Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story

I've read a number of the books written by and about the band of brothers veterans and this is one of my favourites. Both characters are larger than life and their personalities jump off the pages at you. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions, and I'm not someone who is easily tickled. If you have read any of the other "easy company" books it pretty much follows the same events but with a different perspective that only these 2 remarkable individuals could describe. Both men come across as humble and do not glorify what they did. Men like this are rare and you can't help but respect them and be thankfull they existed. I read a few reviews before purchasing this book and noticed that a several mentioned that both Babe and Bill were not very complimentary about the Brittish soldiers and officers who served with them during the war. I'm English and I found nothing offensive within the contents of this book. RIP and thanks Babe and Bill.

Great read, really interesting stuff on how brave these veterans were.Harsh, brutal, that's how war is.

I liked how it was told from their own point of you , it was an easy read , not too hard to keep track of what’s going on. I really enjoyed this book it made me laugh and cry! I can’t recommend it enough! Great book

As described and good product

this book is the opinions and described experience of two men whose time together at war was not long but whose friendship was thankfully life long. They may lack political correctness, they are opinionated and they have only their point of view of events, they were not involved in the high up decision making, they may not know why events happened as they did but neither did many men. They were just able to experience the consequences of these decisions and their experiences were horrific and they should be recorded and read because these were the men on the ground who suffered the most. The book is gripping, their voices come out from the page, each different with their different points of view but it's clear that these are not easy events to remember and share with those of us who can never really know what they felt, who can never feel the cold or pain and who can never see the horror with our own eyes.

But I love the band of brothers TV series and the additional insight that this book gives on the relationship between the soldiers is something else.Highly recommend if you’re into modern history.

I’ve read most if not all of the Band Of Brothers books, this one is probably the best of them all. You get to know both of these 2 people, and what made them tick better than the other ones. It’s more personal and human, from their childhood, how they met, how they fought together and how they both got injured, their love for each other shines through.

Am reading this as I write this and so far it is just as good as Band of Brothers, makes you feel so proud of all the men of all the nations that brought peace to this world! But a peace that seems taken for granted!

An honest and detailed book of what these men went through, growing up during the Depression and then going off to war as very young men! The story of an unbreakable friendship of the greatest generation, one we should learn from and one who we should never forget and what they went through for us in defense of our freedom! Especially to the heroes who never came home..God Bless them all!

Uma das melhores biografias dos veteranos da "Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment". Fácil leitura, bem construída... Os problemas enfrentados por Bill Guarnere e "Babe" Hefron no pós guerra ... Me faltam adjetivos para falar sobre esse livro. Apesar de estar em inglês, eu recomendo. Infelizmente e aparentemente nenhuma editora brasileira se prestou para traduzir esse e outros livros que complementam o relato de Stephen F. Ambrose em Band of Brothers. Não deixem de ler.

I recently re-watched the show for the first time in 15+ years (wow can't believe it has been that long) and found myself scouring the internet for more information about the soldiers in Easy company. While I found some great write-ups online, nothing was in depth enough to satisfy my curiosity so I decided to try this book, as well as one written by Don Malarkey. (Also excellent)By and large the book follows a similar trajectory as the show, so a lot of the information is not entirely new, but that is unique strength of Band of Brothers. You have the source materials, the show, the documentaries, and now several supplemental books all relaying the same series of events from multiple perspectives. Each one layering in additional details and anecdotes. Each one also sheds more light on some of the other men that were not featured as heavily in the show, and that is where these books shine.I was concerned that the book would read like a transcript, but I found it well written, and it read as easily as any first person/ first hand account. The author did a great job of interspersing Bill and Babe's passages, especially as Babe entered Easy Company as a replacement, and Bill exited after Bastogne. The especially enjoyed the last part of the book where each man discusses his life post war, as well as the write ups by the two actors that played Bill and Babe.I read through this book in a single weekend. I just couldn't put it down.

Le memorie di Bill Guarnere e "Babe" Heffron sono racchiuse in uno dei migliori libri di testimonianze sulla Seconda Guerra Mondiale.E' un romanzo crudo, realistico e molto duro. Dal libro possiamo ammirare l'umiltà dei due veterani e la loro capacità di portare avanti un'amicizia per ben 70 anni; leggendo le loro memorie possiamo capire il valore dell'amicizia. Essi sono legati dalle stesse esperienze vissute durante i combattimenti sul Fronte Europeo.Il memoriale è in lingua inglese, di facile comprensione per chi ha una buona padronanza, ed è ricco di uno slang particolare usato dai due uomini (entrambi di South Philadelphia e vicini di quartiere sin dalla giovinezza).

I have watched Band of Brothers several times since it’s arrival to our screens in 2001. Before the series, I had little comprehension of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne, if any. Since the series, my interest has grown, as I have learned more. I have read several books relating to the 506th, each written by different members of the Regiment. While the campaigns were the same, their descriptions of them and after effects of them varied from man to man.‘Wild Bill’ Guarnere and ‘Babe’ Heffron were an oddball pair. Different men from different walks of life but with a shared commonality of their hometown – Philadelphia. This book is a memoir of how these two found each other at the worst time in life - war. How they became best friends and how that continued until the end of their lives.Some reviewers have said that this book is not well written. This book is not perfectly written, but neither should it be. The way it is written, captures every ounce of our authors personalities and language. What’s a memoir if it doesn’t do that? Every line that you read, I guarantee you can hear that South Philly accent in your head. Both Bill and Babes personalities shine through in this book as they talk about “limeys”, “the Piccadilly lily’s” and “bobbies”.Given the subject matter, and our authors backgrounds, there is a necessity to capture the insanity and the rawness of the situation that they found themselves in during World War 2. This book achieves that without a doubt. A combination of background information about incidents and talk about campaigns fought. Chat about what they got up to on their time off and how excited they were to get their wings. Combine all these things along with everything else and you have one hell of a story.What made this book blossom for me, was the background that was not party to the Band of Brothers TV show. It showed more of their life, more of who they were. This book gave so much more than Band of Brothers. Of course, we know who we think Bill and Babe are, from Frank J. Hughes and Robin Laing`s performances, but who were they really?What is written on the pages of this book, and especially for me the way it’s written, gives you a much better understanding of Bill and Babe, and what it was that drove them to be paratroopers. They describe each aspect of the war in the book and the actions that they took. Of course we are all familiar with how Bill lost his leg, during that selfless act of going to help his friend. There are many acts of what we would define as heroism.They have been called heroes but are very keen in this book to remind readers that they have never considered themselves as such. Both men talk in the book of how a “hero is someone who doesn’t come home”. How a hero “is a mother who has lost a child”. To these men, those people are the heroes as they feel they have given more to the war than they (Bill and Babe ) did.Their stories needed to be together. The camaraderie that they had from day one served them well and lasted for life. They knew each other almost better than anyone else. The bond that they clearly had from the day Bill learned he was from Philly…was beautiful to see through the pages.The epilogue of this book was an added bonus. A written treat from the actors entrusted with the roles of William Guarnere and Edward Heffron. Both Frank Hughes and Robin Laing took research to the next level. Talking to these guys. Asking the right questions. Learning from them. Should we mention getting drunk with them? Most of all, they learned all they needed by simply respecting the man and honouring the history. Honouring everything Bill and Babe did.Gentleman, thank you for your service.Rest easy with your comrades.Currahee.