Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

By Dick Winters and Cole C. Kingseed

Book Overview

"Tells the tales left untold by Stephen Ambrose, whose Band of Brothers was the inspiration for the HBO miniseries...laced with Winters's soldierly exaltations of pride in his comrades' bravery."--Publishers Weekly

Look for the Band of Brothers miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix

They were called Easy Company--but their mission was never easy. Immortalized as the Band of Brothers, they suffered 150% casualties while liberating Europe--an unparalleled record of bravery under fire. Winner of the Distinguished Service Cross, Dick Winters was their legendary commander. This is his story--told in his own words for the first time.

On D-Day, Winters assumed leadership of the Band of Brothers when its commander was killed and led them through the Battle of the Bulge and into Germany--by which time each member had been wounded. Based on Winters's wartime diary, Beyond Band of Brothers also includes his comrades' untold stories. Virtually none of this material appeared in Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers. Neither a protest against nor a glamorization of war, this is a moving memoir by the man who earned the love and respect of the men of Easy Company--and who is a hero to new generations worldwide.

Includes photos

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425213757
• ISBN13: 9780425213759
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Dutton Caliber
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Love it

The mini series was awesome but reading the lives of these brave men who sacrificed everything for us. To learn about the lives of these people is incredible.

Great WWII bio

Fantastic 1st person account on Easy Company in WWII. Major Dick Winter's 1st person view of the harrowing account of war with his team was gripping, honest, and humble. Watched the HBO mini series "Band of Brothers" and was neat to put the book to the TV series. Major Winters candid and detailed information was fascinating

A must read, whether you're familiar with Band of Brothers or not.

Most of this book is repetitive to Band of Brothers, the Stephen Ambrose novel, but this is the first time Major Winters has told the story of the 506th PIR in his own words. Those of us already familiar with the former know a lot of what Winters is talking about here, but it's still interesting hearing Major Winters tell the story from his point of view. Major Winters not only voices his opinions about the 506th PIR, but also gives a lot of good advice within these pages, most of it geared towards becoming a better leader. Also, there are a few tidbits that appear from time to time that I hadn't known about before. One of these such tidbits was the information that Albert Blithe did not die in 1948, but fully recovered from his wound and went on to have one of the most illustrious military careers of anyone in Easy Company. A truly compelling read from cover to cover, I recommend that everyone in America read this book, whether or not they even remotely care about what Winters and the 506th PIR went through. Not only does Major Winters tell his story, but he fills these pages with the important knowledge of skills you cannot learn except from practice. Major Winters was and is an excellent leader and role model, and truly defines the word HERO.

Courage, competence, commitment, and candor...

MAJ Winters distills the lessons absorbed over three years of training and combat in a 320 page treatise on what it means to be an officer. In lean prose he illustrates the leadership principles required to accomplish the mission while taking care of the troops. That an officer must demonstrate technical and tactical competence, be fit, and lead from the front may seem like simple common sense to some readers, but as Clausewitz wrote, "Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult." MAJ Winters' account of how he led his men to overcome these difficulties makes for great reading. The success of Easy Company, 506th PIR is well documented, but MAJ Winters adds a new perspective to the familiar stories recounted in Ambrose's Band of Brothers. Highly recommended.

It's like having Dick Winters in your living room.

At last Major Dick Winters tells his story in his own words. Although many of the incidents in the book may be familiar to devotees of Stephen Ambrose's book "Band of Brothers" and the marvelous HBO series, Dick Winters' war memoirs are still compelling, enlightening and inspiring. This volume is the next best thing to having this courageous, thoughtful, and exceedingly modest hero come and sit in your living room to tell you about the adventures and exploits of Easy Company. Time and again Dick Winters embodied the true spirit of the Fort Benning Infantry doctrine of "Follow Me." Major Winters shares his reflections on the fighting and his tactics from Brecourt Manor and the Eagle's Nest. He is most proud of his unit's work at the Island. "In my estimation, this action by E Company was the highlight of all Easy Company's engagements during the entire war and it also served as my apogee as company commander," Winters tell us. Major Winters is also quick to commend the gallant work of the men in his company, "The company belonged to the men-the officers were merely caretakers." In reading these pages it becomes abundantly clear that these citizen soldiers were magnificent caretakers of our freedom during some of the darkest hours of the 20th century. "Leaving Easy Company was the hardest thing I had done in my life," the Major tells us. Putting his book down is pretty damned hard, too.