one command (E Co., 506 / 101st Airborne) across France and into Germany, we get to see a discrete group of soldiers adjust to changing conditions brought on by different seasons, terrain, offensive and defensive actions, their own increasing battle savvy and fatigue. I like this approach. By personalizing the experience of a few front-line soldiers, the impact on the reader is enhanced because one comes to know the characters. They are not just "some soldiers who experienced frost bite," they are individuals we've come to know who looked with the pride of conquerors as they stood in Hitler's Eagle's Nest, a fitting end to their fatigue, loss and heroics in liberating a continent. This outfit in particular offers lots of adventure, which is I am sure why Ambrose chose them. Part of the 101st Airborne, E Co., was at Utah Beach, the Battle of Arnhem, the Battle of the Bulge, helped liberate a concentration camp in addition to securing Hitler's Bavarian retreat. As we get to know these Americans through their battles and experiences, we more fully appreciate how our "regular guys" helped conquer self-designed supermen bent on world domination. This book moves very quickly, is highly entertaining and moving. Watch out, you may want to read this ground level WW II account in one sitting
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