Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books on the Battle of the Buldge Around.
Review: By far one of the best books written on the Battle of the Buldge and the seige at Bastogne. Burgett gives excellent eyewitness testimony to the horror and slaughter that was the Battle of the Buldge. The reader sees the battle through the eyes that faught it. Burgett brilliantly takes the reader into the heat of the battle and makes the reader understand what it was like to be in the 101st Airborne during World Wae II. I could not put this book down until it was finished and it made me want to read as much as i could about the Battle of the Buldge.Donald Burgett is truly an American Hero. I highly recommend this book to everyone young and old.
Rating:
Summary: How Bastogne became a Legend...
Review: Donald Burgett's memoir is one of the few memoirs of the Bulge as seen from the "Sharp end." Here, what became a legend is brought vividly to life. Burgett's Bastogne is a violent place, where men die quickly and violently. His account of the German assault on Noville is particularly harrowing. Burgett confesses to the reader his own amazement at having survived the maelstrom. There is no sugar coating or glossing over the details here. The soldiers' language is recreated faithfully and honestly (in short, plenty of profanity), and so are the bonds that the men develop in such atrocious circumstances.Be warned: "Seven Roads" isn't a pleasant read. It's graphic and Burgett holds nothing back in telling his story. After reading this, the reader might wish to rent or buy the movie, "Battleground," which also takes place in Bastogne. Burgett's words and "Battleground's" visuals will give as complete a picture of the siege as possible for one not having been there.
Rating:
Summary: Heres to the 101st Screamin Eagles
Review: For those who call WWII, the last "good war", this is a wake up. This war was just as full of horror and nightmare as any conflict, and the men treated as poortly. We get a view of the daily misery of the troops between the episodes of their bravery driven by the urge to kill or be killed. The author was a member of the Screaming Eagles 101st division, who was rushed to the participate in the Normandy invasion in order to hold Bastogne, where 7 roads converged. He who held Bastogne controlled the speed of access to the country and Bastogne was critical to the Battle of the Bulge. The division had not been able to receive the usual rest and resupply that comes after the big battle they had just returned from, when they were rushed into this fight and left there alone and outnumbered. They had little blankets, cold weather clothing, weapons, ammunition, heavy mechanized armour, medicical support, air support, or anything else they needed in order to do their job. This was not only due to poor planning, incompetence by commanders, confusing and conflicting orders, but even due to theft by other units of their precious goods. It is a miracle that they held out. They won and lost their positions many times, as the US troops frantically held onto the positions that would help keep other troops alive. This book is the most graphic (I do not mean bloody) descritpion of a WWII battle I have read and left a deep impression. But it is a great read, and I could not put it down. The authors style, language and pacing are very good, top notch!
Rating:
Summary: 7 Roads to Hell - Compelling!
Review: Having read Burgett's book in one 3 hour sitting, I can't say enough about it. I can't help but feel a need to meet him personally to thank him for the courage to endure the most extreme of circumstances. The book is a fast read and one is able to get a great sense of the horror, fear, desperation and drudgery of war. How men withstood the conditions is beyond me. The courage of these men is felt throughout the book and their ability to answer the call of duty in a hostile foreign land is without comparison. To think Burgett was a mere 19 at the time is amazing, yet the honor with which these men faced such tribulation is not known by anyone in our present society. His descriptions of the grind and wait between fierce attacks was compelling. Also his unabashed hatred for the enemy was brought vividly to the forefront of the book. One can't help but feel, why did some survive and others perish. Burgett details the enormous amount of skill and luck that enabled one to become an "old man" in the platoon. His gruesome descriptions of the horror and reality of war were riveting. Yet just as compelling was his matter of fact attitude that there was a duty to be done. I couldn't put this book down.
Rating:
Summary: Real hero's in unthinkable circumstances-AWESOME!!!
Review: I am 41 years old and was riveted by Donald Burgetts account of the Battle of the Bulge, defense of Bastogne. History will show these men are the pinacle of bravery, honor and guts. After a 72 day battle in Holland, these young men were put into the heart of Beligum to fight against Germany's last ditch effort to salvage WWII. Tempatures at 10 below zero, snow up their wastes, no food, no water, little ammo. How did these men stand it? This should be required reading for all youth. The sacrafice and price paid by these men for freedom is lost today.Who today would have the fortitiude to endure this type unspeakable conditions. They were outnumbered and still found a way to win. True patriots who Americans can NEVER thank enough for courage under fire. Seven Roads to Hell brings this time and these men to real life. Nerve racking accounts of battles, strategies and brotherhood displayed by 19 and 20 year old men. I loved this book and so did my 12 year old son. It would make a great movie!!!
Rating:
Summary: THIS is THE book to read to understand Bastogne
Review: I have a library of perhaps 1,000 books written by or about combat soldiers. This, and "Band of Brothers" are the two best by far. This book puts an intense focus of what the paratroopers lived, what the SNAFU's were, and WHY the paratroopers claim they weren't rescued by Patton; rather, they held their lines, they kicked the German army both to a standstill and sometimes to the death.
The perfect details of the book make you truly LIVE the experience.....when he is cold, by gosh, you shiver in your chair. When he is hungry, your stomach growls. When his friends are killed, you cry. When he kills, you don't exult...you feel the same numbness...the need to slog on to the next engagement.
You feel the bitterness at the lack of understanding of some of the higher command. When an idiot Captain blocks the road to Bastogne you slink along with him with your knife at the ready. When he gets relieved from foxhole duty and cannot feel his feet, you stamp your feet to try to restore circulation, then feel the disappointment when you find the fire in the pit you dug in the barn has been extinguished when you get back.
Sometimes, like at the Battle of the Jack Woods, you wonder..how the HECK did he do that...how did he survive?
Having read and adored "Band of Brothers" first, I was excited when I suddenly realized that some of the engagements were the very same engagements described in "Band of Brothers," but this time from the perspective of the poor slub who was Sitting behind the burning haystacks desperately trying to stay alive.
The descriptions of letting the Panzers come past them in the fog in order to shoot the following German infantry were intense.
This book meshes the books, movies, and accounts you've read into one understandable whole...after reading this book, I've approached some veterans I know and simply said....."Thank you."
Rating:
Summary: Amazing and awe-inspiring
Review: I have read many books containing first-person accounts of combat in WW2, and all contain amazing anecdotes and observations. But this gentleman is the most eloquently descriptive author I have yet read, and he achieves this with a very straight-forward, uncluttered use of language. There are no attempts at poetic artistry or vague mystical musings, just honest reporting. While reading this book I became so engrossed and "immersed", I felt like I had been there next to him. Simple yet detailed maps aid in tracking the author's movements and picturing exactly how this battle progressed. The things he lived through - such as his razor-close brushes with death - and his ability to relate them so clearly, are very powerful. I recommend this short book to anyone interested in even trying to grasp what those brave men went through.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent wartime Account
Review: I just finished this book (I've also read the author's two other works). I find his writing style very vivid, detailed, yet easy to read. Once I started reading his books I couldn't put them down. I look forward to his next work!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best on the Bulge
Review: I read my first book on the Bastogne over 25 years ago and perhaps four more in the intervening years including Ambrose's superior "Band Of Brothers". Burgett's work here stands alone. The hand-to-hand combat he describes on 12/22/44 in the Bois Jacques was riveting. In this single operation, Burgett and the other 57 remaining members of his company (A of the 506) and a collection of the remaining few men of C company, after days of no sleep, little food and bitter combat, again engaged the enemy in sub-zero weather, and destroyed an entire enemy battalion. He was 19 at the time. This is an extraordinary book, written by an extraordinary man from an extraordinary generation. This well crafted work by one who was there gives us a clear view of just how extraordinary they were and how much is owed.
Rating:
Summary: A riveting account of the defense of Bastogne
Review: I read this book after a recent visit to Bastogne, Malmedy, St. Vith & other areas which are central to the Bulge story. The author's account of the defense of Bastogne, against battle tested German troops with at least a 9 to 1 advantage over the Americans, is riveting in all respects. His story is told from the perspective of the average GI, not a latter day historian. As such, it puts the reader in the foxholes with them as wave after wave of Nazi troops & tanks attempt to capture Bastogne. This book should be read by all who are interested in the history of WWII.
|
