Band Of Brothers

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Summary: I came to understand my heritage! [e-mail]
Review: I have always tried to understand what my grandfathers went through. WWII seems so distant for our younger generation. I bought the book for my dad, but ended up reading it before I gave it to him. I could not put it down. I have never seen history painted so vividly in my entire life. It brought a personal touch that made me feel very emotional as the men of Easy Co. died or were injured in combat. This is a great opportunity to understand what our ancestors went through. Stephen Ambrose writes history smooth as fiction. I loved it!!

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Summary: I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.
Review: The best war book I have read. I finished it in two days and then had to go back and read it again. I really enjoyed the final chapter where you learn what happened after the war to all the men in E company you have come to know. The book has given me a true appreciation and awareness of the sacrifices made by the veterans of WW II.

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Summary: Exceptional book told from the soldiers' point of view
Review: Extraordinary description of WWII as told by the soldiers of one airborne regiment. Their words and experiences are increbily insightful and moving.

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Summary: Band of Brothers a disappointment.
Review: Ambrose seemed to depend on two sources for his book, Lt. Winters, a legend in his own mind, and Pvt. Webster, a Harvard student who managed to remain a private throughout the war and who was a self professed gold brick. Their biased view of the war and company dominate the book. Capt. Sobel, who developed and nurtured the unit for two years as CO until being sabotaged by Winters and a few Non Coms does not get the credit he so clearly deserved. The reader is relieved when on page 156 Lt. Winters, who served as CO for a mere 3 months is bumped upstairs into a Battalion staff position where he served for most of the rest of the war. But no, his jaundiced view continues to pervade the book. The low point for this reader came when after Lt. Heyliger led a daring raid behind enemy lines and rescued 125 British troops, 5 American pilots and Dutch resistance fighters, Winters dismissed the heroics with "So what's the big deal?" (Page 164.)

So was Easy Company: A Band of Brothers-only in a severely dysfunctional family; the best unit in the Army-hardly; capture Hitler's Eagle Nest-only if one considers rolling in on trucks after the war and consuming all the booze in sight.

Easy Company was a good rifle company, but Ambrose's treatment, focusing as it does on Lt. Winters, hardly does it justice.

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Summary: An Excellant, Exciting, Accurate account of the 506th PIR
Review: Thank you Stephen Ambrose! My father, George L Potter, was in the 101st Airborne, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, E Company WWII. Band Of Brothers, is a true story about what my father and his buddies went through during the war. I have learned so much about the war, the men, the battles and my father.

What a great book about brave young parachute infantry soldiers of World WarII. They are all heroes. God Bless Them.

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Summary: From New Mexico
Review: I agree with the idea from California that we need six stars and also the one from New England, that all baby-boomers should read this book. Why? Many of them have no heroes. One in particular I have talked to has a father who stormed those beaches and fought that war, and he does not consider his father a hero! These young men from all over the country became 'brothers' through hardship and terror, I salute them all! And I salute Stephen Ambrose for writing this book. I believe it should be required reading, at least at the college level, for American History.

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Summary: THE BEST DAMN TRUE WAR BOOK EVER WRITTEN!!!
Review: Without a doubt, Ambrose is the master of the war genre. Ambrose's technique is to let the men who were there tell the story. Band of Brothers follows E-company, an army airborne special forces unit, from D-day to victory in Austria. Company E's amazing exploits have been the basis for many of Hollywood's greatest war films, including, "The Longest Day" and, "Saving Private Ryan". This is the tale of the epic conflict that defined the world as we now know it; told by the young men who were there. Band of Brothers will make you into a Stephen Ambrose fan for life.

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Summary: A must read for "history buffs"
Review: Ambrose will take you to the fox holes of WW11 Europe and put you next to the men who occupy them. He gets you to know and care about the men of Easy company and admire their courage and honor. you will get to know men who would rather die themselves than to let their "Bothers"down. The way Ambrose combines eyewitness accounts and historical facts make this book a must read for "history buffs".

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Summary: A really excellent addition to the WW2 Genre
Review: One of the best history books ever. It does tell the WW2 story from the viewpoint of the soldiers (not the generals). It also makes you feel like being in the Horrors of war. When reading the part about market garden the liberation of Son and Eindhoven I had tears in my eyes. (I live there). I owe my freedom to those people and their sacrifices. If any veteran from WW2 is reading this Thank you very very much!!

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Summary: As good as his others
Review: Dreamed about foxholes and shells every night as I read this. Very good book, just as good as the more acclaimed "D-Day" and "Citizen Soldiers." While those were more grand in scope, "Band of Brothers" may be more compelling because it follows essentially the same cast of characters through their Odyssey instead of jumping around to different divisions, nationalities, etc. Doesn't cover up the drinking, loafing, back-company pilfering, shooting of prisoners, looting, occasional insubordination, acts of cowardice & stupidity, etc. I was a little disappointed that Ambrose ripped only on the dead (namely Capt. Sobel) and glorified all those who are still alive. But overall a wonderful book. I don't want to glorify war--I would've hated to fight in any war, including WWII (which ended 25 yrs. before I was born), but if I had to fight I would've wanted to fight in the airborne under Major Winters.