Book review on: Band of Brothers By: Stephen E. Ambrose
The book “Band of Brothers” is written by Stephen Ambrose and was first published in 1992 under his authorization. The book can be partially relied as a true story although most of its part comes from a true life experience as illustrated by the author of this magnificent book. In addition to this, the book solely concentrates its themes around the company and the effects the world war had to the performance of this company. I am going to take note on every important detail about this book and review it to deepest end and draw the meaning and intention of the author to the readers and how effective or ineffective the writer has been when portraying out his ideas. In understanding of this piece of work by Ambrose, a full disclosure is needed and by so doing, I have decided to consider reviewing the miniseries of the book. The book focuses on the experience of paratroopers who decided to establish a company of their own after a close and keen observation on the people who were making a lot of money during the Second World War.
In Ambrose piece of work, it explains of the condition by the end of 1942 when the World War 2 was at its climax. The author further explains that the U.S gained interest in joining the war to fight against the Germans who by then had formed a coalition with the Italians to fight against the Allies composed of Britain, Russia and the French. The book further explains that the main reason why the Americans joined the war was due to an attack that took place at Pearl Harbor which was a strategic point for US naval. The Japanese had planned the attack under precise instructions from the Axis composed of the Germans and the Italians. The writer explores the theme of manipulation from the central powers. The Japanese in this situation are viewed as people are being manipulated and used by the Germans to provoke the US and join the war in favor of either side.
The book explains the extent to which Hitler and his army was forced to the extreme end of survival. In this view, the writer tries to show that Hitler had lost the stability and control on the intrusion of the US into the war. In a period of two years, the Allies were planning on how they would take over Germany and consequently leading to the fall of Adolf Hitler.
In addition, the author describes the change in direction of war tides once the US joined the war. When the US joined the war, the tides changed in favor of the allies who had all the support from the highly trained US army. In this context, the author is trying to bring out the significance of unity and therefore illustrating the theme of unity. The inclusion of this brief historic event in this piece of work creates a unique atmosphere for Ambrose to base his pride upon and being able to distinguish himself from the other fiction writers. Moreover, the author provides the reader with a clear insight on each of the men in his piece of writing.
The formation of parachute infantry department in camp while Georgia during the war, clearly illustrates the main idea that Ambrose had in establishing his themes and significant subject of this writing. The band began on a local cable network referred to as the “Home Box Office” which was based in the US. The book narrates that the unit of this company was formed in the early 1940’s. It is based on the fight that took place during the Second World War. The men acquired the skills during the war in such a quick succession and were able to rise above the normal scale of measurement in this historic battle as described by this author.
The book further explains how the unit of these industrious soldiers brought significant changes when they brought the German 88 type guns into their control after controlling the charge on the battery hence reducing the killing power of the same. In the process, the group got an award as the first troop to ever defeat the Germans. However, most of Easy Company’s soldiers died in the line of duty as a result of prolonged siege of Bastogne.
Moreover, Ambrose approaches the idea behind the efforts of these men when he describes the fall of Bastogne under the great skills of their commander by then General George S. Pattan. The fall of Bastogne meant that the major war was cut off. The Germany gave in to surrender to the Allies with the help of Easy Company which had contributed to the victory of this group. According to Ambrose, the defeat of Germany marked the end of Second World War.
The defeat of Germany to the Allies gave room for Easy Company to get into the heart of Germany and hence granted the title as the highly priced military group of all times. The company furthermore registered itself as being the only group of men to have access on Aldershorst which according to the book it names it as “the eagles nest”.
In a stating remark to this piece of writing, it can be described as one of his best work he ever wrote. In this explanation, Ambrose can be described as a unique writer with such an outstanding and neutrality in his work. In addition to this, he uses a technique that allows the readers fully understand each and every individual in his work. The characteristic of each individual is fully described in a straight forward way thus sending the message deep into the mind of the readers.
The main purpose that made Ambrose write his book is that he wanted to inspire citizens towards commitment to democracy. This was achieved by narrating a personal story based on the Easy Company. He was focused on explaining that freedom will not come on free. Freedom must be fought for and the soldiers of democracy must be highly motivated to fight for it. He wanted to inspire the young minds so that they can be ready to stand for their country and defend it against all its enemies. Ambrose wrote the book so that he could instill a sense of belonging to young minds with the aim that they will the leaders who will not be soldiers only but individuals with honesty and understanding virtues to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.
The central theme throughout the book is the theme of war. The author narrates a story on how Easy Company soldiers engaged themselves in bloody wars in the World War 2. The Easy Company had courageous soldiers who risked their dear lives so that they could defend the U.S against its enemies. The Easy company men engaged themselves in the: the Normandy invasion and the Marker garden wars with the Germans.
I find "Band of Brothers" to be an entertaining and worthwhile book to read. The author skillfully weaves personal accounts from paratroopers of E. company into an enthralling story of the war. I find his writing to be easy to read and a little bit easy to comprehend. Additionally, he uses non vulgar language that makes the book suitable to even people who are underage. I’m fascinated by the way he does a great job of customizing the large troupe of characters and he masterfully sets his story within the setting of the bigger battle without sidetracking the reader. I’m further moved by the author’s description and illustration of the concept of comradeship. This kind of brotherhood is similar to what is experienced in the contemporary society and what generally one expects from a college. The author shows a group of men who formed bonds and relationships that would carry them through the rest of their lives.
Nonetheless, the context of events is missing in this book. He does provide this occasionally especially when talking about the plight of the British paratroopers in Arnhem and the market garden. To a large extent, these efforts fail. Additionally, the long passages that explain what was going on elsewhere were out of my expectation as this action seems to be isolated from the war and men. Though he is not giving a history of the war, this can still be perceived to be a narrow view. I also feel that Ambrose did not do adequate research before writing the book. He relied primarily on interviews with the survivors of the company. I learnt the adversities of war and the importance of forming long working relationships with people who can be of value to our lives.
