Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This book is well-written and an easy read, as compared to most military history which is, often, difficult, if not impossible to follow. I give it one strike technical/historical matters. First, for having been written after Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers, it and fails to take that work into account. The 506th is rarely mentioned and Easy's assault at Brécourt is not mentioned, at all. Now, I'll admit that Band of Brothers is as much hagiography as history, but, if one disagrees with the assertions, it's important for one to refute those assertions, not ignore them. Also, the World War II section is VERY brief and could've stood to have more detail added to it, as was done in the "Training Years", (1956 to 1967), where every minutia is mentioned (and no less interesting, I have to admit). This is, of course, an unfortunate effect of this being a collaborative effort with an author for each section. All in all, a good read, but very thin on World War II, if that's one's interest.
One thing I'd add is that it is a bit apologetic. It glosses over the last battle casualties of the war, while those of you familiar with Stephen Ambrose's Band fo Brothers will recall that it was a bit of a self-created SNAFU resultign in freindly fire...
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The History of the 101st Airborne Division is the epic story of the Division from its activation in August 1942 through the completion of Operation Desert Storm in April 1991.
In World War II, the 101st became the first American troops to set foot in occupied France, when, on 6 June 1944, its paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines, clearing the way for the 4th Infantry Division landing on Utah Beach. The Division would become famous for its work in Holland during Operation Market Garden, and for its successful defense of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.
In Vietnam, the Screaming Eagles engaged in battle from 1965 to 1972, when they began their evolution to Air Mobile by deploying by helicopter. In the Gulf War, the Division fired the first shots of Operation Desert Storm by destroying Iraqi radar sites, and during ground war of the operation, they made the longest and largest Air Assault in history.
In every engagement and during the training periods in between, the 101st Airborne Division has honored the words of its first commander, General William C. Lee, that it has a rendezvous with destiny. This book is a fitting record of that history, and of the men who are proud to be called Screaming Eagles.
