Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends
Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story
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4.6 • 56 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Tom Hanks introduces the “remarkable” (Publishers Weekly) true story of two inseparable friends and soldiers portrayed in the HBO® miniseries Band of Brothers.
Look for the Band of Brothers miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix!
William “Wild Bill” Guarnere and Edward “Babe” Heffron were among the first paratroopers of the U.S. Army—members of an elite unit of the 101st Airborne Division called Easy Company. The crack unit was called upon for every high-risk operation of the war, including D-Day, Operation Market Garden in Holland, the Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden.
In his own words, Guarnere gives a gripping account of D-Day from the paratrooper’s perspective. Both men vividly re-create dropping into Holland to capture the roads and bridges between Eindhoven and Arnhem, known as Hell’s Highway. Through much of 1944 both friends fought side by side—until Guarnere lost his right leg in the Battle of the Bulge and was sent home. Heffron went on to liberate slave labor and concentration camps and capture Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest hideout.
United by their experience, the two reconnected at the war’s end and were inseparable up until their deaths. Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends is a tribute to the lasting bond forged between comrades in arms under fire and to all the brave men who fought fearlessly for freedom.
Includes photographs
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Post, on assignment for Philadelphia magazine, met in 2001 with WWII vets Guarnere and Heffron to discuss their service and their portrayal in the soon-to-be-aired HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (based on the book by Stephen E. Ambrose). In this new book, Post has compiled the transcripts of her interviews to provide a personal history of the 101st Airborne Division's Easy Company, as well as the soldiers' own stories of growing up and growing old. Switching off between the two within chapters, Post allows Guarnere and Heffron to share narration duties as they recount their South Philly childhoods, their induction into Easy Company (Guarnere was there for the company's formation; Heffron joined after D-Day) and their work in it, from the disastrous Operation Market Garden to the frozen hell of Bastogne. The men also discuss their post-war lives, and those of their comrades; 60 years after meeting, these two men still call each other nearly every day, and their bond provides the volume its large heart. Both men are quick to point out that they're no heroes, just men with a job to do (despite the fact that they each received, and tore up, exemptions from service); they and their story are both remarkable, and a must-read for anyone who enjoyed Band of Brothers in print or on screen.
Customer Reviews
Excellent
Must read if you watch Band of Brothers, explains a lot. Two outstanding human beings.
Great Personal Accounts
I read this book after watching the HBO miniseries Band Of Brothers grew my interest in World War II. The personal accounts of Babe Heffron and Wild Bill Guarnere are powerfully awe inspiring real life stories of the Easy Company men who served in World War II. Regardless of their modesty of stating that only the ones who didn't come back from the war were heroes, the front line infantry played a major role in turning the tide to win the war in Europe. If you want 1st hand experience in seeing through the eyes of Babe and Bill their training, what they had to do, and what they saw and experienced during the war, read this book--you'll likely appreciate the bravery and sacrifices the people of this era made in order for all of us to be enjoying the freedom we have today. Our lives would definitely be be for the worse had the Axis powers succeeded in conquering the world.
Exceptional book about extraordinary men men
A great read. A generation that deserves to be remembered and learn't about.