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Title details for Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose - Available

Band of Brothers

E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

by Stephen E. Ambrose
Cotter Smith
Audiobook
3 of 6 copies available
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3 of 6 copies available
Stephen E. Ambrose's classic New York Times bestseller and inspiration for the acclaimed HBO series about Easy Company, the ordinary men who became the World War II's most extraordinary soldiers at the frontlines of the war's most critical moments. Featuring a foreword from Tom Hanks.
They came together, citizen soldiers, in the summer of 1942, drawn to Airborne by the $50 monthly bonus and a desire to be better than the other guy. And at its peak—in Holland and the Ardennes—Easy Company was as good a rifle company as any in the world.
From the rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to the disbanding in 1945, Stephen E. Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company. In combat, the reward for a job well done is the next tough assignment, and as they advanced through Europe, the men of Easy kept getting the tough assignments.
They parachuted into France early D-Day morning and knocked out a battery of four 105 mm cannon looking down Utah Beach; they parachuted into Holland during the Arnhem campaign; they were the Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne, brought in to hold the line, although surrounded, in the Battle of the Bulge; and then they spearheaded the counteroffensive. Finally, they captured Hitler's Bavarian outpost, his Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden.
They were rough-and-ready guys, battered by the Depression, mistrustful and suspicious. They drank too much French wine, looted too many German cameras and watches, and fought too often with other GIs. But in training and combat they learned selflessness and found the closest brotherhood they ever knew. They discovered that in war, men who loved life would give their lives for them.
This is the story of the men who fought, of the martinet they hated who trained them well, and of the captain they loved who led them. E Company was a company of men who went hungry, froze, and died for each other, a company that took 150 percent casualties, a company where the Purple Heart was not a medal—it was a badge of office.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 1, 2004

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780743541855
      • File size: 131927 KB
      • Duration: 04:34:50

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This bestselling title chronicles Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, from its birth in 1942 until its disbandment in 1945. It is a wonderful tale of bravery, horror, sacrifice, and the things that make the American soldier the best in the world. Although we are told the context of the war in which these men fought, this is primarily a story of men in battle. Tim Jerome ably reads this work. His strong voice is clear, moving at a steady, but unhurried, pace. Sometimes he will effect specific voices for quotations, which he does well. M.T.F. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      If Cotter Smith understands anything about reading for an audience, he understands the concept of subtlety. In BAND OF BROTHERS he imbues Ambrose's narrative about men in war with a voice that knows full well the value of restraint. This investigation of the European theater of WWII would have been easy for Smith to produce as mere melodrama. But he holds back, and the result is a powerful tale told in their own words by the men of this century's last great war. Smith proves conclusively that real stories of courage and honor don't need false bravado to communicate their poignant messages of camaraderie in the face of horror, horror in the service of necessity, necessity in the pursuit of liberty. D.A.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 1, 1992
      Ambrose ( Pegasus Bridge ) narrates in vivid detail the adventures, misadventures, triumphs and tragedies of a single U.S. Army infantry company over its span of organizational life. Formed in July 1944 and deactivated in November 1945, E Company was one of the most successful light infantry units in the European theater. Its troops saw their first action on D-Day behind the Normandy beachhead, took part in Operation Market Garden in Holland, held the perimeter around Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and were the first to reach Hitler's Bavarian outpost at Berchtesgaden. The book is enlivened with pertinent comments by veterans of ``Easy Company,'' who recall not only the combat action but their relations with their officers (one company commander was a petty tyrant of the worst type, but his oppressive ways had much to do with the unit's impressive esprit de corps ) and their impressions of the countries through which they campaigned (hated the French, loved the Germans). This is a terrific read for WW II actions buffs. Photos. Military Book Club main selection; Literary Guild alternate.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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