Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers Reviews

Russell Cook's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
Report this review

Good Points: This epic war novel graphically portrays the advance of GIs from D Day right through to the penetration into Hitler's mountain retreat. Combat scenes are realistically described with enough technical detail regarding weaponry to keep nerds happy. It's very much based on fact and all the references ring true. There's an understanding on the part of the author of the importance of company morale as he focuses on 'Easy' Company.

Bad Points: There are a lot of names of characters who aren't always well characterised - but this is in the nature of the material. Sadly some soldiers were killed before anyone had a chance to get to know them. The soldiers of Easy are generally superb - other allied soldiers are sometimes referred to in a disparaging sort of way.

General comments: Band Of Brothers is a good antidote to the all the face saving analysis of Dunkirk as it lists allied success after success. With the exception of operation Market Garden - and even this is treated in a balanced way - the superiority of the allied soldiers even when well outnumbered is amply displayed.

The hardships the soldiers suffered especially during the Battle of the Bulge is described so thoroughly that one is left wondering how they managed to endure.

On average, people found this review very helpful
Report this review

Stephen ambrose manages to capture the very essence of the life of a paratrooper in North West Europe in 1944 and 45. The sheer terror of battle, the atrocious living conditions and the daily fear of death are described by the ordinary soldier with the strategic situation being almost an irrelevance .
If you have ever walked past one of those old soldiers on Remembrance Day and wondered " what are all those medals for?" then this book answers that question and makes me fully aware that my gener ...

On average, people found this review very helpful
Report this review

After watching the TV series, i thought that the book, Band of Brothers, could not do any better; how wrong i was.
the book paints an even more graphical picture of life in E-Company during 1944/45.
there are inserts from the people who were actually there and they portray it very well.
one tip: do not read it before bed unless you want to re-enact D-Day during your sleep as i did - its that realistic....