Hell's Highway: A Chronicle of the 101st Airborne in the Holland Campaign, September-November 1944

by George Koskimaki

Book Overview

Hell's Highway is a history, most of which has never before been written. It is adventure recorded by those who lived it and put into context by an author who was also there. It is human drama on an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891418938
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 0.9" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Extremely detailed narrative

In war, major battles are filled with lots of little events which make up the big picture. In George Koskimaki's second book on the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, he chronicles the division's actions during Operation Market Garden. The narrative is primarily personal accounts from paratroopers, glider troops and Dutch civilians who were there and witnessed the greatest airborne operation in history. I found the action to be very compelling, although it does bounce around a bit and can be hard to follow chronologically at times. If you've ever watched "Band of Brothers" or "A Bridge Too Far", you'll enjoy this book for it's firsthand look at what the 101st went through during their struggle to seize the bridge at Nijmegen and subsequently to hold the stretch of ground known as "Hell's Highway."

outstanding book on americas screaming eagles

2 nd book book of a trilogy on the 101st in ww2.the 1st volume is on d day the last on the bulge this vol covers the market garden operation the infamous bridge too far.... filled with 1st person accounts enjoyed this book so much after buying the hard cover bought the soft cover to put in the glove box to read while stopped at train or waiting in a drve thru.written by a veteran who was there as well

Good Oral History

There is a wealth of information on the United States Army's airborne forces during the Second World War. This book, by a former Technical Sergeant in the 101st Airborne Division, recounts in some detail the struggle the 101st had to keep open the road to Arnhem during the Allied airborne landings in Holland. The book is mainly a series of anecdotes collected by Koskimaki, who apparently has interviewed numerous of his comrades in the decades since the war. There is no real analysis of what's occurring, just recounting of series of events one by one, sometimes with several soldiers providing different viewpoints of the same event. He includes experiences of his own when appropriate. I think that this book is valuable as far as it goes. It is, as I said, rather light on analysis or overall strategy, and discussion of what was happening in terms of the general battle, as opposed to the individual battles. The accounts of the various bits of fighting, however, are valuable and interesting, and on that level I recommend the book heartily.

Informative and entertaining

I knew very little about the Holland campaign other than the events in Arnhem, this book really lays out the rest of the campaign in good detail. It's mainly a collection of firsthand accounts from both Dutch civilians, US Airborne and British troopers. If you're experience with WWII 101st Airborne is limited to the 506 PIR "Easy" Company (Band of Brothers), this book really shows what the entire division experienced. I really appreciated the civilian accounts. A humble and thankful people that risk their lives to assist troops again and again. There were heroes out of uniform as well. I would have given it 5 out of 5 stars had it not been for two things. The maps are not to professional (scale would be nice) and the nature of the chapters is somewhat confusing at times. It's not always in chronological sequence, but rather divisional or locational order. I, personally, would have prefered a complete chronological account.

Fascinating, first hand accounts.

Like many people who saw "Saving Private Ryan" I was interested in finding out more about what happened in WWII. I was born in 1959 and I've seen all of the old war movies. This book brought it all down to a very human level. The men in the trenches tell their own stories and Mr. Koskimaki puts these stories together so that you get a much clearer picture of the day to day actions and heroism that these brave men (and women) survived. I recommend it highly