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Summary: Dud
Review: I was looking forward to this "compelling story." What I found was a rambling, shoddy, loose collection of thrown together anecdotes and interview notes. The narrative ultimately comes across flat and uninspired. It certainly failed to live up to reviewed expectations.
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Summary: boring and hollow
Review: i was very disappointed with beyond valor. it is made up of stories from many of the finest trained combat soldiers the americans has ever fielded in modern warfare. but after i read this book i thought it was boring. what a disappointment. i recommend the simmering and newly released black devil brigade for engrossing reading. you will not be bored, that is for sure.
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Summary: Beyond Valor gives personal sacrafice a voice.
Review: I'm pleased that the author was able to finally give these veterans the recognition they're due. Their stories are truly unbelievable to a someone like me who is not a military history buff and who has been sheltered from the reality of war.I can't possibly relate to the personal sacrafices and horrors depicted in Beyond Valor but I was deeply moved by the veterans stories and I hope more readers open their hearts in gratitude to these fine soldiers and their immeasurable contributions.
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Summary: Evocative and Moving Oral History !
Review: In reading the reviews, one sees that their are mixed reactions to O'Donnell's oral history. My approach to this work is that it truely contributes to an ongoing literature about the subject. It is also very timely, as many of the Vets are now passing away. Simply on this basis, I would say to Mr. O'Donnell, please write a second and third part volumes made from these voices. As a professional sociologist with an eye and ear for oral history, I can only say that I really learned alot from this volume. Unlike other great works (thinking of Ambrose, whom I like also), Beyond Valor does not bend these voices into a kind of patriotic hooting--these men rarely talk about their experiences in this way; They do say many times that war should not be repeated, ever! The one soldier who so unabashly made the point when he describes being half frozen in a fox hole, using the bathroom in his pants, waiting out the shelling all night, knowing that when the shelling stops, the German soldiers would be coming quick, and many other scenes told by those on the front lines; all this comes to the reader without any follow-up by the author that would render the stories as "guts and glory." None of that, and that is what I really appreciated about this book. I am a student of the social interaction among the men at the front during WWII, and this is one of the best reads I've had so far along my journey of understanding. I'm going to get the other one on the Vets of the Pacific. A must read!
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Summary: Beyond Valor
Review: Mr O'Donnell brings the feelings of sorrow, anguish, and loneliness of the WWII soldier to the printed page as one one else has ever done.You feel like you are on the front lines with the men. Their stories are so moving I was in tears as I read them. Beyond Valor is outstanding and should be read by all.
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Summary: Not your father's flag
Review: Mr O'Donnell is to be commended for his compilations of these individual histories. The format of "Beyond Valor" in prefacing the oral histories of the combatants with a strategic overview of their missions as they progress through the European campaign is excellent. It is facinating to see the various contributors reflect specific events from alternate perspectives. The failings of the book come as the reader discovers the subtle nuances of the conflicts, the details of the sights, sounds, smells and emotions of these irreplaceable first hand accounts are at most times horribly absent. Perhaps Mr O'Donnell out of a justifiable reverent respect for the contributors failed to ask the deep heart wretching questions that begged to be asked. So many of the contributors offered patchy accounts (presented with little if any editing)of their moment in history that one can't help feel a bit cheated. Perhaps more journalistic prodding by Mr. O'Donnell could have enhanced the flavor of the book to better live up to it's tantalizing potential. I was expecting the accounts of the vets to be more like what was presented in "The Mighty Eigth". Sorry, I was a little disappointed.
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Summary: It's a humbling experience to hear these remarkable stories.
Review: My husband is the history buff in the family - i ordered this for him as a present and i found myself captivated by this book on a recent road trip. What these men endured and accomplished is incredible. With simple yet powerful words these men convey their deeply personal thoughts and experiences - i commend the author for collecting these stories while they can still be told in the first person.
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Summary: Personal "Voices" of Courageous Warriors
Review: O'Donnell has selected and edited hundreds of eyewitness accounts by World War II Ranger and Airborne veterans, organizing the material within 13 chapters with an insightful introduction to each. He begins with "Dieppe" and concludes with "Home" while along the way sharing participants' accounts of their involvement in the invasion of North Africa as well as subsequent combat in Sicily, Anzio, Holland, and Germany. I was especially interested in the material concerning the Normandy Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge but found all other material also stirring (sometimes heart-rending) as well as thought-provoking. Perhaps you have already read John Keegan's The Face of Battle in which he examines comparable combat experiences from the perspective of so-called "grunts" who fought at Agincourt (1415), Waterloo (1815), and the Somme (1916). I was reminded of Keegan's book as I read O'Donnell's. In the latter work, we have eyewitness accounts of portions of various major European campaigns and conflicts in World War II. (It would also be of great interest to me to have, in a single volume, equivalent accounts from those who fought in Pacific campaigns and conflicts. These are available, it's true, but from several dozen different sources.) As indicated, O'Donnell provides a brief introduction to each chapter. All of the introductions are first-rate. They provide a context within which to correlate various personal accounts, not only with the others but also with the overall development of what General Dwight D. Eisenhower once referred to as "The Crusade in Europe." I presume to share a personal reason for my high regard for what O'Donnell has accomplished in this book. Two of my relatives fought in World War II. Both were highly decorated. My father was an Army officer in the Philippines during the months prior to Japan's surrender in August of 1945. My uncle was a corpsman and among the first to land at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. In subsequent years I was eager to have each share his experiences but neither was willing. Later, while helping to raise funds for indigent recipients (NOT "winners") of the Congressional Medal of Honor, it was my great privilege to work with other recipients who, by then, had become highly successful business executives, physicians, investors, etc. Not one of them was willing to discuss his wartime experiences with me although, I later learned, they were quite willing to do so with others who had also "been there." I've seen most of the most highly regard war movies (those considered most "realistic") but only through personal combat experiences shared by veterans such as those interviewed by O'Donnell have I been able to get at least some sense of "what it was like." For that I am profoundly grateful to them and even more in awe of their achievements "beyond valor."
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Summary: My thoughts on Beyond Valor
Review: Pat (author) Must tell you "Beyond Valor" one of the finest WW 2 epics to date. Must recommend to any combat veteran. A true unbiased record from the combat soldier himself! All the best. Al Hassenzahl C/506 101st A/B Division
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Summary: Honor our heritage
Review: Pat O'Donnell's book is a masterful story written by the men who lived it. Pat's exceptional knowledge and accurate reporting of the details behind each segment will stand for years as a testimony to the gallant men who came forward to tell these stories, many for the first time in half a century. The exhaustive research and the pains-taking attention to detail put this book head and shoulders above others purporting to be the definitive story of the Airborne, of Normandy, and of the men who fought and won there. Beyond Valor is a tribute to the true spirit of America and all that we stand for. As a career military officer I stand in awe of the masterful manner in which Pat O'Donnell developed such magnificent and insightful transitions from one story to the next. This book is a MUST READ for anyone; especially for those in their 50's or 60's. It serves as a testimony to the true test of mankind when faced with the horrific task of defeating an unspeakable tyrant. I eagerly await the release of Mr. O'Donnell's next book!
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