5 comments about The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany: June 7, 1944-May 7, 1945.

1. The scandal regarding Ambroses's plagiarism come home to roost in this mediocre effort. The "book" is actually a collection of thinly related anecdotes, many less than a paragraph in length, haphazardly pasted together between the bindings. In fact, Ambrose in places plagiarized himself, cutting and pasting passages from his other publications. Moreover, it is apparent from the uneven editing and shifting writing styles that several authors were at work here, at least two of whom lack basic english skills. Themeless, incoherent, cursory, and on occasion simply wrong historically, this publication hardly merits the effort to turn the pages. In essence, while many of the little stories are interesting, the book fails on all levels. It is too cursory to be regarded as a serious history, yet lacks the coherence necessary to stand as a survey of the last ten months of the war. The writing style is too sophomoric to qualify as a "young adult" work, much less as "adult." Both the writing style and the depth of analysis are appropriate for preteens, but many of the anecdotes are too graphic and much of the language too salty for its inadvertently intended audience. It must be regarded a shame that those who purportedly heaped praise upon the work couldn't be bothered to read it first. Apart from several alleged quotations, there is nothing here that a college freshman couldn't accumulate by spending a few days in any decent university library.



2. I happened upon this book at work over seven years ago and started it for lack of reading material. This book started my education into the world of the World War II. Ambrose not only tells you what happened in a time line that is easy to follow, he tells you about life for the average infantryman in the war. It is a must read for anyone studying the war, or a soldiers life in any war, for a hobby or for education. I have given this book as a gift to friends and family members who show an interest in World War II, and I consider it the best World War II book I have read to date after now reading over a hundred other books on this war and soldier's lives in battle. This book and Band of Brothers are by far my favorite two books on the subject.



3. This is a series of anecdotes about soldiers' lives. The author keeps his narrative moving and provides a nice mix of the big picture and vivid snippets. He generally lets the facts speak for themselves. It's a story of regular guys accomplishing something spectacular in a horrible situation. As a baby boomer, it is hard to imagine what WWII was like. This book helps me begin to appreciate the "greatest generation." The narration is excellent. The maps that come with the CDs are much too small. You will want to access to a good WWII atlas.



4. Though I consider myself to be a "fan" (if that is the right term) of World War II literature, I often find myself shying away from those sorts of books as I tend to get a bit lost in trying to comprehend the entire war at one time. What with events such as Pearl Harbor, D-Day, the European Front, the Russian Front, and the Pacific Front (all of which could fill volumes), it is easy to get lost in such things as trivial details, battalion numbers, and battle strategies.
   
   The beauty of Stephen Ambrose's "Citizen Soldiers", however, is that by focusing on one aspect of the War (U.S. Army, Europe, June 7, 1944 through May 7, 1945, as is listed on the front cover), Ambrose is able to aptly tell the tale of that wartime campaign in the kind of detail it requires. All the major events (D-Day, Market Garden, The Bulge, etc.) are covered in enough detail to give you a picture of what was happening, combined with enough personality to make you understand (if at all possible) what it was like to be there.
   
   Though most of the book follows the events of World War II in chronological order, I actually found my favorite section to be where Ambrose takes a bit of an "aside" to explain such things as:
   
   -Being on the front lines (especially during the long, freezing campaign in the Ardennes Forest)
   -How the replacement/reinforcement system worked (and, consequently, didn't work)
   -The U.S. Army's considerable air superiority to the German Luftwaffe and what is was like to go to battle in the air.
   -The horrors seen and the noble deeds accomplished by the doctors, medics, and nurses who helped keep soldiers both physically healthy and psychologically stable.
   -Being a prisoner of war (on both sides).
   
   I found Ambrose to do a marvelous job of attempting to describe the life of a U.S. Army soldier in WWII Europe. Whether it was the major battles and campaigns, or just "a day in the life of a soldier", Ambrose succeeds at capturing the essence of exactly what was transpiring both on the battlefield, in the "down time", and in the mind of each soldier.
   
   Also, I think that the strength of Ambrose as a historian shines the brightest in, of all places, the Afterword section of the book, where he essentially wishes that he could have done more. He recounts a few of the letters written to him from soldiers on that European front, and opines that he could have included all of them. Just knowing that his task's focus couldn't be too big (to risk dilution of the material) or too small (to risk over-specialization on one topic) is, in my mind, enough to cement him as a top historian of all-time. He truly wished that ALL the stories could be told.
   
   So, I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about both the European World War 2 theater, and just what it was like to be a soldier at that time and place in the U.S. Army. It will be even more of an emotional experience if a family member or friend served in army that Ambrose writes about. My grandfather, Ray Koenig, was part of the European campaign, and I came away from this book understanding just a bit more about what he went through for his country.



5. I have read a great many war narratives, old and new, long and short, and this one was possibly the best, most personal war book I've ever read. Better than Black Hawk Down. Better than Band of Brothers. Better than The Coldest Winter. . .
   
   I especially liked the way the book treated the approach to the borders of the Reich. The story of the stall of the advance, the long winter, the pointless, fruitless loss and death in the Hurtgen--the period between Normandy and the Bulge--didn't so much change the way I thought about the course of the war as it just expanded it in depth. Particularly, Citizen Soldiers was unmatched in presenting how this long autumn and winter 1944-1945 affected the individual soldiers not so much just then, but in the final push into Germany.
   
   This book was a fast read, and engaging, but really gave the reader the sense of the slowness of time in miserable conditions.
   
   I'll just stop, because I could continue for a while, but one final note. I've been in the airborne infantry, and I've been in the Army Reserve as a CS troop.
   
   As such, the term, "Citizen Soldier" has been tainted by my experience of the term used today to describe the reserve soldier. They are people to be admired, but cannot compare to the discipline and training of the professional soldiery. For this reason, I avoided this book for a long time because I let my prejudices of the term in the title influence my expectations. Make no mistake, it is aptly named, but its title is its title, not the borrowed phrase.
   
   The citizen soldiers of this title are not those of the modern army propaganda team, but rather those of whom Tyrtaeus spoke:
   
   "For no man ever proves himself a good man in war
   unless he can endure to face the blood and the slaughter,
   go close against the enemy and fight with his hands.
   Here is courage, mankind's finest possession, here is
   the noblest prize that a young man can endeavor to win,
   and it is a good thing his polis and all the people share with him
   when a man plants his feet and stands in the foremost spears
   relentlessly, all thought of foul flight completely forgotten,
   and has trained his heart to be steadfast and to endure,
   and with words encourages the man who is stationed beside him.
   Here is a man who proves himself to be valiant in war.
   With a sudden rush he turns to flight the rugged battlaions
   of the enemy, and sustains the beating waves of assault.
   And he who so falls among the champions and loses his sweet life,
   so blessing with honor his polis, his father, and all his people,
   with wounds in his chest, where the spear that he was facing has transfixed
   that massive guard of his shield, and gone through his breastplate as well,
   why, such a man is lamented alike by the young and the elders,
   and all his polis goes into mourning and grieves for his loss.
   His tomb is pointed out with pride, and so are his children,
   and his children's children, and afterward all the race that is his.
   His shining glory is never forgotten, his name is remembered,
   and he bcomes an immortal, though he lies under the ground,
   when one who was a brave man has been killed by the furious War God
   standing his ground and fighting hard for his children and land."

5 comments about To America : Personal Reflections of an Historian.

1. This is a great Book that gives you personal points of views on different presidents. plus a biography of S. Ambrose.



2. Stephen Ambrose is a great historian, and I have read "Nothing like it.."(panama canal), "Undaunted courage"(Lewis/clark) and the WWII Books. If you did not read them you would get the gist of them with this book. The chapter on Vietnam(20+ pages) covering Ho Chi Mihn's involvement in WWII(on our side), Diem bien Pheu(French), Eisenhower, Pleiku, Tonkin, Tet and all these other names that whirled around my head as a teenager(too young for Vietnam) put it all together in such a way that I now realize the importance and will try to honor the sacrifice more than maybe I have). Thanks for everything Mr. Ambrose



3. Context. Whether it be significant historical subjects or the evolution of his career, Ambrose understood it better than any other contemporary popular writer of history. The recent trend in academia has moved from highlighting the flaws of early American subjects to striking them from the curriculum altogether. Ambrose correctly points out that no human could survive such scrutiny, particularly when they are removed from the social and cultural norms of their times.
   
   The passage with the University of Wisconsin history professor perfectly illustrated this mindset. She taught American Political Thought and had decided to eliminate the writings of Thomas Jefferson while presenting "God Is Red." The history club crowd cheered her decision.
   
   I read Ambros's books out of chronological order. When I finally got around to Crazy Horse and Custer (one of his earlier works) there were several passages that I found curious - particularly his harsh criticism of several individuals involved while justifying the horrific acts of others. And then in "To America" he provided the explanation for the difference in tone...his personal evolution as a writer and historian. He became less judgmental and more attune to motivation, state of mind, and context.
   
   It was this growth that allowed him to make history personal, meaningful. Relevant.



4. I found this to be an interesting read, but it is the first S. Ambrose book i've consumed (I own 5 more of his still to read) and I have considerable trepidation about my being able to enjoy those unread works by Ambrose.
   
   Ambrose states in TO AMERICA that American soldiers in WW2 were the only army which had a sense of "right and wrong". They fought to end the evil of Nazism in the European theatre.
   
   Hmmm.....I have a problem with that.
   
   WW2 in Europe began on 1 September 1939. Nazi aggression, attrocities and evil were in clear evidence from that date. Britain and its dominions (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India) fought Hitler from that date. The USA stood aside as the Luftwaffe bombed cities flat and sank hundreds of merchantmen in the Atlantic. Britain and its empire did the "right" thing. The USA wouldn't take sides: wouldn't fight evil ...until Germany declared war on America on 9 december 1941, 2 years and 3 months after the European war began.
   
   The European war & Nazi evil didn't begin only on the day Hitler declared war on America. If Hitler hadn't declared war on America, then there is no doubt that America would never have been involved in the European war. So much for knowing right from wrong and being foremost in fighting evil.



5. Before his untimely death from lung cancer in 2002, Stephen Ambrose had achieved a rare success ... that of a serious historian who also became popular to mainstream readers. This book, "To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian", was his final book, and serves as a capstone to his long and prolific career. As a historian, Mr. Ambrose took great care to be fair to his subjects and to let the facts speak for themselves rather than impose his own spin on history. For example, although he had been a staunch critic of Richard Nixon, he was persuaded to write Nixon's biography, which resulted in a massive 3-volume effort that many feel to be an extremely balanced and accurate assessment of this complex president.
   
   In this book, Mr. Ambrose offers his own thoughts on significant American personalities and events, gives some behind-the-scenes information on his life and on most of his books, and expresses the view that political correctness has distorted how historical events are viewed and taught.
   
   While the book is interesting and informative in its own regard, it's basically Mr. Ambrose's memoir, so it's best suited for people who have read his works and want to know more about his views and about the man himself. I highly recommend this book to that audience.

No comments about Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson And The Opening Of The American West [Unabridged 20-CD Set] (AUDIO CD/AUDIO BOOK).

5 comments about The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany.

1. I enjoyed this book as I learned a great deal about the Army Air Force during World War 2, how the men were trained, and the dangers they faced not only in combat but in training. The process of young men from a variety of backgrounds coming together to engage in incredibly high risk activities, and getting the job done, makes for very interesting reading. It is true that the book centers upon George McGovern and his crew, but I don't see that as either a positive or negative, McGovern was just another guy from middle america when World War 2 took place. His experiences were not atypical, nor was his heroism.



2. This book by Stephen Ambrose offers the reader an opportunity to learn about some of the men who flew the B-24 Liberator during WW2 from Italy. Most books cover the more glamorous B17 Flying Fortress flying missions against occupied Europe from bases in England. I confess that I have a love for the B-17 but always felt that I should try and find something about the B-24 which was still one of the mainstay bombers of the USAAF.
   
   This book fits the bill and provides a decent overall snapshot of the B-24, the training of the crews who flew it and their missions from bases in Italy during 1944-45. I would have liked more about the B-24's combat missions earlier in the war against a highly active Luftwaffe however the focus of this book is on one crew, piloted by George McGovern who started missions with the 741st Squadron, 455th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, after the decline of the Luftwaffe, leaving German flak and weather as their greatest dangers.
   
   Overall this is still a very good account of what it takes for young men to fly highly dangerous missions against occupied Europe during WW2. The book is easy to read and utilises numerous first-hand accounts and interviews with veterans to high-light the dangers, the camaraderie, the missions and the results of combat flying on these young men, aged between 18 and 25. Well done to the author and well done to those brave men who climbed into their aircraft day-after-day during the Second World War



3. The book is more about George McGovern not the boys/men that flew. It is more about his life written from more of a subjective point of view rather than facts. It was ok, not totally boring and interesting at times but I have read far better WWII books.



4. A lot of the previous reviewers have been entirely too critical of the book simply because it does not address all B-24 crews and just focuses on one. Still a good book, and an excellent example of leadership. If you're interested in a good book about ONE (yes, I realize only ONE) B-24 crew, and can get past the fact that it is only about ONE crew (did I emphasize it enough?) this is still going to be an enjoyable read.



5. I will start out by saying that I've always despised George McGovern and his liberal politics but in all honesty I have a new respect for Mr. McGovern, I still don't like his politics, but as a man he obviously had many admirable traits.
   As to the book itself, the correct title should have been "Flying with George McGovern and a few other guys". Stephen Ambrose is a better author than this book would lead you to believe. I've read several of his other works so I mistakenly assumed that this book would be of similar caliber but it wasn't even close.
   If you want to learn more about George McGovern this would be a useful book. If, on the other hand, you want to learn about the B-24's part in WWII, skip it.

5 comments about Nothing Like It In The World: The Men Who Built The Transcontinental Railroad 18.

1. I attempted to buy a book from CollegeReSeller and I waited for a month, I have still not been told why my order was canceled, but amazon alerted me by e-mail as I was on the phone making a complaint with customer service. CollegeReSeller has yet to contact me. I recomend never buying anything from this seller because you are not likely to get your order.



2. i can see why our local bookstore is going-out-of-business! got this book super fast and at a great price!



3. The audio book is an abridgment, and it seems to have reduced, but not eliminated, the repetition mentioned in various reviews of the full book. I did not approach the book as the definitive treatment of the railroad, given that Mr. Ambrose was not well known in this historical area, and an expectation of a certain level of cheerleading, based on familiarity with some of his other books.
   
   The result was an adequate survey of this hugely important project, from concept and its critical early steps through the golden spike and an assessment of the railroad's importance. In that retrospective, Ambrose addressed charges of corruption and other negatives, coming down on the relatively positive side while conceding at least some obvious negatives.
   
   The early interest of candidate Abraham Lincoln was a pleasant surprise for me to learn about, and Ambrose had sufficient telling anecdotes and detail to maintain interest throughout the project. He doesn't whitewash our mistreatment of the Indians or the Chinese laborers, so the history seemed fairly balanced, although experts may disagree.
   
   The main impression left, and one that Ambrose no doubt wanted to achieve, was awe in the accomplishment itself, akin to the moon landing and other monumental engineering, logistic and financial breakthroughs. How did these people do it, blasting through mountains and spanning gorges and everything else in adverse conditions? Simply awesome. Was the so-American competition between corporations, with government incentives, a good idea, despite the flaws? Ambrose thought so. I did, too, before listening to the book, and still do.



4. The book was so well researched and documented that it made me feel as though I was there.It is in such detail and still not boring,to the point that I could not put it down until I had read it all, and digested every dedail.I would recomend it as part of "American History" taught in high school.I have bought more than one copy to give to friends and family.Thank you for the chance to express my opinion of the book.



5. This book reads like a rush job - it seems to have been thrown together in a hurry with sloppy fact-checking and editing. There are numerous errors where characters and place names, mountain ranges, and rivers are mis-identified. Several passages are repeated two or three times in different places as though the author overused cut-and-paste to flesh out his story. The time line is extremely difficult to follow and is in some places contradictory. It provides a very unsatisfying read.
   
   This is my fourth Ambrose book and it is not in the same league as the others, woefully not even close. As a here-to-fore fan of this author's work, I am greatly disappointed in this effort. If you are looking for a cohesive, clear, and consistent history of the transcontinental railroad, look elsewhere. If you are looking for the best of Ambrose, try anything else.

5 comments about D-Day: June 6, 1944 -- The Climactic Battle of WWII.

1. Ambrose has done a massive documentation job with survivor interviews to give you a close-to-reality review of this famous event. After reading this book, you will have a comprehensive understanding of what it was like to hit the beaches. The reader is saturated with detail.



2. After watching the HBO miniseries 'Band of Brothers' I started shopping around for a good/informative book on D-Day. Typing that exact topic into amazon.com, Ambrose's book was one of the first books that showed up. I read the reviews, was very impressed, and then went out to Barnes and Noble to get the book (too impatient to wait for shipping).
   
   It reads more like a Clancy novel than a history book. In the first few chapters, Ambrose sets the plot, then after that, he chronicles the days events from the point of view of the British, Canadian, American, German, etc soldiers and commanders. This book took me about a week to read, but every free moment I had that week was devoted to reading this book.
   
   5/5



3. Stephen Ambrose provides an excellent narrative on the invasion of D-Day. The book is divided into three sections with the first two about 100 pages each and the last taking up the rest of the book. The first section is an introduction to the major players focusing mostly on Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Rommel. The next section focuses on the build up of forces and the special operations of the invasion. Finally the last section is an account of the four various beaches (focusing on Omaha and Utah) and the trials and tribulations these troops faced. It is a masterful storytelling and while not recounting every detail it relies on interviews to piece together what happened that day. The reader is given an account of what happened from the view of American soldiers. For those who level that this book is pro-American, I encourage them to take a look at the sources and realize that is what the offer is working with. He did not interview Germans, British or French but American troops. For those who want a historical account of troop movements they should buy a different book. This is an account of personal stories and one that is complied very well.



4. My husband volunteered in the US Infantry, 29th Division, and
   landed on Omaha Beach on that terrible day. He was lucky, and lived to fight on, all the way to Bitburg, Germany. Because he never
   talked about the atrocious fighting on Omaha, I was very interested
   in Ambrose's book and awed, grateful ( I was in France at the time)
   by the scope and ferocity of the author's descriptions. This is a
   book which should be required reading, a deep and factual record of
   War in all its facets, sadness and glory, fear, distress and humour,
   bravery and luck, plans and errors, and many more.Very recommended
   for all.



5. I'm quite surprised by my opinion of this book now that I'm done reading it. Let me first state that I read a 1994 paperback edition, so there is a chance that some things have changed with newer editions. There is little doubt in my mind that this is the definitive book on D-Day, though I will admit I haven't read too many.
   
   The details that Ambrose writes are both shocking and intriguing at the same time, but therein lies one of my biggest problems with the book. Its 575 pages can, at times, be a bit much. After a while the quotes get repetitive. When compared to one of my recent favorites, the 900-or-so-page masterpiece Team of Rivals, which also includes a multitude of facts and details, D-Day can drone on at times.
   
   My second and final issue with the book is that it needs many more maps that are better placed in the book to assist the reader with their understanding of the battlefield. Because Ambrose goes into such detail of where units landed, where they moved to, and where German resistance came from, more maps would be most helpful. The chapters dedicated to the fighting on D-Day can be rounded to 20, yet the total number of maps are nine, including two printed before said "fighting chapters." One shows the overall Overlord invasion plan and the other details German strength in all of Western Europe. When maps are included in subsequent chapters, many times they are placed two or four pages after the items they explain, which forced me to go back and re-read those sections once I realized the maps were there to assist my understanding of what I'd just read.
   
   Granted, this is 2010. In 1994, before Saving Private Ryan, HBO's Band of Brothers, or similar features, this information and these details were new to the readers. With the current wealth of movie, television, and print attention that D-Day has received, there are few surprises left to uncover. But this is the book that inspired them. It will give you a complete understanding of the battle, from all sides and from all ranks. Ambrose's access to the Eisenhower Center's treasure trove of personal accounts gives locations and statistics their color. The books thoroughness will also inspire internet searches and additional reading on the many intriguing units and individuals mentioned in the book.
   
   Those two issues are the reasons this is a four-star review. Condense some of the chapters and include more strategically-placed maps, and there's no doubt this would be a five-star read.

1 comments about The Stephen Ambrose World War II Audio Collection.

1. My husband loves this and the narration is such that even I enjoy listening to it.

5 comments about Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson And The Opening Of The American West.

1. Ambrose shows his literary expertise as he chronicles the most famous exploring duo in American history. Using journals and other first person witness accounts, the reader is treated to a detailed description of Lewis and Clark's expedition to the pacific. While the research was extensive, Ambrose does relegate Clark to a minor role as he concentrates more on Lewis and Jefferson which would undoubtedly upset Lewis who consistently emphasized the equality of the two captains. The reader should not be surprised, as the title emphasizes this point about the thesis. Despite this pro-Lewis bias, Undaunted Courage is a great resource for information on the Corps of Discovery.



2. I hardly knew anything about the expedition before this book which provides a lot of incredible information from Meriwether Lewis. But as the book describes, it's all from Lewis. We don't know anything about Clark's version or any of the other men who kept journals. The expedition split up several times and we never know what happened to any of the other groups, we only know of Lewis' groups.
   
   Considering all the interesting things that happened to him I'm sure those other men had just as interesting stories of their own.
   
   If you're into knowing everything about the trip, this should be ONE of the books you read.



3. I recently acquired "Undaunted Courage" as a gift and have been enjoying the great way Ambrose brings to life the characters and the activities. I noted, however, as Lewis and Clark journeyed down the Ohio River prior to actually embarking on their adventure, that Ambrose completely omits what I think to be an important part of the trip, plus he makes a very problematic error. When Lewis & Clark traveled down the Ohio River, there is evidence that they stopped, at least for a day, perhaps more, in Maysville, KY. And it is there, in Maysville, that they met, recruited and signed on the later-to-be-significant John Colter. Ambrose notes in the book, incorrectly, according to my resources, that Lewis signed Colter on in Pittsburgh. In Maysville there is an historical marker that speaks of Lewis & Clark's time in Maysville during that venture, and of their signing on John Colter. Colter was a Virginian by birth who had moved to Maysville at age 5. It is more likely that the expedition met up with him in Maysville than in Pittsburgh, as Ambrose suggests. Also, earlier, years prior to the Lewis & Clark expedition, Ambrose notes that on a trip down the Ohio River Lewis stopped in various river towns and lists ". . .Limestone, Maysville, . . .". Actually, Limestone and Maysville are one and the same town--the name of the town was changed from Limestone to Maysville in 1787. The latter suggests that Ambrose perhaps spent more time researching other parts of the expedition than time spent in this segment of the country. Even so, I think Ambrose's treatise on the expedition is a wonderful and well-written description of this historical event.



4. Not long ago, I visited Oregon and some of the places where Lewis and Clark ended their journey across the continent, which made me want to read more about the expedition. All roads seemed to lead to this recent work from Stephen Ambrose, so I picked it up.
   
   I have to say that I was a little disappointed. First, it's as if Ambrose couldn't quite decide if he wanted to write a biography of Meriwether Lewis or a history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The story of the expedition is couched within a proto-biography of Lewis' early and late life. There isn't enough there to really consider it a Lewis biography, and I think that the work would probably have been better if Ambrose had either left this material out, or greatly reduced it. Clark isn't profiled in this way, and Ambrose seems to lament in the introduction that someone has already beaten him to the punch with Clark.
   
   Second, the writing is very workmanlike. The writing isn't bad, but it's not great either. The narrative is very slow in the beginning, but picks up steam as the expedition actually gets underway; however, none of it was especially captivating to me.
   
   Third, Ambrose gets repetitious with "firsts," some of which are of dubious validity. Fairly early in the expedition, Ambrose treats us to a series of "Lewis and Clark were the first to do X" statements about every third page. Some are undoubtedly true, but others--such as Lewis and Clark holding the first vote west of the Mississippi, or being the first Americans to see a coyote, despite over 10,000 Americans living in Missouri when Lewis Clark got there--are probably not true, or simply can't be known to be true.
   
   I was disappointed because I really wanted to like this book. I didn't dislike it, but it's completely average. I've read several other books by Ambrose, and this was disappointing by that standard. Ambrose wasn't necessarily a great writer of history, but he was a great popularizer of history, which is certainly important. While Undaunted Courage isn't bad, I'm certain that there has to be a more exciting story in the Lewis and Clark expedition than that offered here.



5. Major Robert Clark Floyd was the father of Sergeant Charles Floyd of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. (On page 118, the father of Sergeant Charles Floyd is incorrectly named as "Captain Charles Floyd.")
   
   In the context of this particular book, this error may seem like a small one to some. However, in the bigger picture (the significance to American history, and, in particular, the Floyd family genealogy) this error is certainly a large one. Therefore, this information is very important.
   
   I am merely stating what many historical documents and letters state and what many historians and many members of the Floyd family already know to be true. Unfortunately, I do not have the time necessary to properly list the irrefutable evidence today. However, I will definitely add that information to this review at a later time. At that time, I will also do a more in-depth review of this book.
   
   (Also, I have not yet had time to review all of the 377 reviews posted prior to this one, so I apologize if this information is redundant.)
   
   Again, Major Robert Clark Floyd was the father of Sergeant Charles Floyd of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

5 comments about Band Of Brothers.

1. Great read. Looking forward to watching series again and reading other books by this author.



2. I finally got around to reading this book and am I sorry I waited so long. This is an excellent history that gives a very accurate picture to what World War II was like for those who fought it, especially the airborne. The writing is in an engaging and entertaining style. The story is told chronologically and from multiple points of view, obviously, since it's the story of all the men involved, not just a few. This book really puts a very human face on the heroes that won the war.



3. 
   Having seen snippets of the Band of Brothers miniseries, I was very excited to read the book. Of course, as a history major and knowing that this was a history book, not a novel, I knew what not to expect...but to be completely honest, I was still a bit disappointed. Having read Ghost Soldiers (about the Bataan Death March) last year and enjoyed that book as much as I've enjoyed any novel, Band of Brothers was a bit too fast paced at times and included what I felt were too many lists of companies, names, etc. to be extremely interesting. I know that Ambrose interviewed a lot of the men of Easy Company and I think he discounted some of their quotes and personal stories in order to make this more like a book a teacher would assign and less like something one would want to read for fun. Still, because I'm used to reading books like this (and far worse!) I liked it enough to give it 3.5 out of 5 stars...of course Amazon doesn't allow half stars, and I feel that if anything, the history was accurate, hence the bump up to 4 stars here.



4. This book is excellent. It goes much deeper than the miniseries goes. The characters are developed more fully and the plot takes little turns that are not shown on the video version. I give this book a 5 out of 5.



5. The book "Band of Brothers" is a very good addition to anyone's library, especially to those who collect history books and/or books over World War II. The tv series that was based on the book is outstanding, and for those who enjoyed that series and want to find out more of the details about some of the soldiers who fought in Easy Company, the book provides many of them.

5 comments about Great American Stories: Ten Unabridged Classics.

1. I bought this selection because of the title, which credits the stories to Mark Twain. I would have loved ten of his stories! Unfortunately, the selections for inclusion (other than Mr. Twain's) were some of the poorest examples of American literature that I have read. They weren't even good irony; they were just depressing. I'm sure there could be a great collection of American short stories; these were certainly not that.



2. This was the first time purchasing stories on CD and I loved it. I don't spend alot of time in my car but sometimes talk radio is too hostile and music isn't stimulating enough but these stories were perfect. It got me through snow storms and traffic by taking away to different places and times. I would recommend to everyone.



3. I bought this for my dad as he has started listening to literature on XM Radio. So far he loves it. I was a little disappointed in the selection of stories. I thought it would be the more well known stories, but so far he likes them.



4. I got this for my husband for Christmas, but I have been able to enjoy the stories too. He has listened to many of the stories twice now. Great story selection and well read.



5. Quite disappointed in the selection of "classic" short stories selected. Should have titles spelled out and samples if possible.