Beyond Band of Brothers

For anyone interested in the 101st, this is certainly one of the books to read, together with Ambrose’s “Band of Brothers”. If the mini-series by Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg has been watched prior to reading, the characters will quickly blend and, for the most part, fit neatly together. The first fifty pages are devoted to his family history but mainly the creation and development of a parachute regiment which latter became the 101st. His assessment of the officers and men is detailed and, in my mind, very fair, none more so than Captain Sobel, the character played by David Schwimmer. Although he sees all Sobel’s faults as an officer, Winters credits Sobel with the fundamental development of the “raw recruits” into a fit and formidable fighting force, sometimes, despite their own efforts and dislike of Sobel. His tough fitness regime centred on Curahee, the mountain, developed a unique bond in the men, a tight bond forged by their dislike of Sobel. Winter’s detailed description of the training and the various camps, provides a real insight into the American’s training regimes, the development of a unique regiment and the characters involved. No amount of training could have prepared them for the reality of an airdrop into a battle zone; Winters described pilots desperately trying to maintain height and course surrounded by anti-aircraft fire, other planes engulfed in flames dropping from the skies. One of these was Easy’s command plane which meant; he realised that, when they landed, he was Easy’s commander. He mentions passing over Ste Mere-Eglise, lit up by a fire. Most planes missed their drop zones. Some by as much as fourteen miles but, as he points out, it was just as well. Many drop zones were surrounded by machine gun posts. Later in the campaign, Winters recalls an incident: “‘I can’t see. I can’t see!” he [Blithe] replied. I remember trying to comfort him by saying, ‘It’s okay, Blithe. Relax. They’ll soon have you out of here, and they’ll send yu back to England.’ As I started to move away, Blithe stood up, saying suddenly, ‘I’m okay. I’m okay. I can see now.’” Winters comment on the toughness, guts and determination. Terrified and blinded by fear, the thoughts of being airlifted to England, away from Easy, was too much. (P.185) It would be pointless to “rewrite” or attempt to summarise this book in order to understand Major Winters, Easy Company, War and what it does to people - on both sides. Winters’ detailed descriptions do all of that - and more. To end this review of a highly recommended, well-written book, he writes about his realisation of why they were fighting when they enter the Landsberg-Buchloe area and the discovery of the concentration camps. He comments that it is natural in war to ask: “Why am I here?” “The impact of seeing those people behind the fence left me saying, if only to myself: Now I know why I am here! For the first time I understand what this war was all about.” (P.215) A review would not be complete without mentioning Bastogne, Austria and Bechtesgaden and the Eagle’s Nest, each of which has made the 101st famous today. Winters describes each in detail from a commander’s point of view and illustrates what made him such a great CO. However, what fascinates me are his observations on war in general, people who wage it the effects it has; this is nowhere made clearer than P. 234, after the war, governing Austria. He meets a Nazi officer who, it turns out, had been fighting against him at Bastogne. Winters has great respect for his opponent and they strike up a friendship, during which the officer surrenders his side-arm, a Luger. “The day following our revelations [about Bastogne], he presented me his pistol as a token of friendship between us and as a formal surrender to his captor.He did so of his own volition rather than leaving his pistol on a desk in some office. When he handed me his sidearm , I noticed the pistol had never been fired. There was no blood on it. It remains one of the few momentos I have kept from the war. The pistol has still not been fired and it never will be. This is the way wars ought to end. Let the generals and politicians participate in elaborate ceremonies. At the soldier level, a peaceful transfer of weapons, a smart salute …” For anyone interested in D-Day, 101st Airborne, WWII, war in general, turning a book into a mini-series, learning about human nature or Major Winters himself, I highly recommend this book. NOTE: My paperback edition was published by Ebury Publishing, 2011, ISBN 9780091941581

Gives one man's very special, dignified perspective, on an important time in our recent history. Having read several other books about the 101st - this brings a new perspective from one of the key members of the 101st's Officer cadre during WWII. Richard Winter's philosophy on life, leadership, friendship and duty runs through this book like an undercurrent. Ignore it at your own peril, go with it if you can and you'll have a great set of values to try and live to. Apart from the deeper thoughts that this book stimulates, there is also a great deal of earnest and lucid reporting of events that draw one in to the scenes and experiences of WWII. A superb read I never felt weighed down by it - but always felt admiration and understanding from the way it is written, like a younger man listening to a respected elder would. The tale is told an a generation understands more.

Bought Dick Winters' book having been glued to the HBO Band of Brothers when first shown on TV and having subsequently bought it on DVD. This book, relying on Dick Winters' own narrative rather than Steven Speilberg's direction/production, was even more moving and personal than the TV production of Steve Ambrose' work. I found the book extremely moving and was again humbled at the sacrifices made by the young men of the 506th PIR (and all the other allied tropops in both wars) that have enabled my generation and future generations to enjoy the safety and freedom we have today. The book makes you look at yourself; could I have put up with what these young men suffered and still come out the other end as a functioning human being? I am not sure I could, which makes the actions and sacrifices brought to life in this book all the more inspiring. Could not put the book down and left awed and humbled at its finish, especially with so many of the heroes described having passed away over the past 20 years.

A good follow up book to Band of Brothers, although it does repeat pretty much of what's already been told in the Dan Ambrose book. An easy to read account with additional information on post war life and experiences of Dick and the Easy Company heroes.

If, like me you have watched the HBO box set 'Band of Brothers' and wanted to know a bit more about the true stories and what these brave men went through during WWII, then I can thoroughly recommend this book to you. I found the book hard to put down from page 1. Richard Winters attention to detail and accounts of himself and the 101st Airborne as they went through their training right until the end of WWII had me totally engrossed in this book. What these brave men went through to just to survive day to day in some extreme conditions, and to try and stop tyranny spreading across the world for us all beggars belief. They made history. You get to hear some stories that didn't make it into Band of Brothers, and it also gave me an insight to the day to day thoughts of (Major) Richard Winters the man himself. A well deserved 5 Stars in my opinion.

I am a huge fan of Band of Brothers. That is why I was so excited about this book. It was a bit of a let down for three basic reasons. 1. It is obvious he is not a writer. I can't fault him for that. 2. He did not really get into much detail as to what he did during the war. 3. He is a very humble person, that is very obvious. But he talks too much about how humble he is to the point of he doesn't seem humble. I think this relates back to the first point. If you enjoyed Band of Brothers, this is a nice read. There is one quote from the series that he states again in the book that always gives me chills. When his grandchild asked if he was a hero, he said, "No, but I served with heros." He is an unbelievable man who did heroic things with other great Americans

I cannot put in to words really how inspiring this book is. Compounding countless viewings of band of brothers, a visit to key Normandy sites such as Brecourt, this book has just forever seared the adoration I have for these men and their ilk, whom should inspire all future generations to be the best you can be and always put one foot forward in the face of great adversity and seemingly impossible odds. Too good to rate out of 10

The mere fact that this book has so many good reviews, speaks for itself. There is not much I can add to what has already been said about the story of Easy Company and that exemplary soldier, Major Dick Winters. Leadership and the application of military skills, as personified by Maj. Winters, has few equals amongst the junior Officer corps of his generation. I recently returned from a (another) visit to the Normandy beaches, from where the events relating to this book starts in June 1944. I visited for the first time the statue resembling a likeness of Maj. Winters near Utah beach and Sainte-Mere-Eglise, and the poignancy of the story of 'Band of Brothers' was again brought home to me. For those who enjoy the values of leadership on the battlefield, this book comes highly recommended! It is grammatically well written and gives a first hand account by a man who saw it all.

great wartime memoirs from a true leader

Very interesting view on matters that were little or not at all discussed in band of brothers. Very much recommended.

Quelle biographie inspirante de ce grand vétéran ! Pour tous les fans de la série BOB et des personnes recherchant une biographie bien écrite sur des batailles clés de la seconde mondiale en Europe !

good reading on this person during WWII.

Great men of whatever field are a rarity, given the chance to learn from them is a no brainer. I define “great” as someone who leads and contributes in a positive way. Dick Winters was one of those people.