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

by Dick Winters, Cole C. Kingseed

Overview

Now in paperback! The New York Times bestseller and war memoir from the commander of the legendary Band of Brothers??now with a new preface from Dick Winters.

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. This is a moving memoir by the man who earned the love and respect of Easy Company-and who is a hero to new generations worldwide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425213759
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/06/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	32,252
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Major Dick Winters was born near Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1918. A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College in 1941, he was one of the initial officers assigned to Easy Company of the 101st Airborne. Winters jumped into France on D-Day and commanded the unit now known as the Band of Brothers. Promoted to Captain and then battalion commander, he led his men through the Battle of the Bulge and captured Berchtesgaden, Hitler's Bavarian retreat. Released from military service in November 1945, he returned briefly to active duty during the Korean War, then spent his life on a small Pennsylvania farm and was a highly successful businessman. Now eighty-six years old, Winters is popular on the lecture circuit and has found the peace and quiet he promised himself as he lay down to catch some sleep on June 6, 1944—D-Day.
Cole C. Kingseed is a thirty-year Army veteran who served in a variety of command and staff positions. He earned his M.A. in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College and his Ph.D. in history from Ohio State. He taught at West Point, where he served as chief of military history for four years. Kingseed is the author of thirty-seven articles on corporate and military leadership and such books as Eisenhower and the Suez Crisis of 1956 and Old Glory Stories: Combat Leadership in World War II. He is president of his own leadership consulting firm, The Brecourt Leadership Experience, Inc., whose clients, to name a few, include General Electric, FreddieMac, International Paper, and Bayer Corporation.

Table of Contents

Author's Preface     9
Prologue     15
Band of Brothers     21
Beginnings     23
There Is Nothing Easy in Easy Company     44
From Benning to Shanks     78
Old Beyond My Years     100
In the Time of Achilles     143
Day of Days     145
Carentan     178
Holland     211
The Island     240
In War's Dark Crucible     265
Interlude     267
Surrounded Again     294
The Final Patrols     339
Victory     365
Finding Peace After a Lifetime of War     393
Occupation     395
Coming Home     426
Steve Ambrose Slept Here     457
Reflections     489
Leadership at the Point of a Bayonet     505

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"There is a saying that 'Great leaders are born not made.' Such a man is Dick Winters... A beautifully written book about a truly great leader. This riveting read clearly reflects Dick Winters's solid character, great integrity, and unerring judgment in critical battlefield situations." —Lieutenant General Harold G. Moore, co-author of We Were Soldiers Once...And Young

"Its modesty, its candor, and its insights into the nature of front-line leadership and the fears and behaviors of men in combat make this memoir a classic ranking with Charles MacDonald's Company Commander." —Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel

"Dick Winters epitomizes the finest attributes of American citizen-soldiers….a poignant, riveting story with timeless application to the study of leadership in war." —Colonel Lance Betros, Chairman, Department of History, U.S. Military Academy, editor of West Point: Two Centuries and Beyond

"Winters's leadership inspired his soldiers to fight courageously under the most difficult and challenging conditions of battle. [An] extraordinary memoir." —H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam

Editorial Reviews

"There is a saying that 'Great leaders are born not made.' Such a man is Dick Winters... A beautifully written book about a truly great leader. This riveting read clearly reflects Dick Winters's solid character, great integrity, and unerring judgment in critical battlefield situations." —Lieutenant General Harold G. Moore, co-author of We Were Soldiers Once...And Young

"Its modesty, its candor, and its insights into the nature of front-line leadership and the fears and behaviors of men in combat make this memoir a classic ranking with Charles MacDonald's Company Commander." —Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel

"Dick Winters epitomizes the finest attributes of American citizen-soldiers….a poignant, riveting story with timeless application to the study of leadership in war." —Colonel Lance Betros, Chairman, Department of History, U.S. Military Academy, editor of West Point: Two Centuries and Beyond

"Winters's leadership inspired his soldiers to fight courageously under the most difficult and challenging conditions of battle. [An] extraordinary memoir." —H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam

From the Publisher