Beyond Band Of Brothers: The War Memoirs Of Major Dick Winters (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
I listened to the ~10 hour Audible production of this memoir narrated by Tom Weiner. The final paragraph of this review pertains to the audiobook production, specifically.4 stars. One of the best commanding officer memoirs on combat!Major Dick Winters, of HBO’s BAND OF BROTHERS fame, was a junior officer (later commander) of the famous Easy Company of the 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Div. Having both Ambrose and a highly-acclaimed cable miniseries detail your war record didn’t stop Winters from getting together with Cole Kingseed to produce this 320-page memoir, which ultimately was pretty lucky, for us.Winters covers similar ground found in the miniseries and the Ambrose BAND OF BROTHERS book: the frustrating training stint Sobel, the chaotic first hours of D-Day, the famous Brecourt Manor Assault, the Normandy Campaign, Market Garden/the Island, the Bulge and the Third Reich's death throes in early 1945. However this time these things are described from the perspective of a young teetotalin' lieutenant, and it's this focused insight on combat leadership and his openness on personal combat deeds (and subsequent reflection on casualties, battle rushes/fatigue and killing) that make this book hard to put down, especially the first half.After an exciting account of D-Day and Market Garden, Winters begins to focus more on his leadership role. This happens halfway through the book and results in a more general battle history of Easy Co and its members' actions. There's still some harrowing and interesting content but less so compared to other airborne accounts on the last 6 months of the war described by others. Here and there too, Winters suffers from a similar, Ambrose-esque romanticism of his men but this is understandable considering the length of time he spent with them in rigorous training and visceral combat. Also, if anything this reverie gives us another one of the newer perks this account adds to the myriad of resources on the 101st.One such perk is the bigger role certain members of Easy played from Winters’ perspective. For example, Sgt. Talbert is definitely a recurring character in the Ambrose book and miniseries, but he represented the elite paratrooper NCO to Winters and he insists on this several times throughout the book. Winters is also open on his own flaws and mistakes he made as a combat leader, mentioning his overuse of one platoon(?) over another as possibly contributing to unbalanced casualty distributions amongst his men.The book claims to reveal more information not discussed in the miniseries or Ambrose book. Some newer angles on events are relayed and some ambiguous or embellished (mostly in the miniseries) things are fleshed out/described differently, but this isn’t too extensive. Probably the most insight given concerns the infamous deeds of Captain Speirs – more info on his notorious background from the Normandy invasion are unpacked more so, compared to the miniseries and even more so than the book.Despite the drawbacks and the things mentioned in the previous paragraph, the revelations and his openness on his own deeds along with the pacing of the overall account make this a 4-star combat memoir!If you’re interested in another paratrooper account from the perspective of an officer, then check out ALL THE WAY TO BERLIN by James Megellas, the highest decorated paratrooper from the 82nd - which I would rate slightly higher than this account, though the action isn't quite as compellingly-written. And if you haven’t yet, check out Burgett’s 907-paged series on his own combat experience in the 101st, comprised of four books, starting with CURRAHEE! – probably the best airborne account out there and one of the best combat accounts period! I have a few lists of war memoirs that feature several accounts from paratroopers that rate them based on description of combat (with emphasis on revelation of one's personal actions) and writing if you want to read more from this subject!Concerning the audiobook: This is probably one of the best-narrated combat memoirs I've listened to. Weiner varies his cadence and tempo, changes his accent and delivery with each character and reads at a pace, complementing the well-paced writing. Combat memoirs are usually read by older gentlemen, with a slow, unvaried narrative-style, that's a severe drawback when it comes to the parts of memoirs that I enjoy the most (descriptions of combat or general action). But Weiner, who is an older gentleman, doesn’t go this wrote (a wrote seen in FIGHTING WITH THE FILTHY THIRTEEN by Jack Womer and S. C. DeVito, for example) and it is most appreciated. Weiner also delivered with an air of confidence and positivity, that made Winters’ story sound like the competent, precise commander that he certainly was!
War brings out the worst and the best in people. Wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men. War is romantic only to those who are far away from the sounds and turmoil of battle. For those of us who served in Easy Company, and for those who served their country in other theaters, we came back as better men and women as a result of being in combat, and most would do it again if called upon. But each of us hoped that if we had learned anything from the experience it is that war is unreal, and we earnestly hoped that it would never happen again. This was good, but you can definitely tell he's not a writer. That takes away some from the enjoyment, but it's so important to read the stories of those who fought in WWII, especially in their own words, that I put issues like that aside when reading war memoirs. Who cares if he's a good writer, he was an extraordinary military leader and strategist.The memoirs of Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge are contemplative and introspective whereas Winters' story reads more like a battle report. He doesn't delve to deeply into the psychological side of what he went through. I think this is partly due to his temperament and also the fact that he was fighting in Europe, not the Pacific. Everyone's experience in WWII was different, so even though this wasn't gut-wrenching like the memoirs of Leckie and Sledge, it's still important to read.I can understand why other reviewers feel that Winters comes across as arrogant when they read passages like this: The night before the attack I sat in my foxhole reading the infantry manual on attack by candlelight. When I think of that, lugging an infantry manual to Bastogne, I should have taken a Hershey chocolate bar instead! I had that manual memorized, but this time that manual wasn't advanced enough for the situation for which I was preparing. It just seemed too elementary. In my opinion, the "prideful" tone is due to the fact that he's a non-writer with an extremely straightforward, no-nonsense approach to life writing about how he reacted in extraordinary circumstances. He probably did have the manual memorized, he was extremely disciplined physically and mentally which made him an exemplary leader. I don't think all his men would have had such respect for him if he was really as arrogant as his memoirs might make him out to be. If I hadn't seen footage of his interviews and I based my view of his personality solely on this book, I might have imagined him as a blustering know it all. But really he seems very subdued and humble. If this is the only window you have into Winters' extraordinary story and you came away thinking he's arrogant, I'd recommend watching some interviews of him and the men he commanded, watching the HBO series Band of Brothers and reading other books about him. You might not have that view of him for long.
What do You think about Beyond Band Of Brothers: The War Memoirs Of Major Dick Winters (2006)?
I could read books about Easy Company back to back to back. As many as they can make and write, I will read, especially if Major Winters is involved. The great thing about this book that makes it different from others is that Major WInters is the author. He is able to add his insight and perspective. His thought processes in his decision making. He even offers advice and things to do to be a great leader. I love this generation of men and what they did to make our Country what it is today. If only they were still around to fix things today!
—Phyrman21
When I went trough a lot of WW2 memoirs written by the veterans, one thing was really consistent among them: humbleness. This is quite different when reading the memoirs of recent conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan, most of the books written in form of some arrogant and 'holier than thou' atmosphere. But of course there is some exceptions like One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick and many others.But for WW2 veterans, there is something special about them. How they respect others in their books, regardless the enemies, different generations of readers, and so on. They wrote in form of telling the stories, at the same time, keep giving the advises to the readers.I don't know hot to put it into words, but if we read it, we will know, for sure.
—Ikram Mohd noor
Major Dick Winters was a very humble man, and it is a pleasure to read the story of Easy Company in his own words. The writing and narrative are marvelous in this first person account of what it was like to serve in the proud unit. It is almost strictly an account of the military actions of E Company, 506th PIR in World War II, but it does delve more deeply into the personalities making up Easy Company. "Beyond Band of Brothers" shares many stories that were not included in the original book or series. It also expands on stories that were in both giving more personal insight. It is not simply a re-hashing of what's already been said. It is a great work in and of itself. I think any of us can learn lessons from Major Winters. He was a true leader put into an impossible situation. He gives all the credit to the men he served with which is the sign of any great leader. "Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters" is a must have for any collection of military books, World War II books, or leadership books. I recommend it highly.
—Doug DePew
