101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy [Hardcover]

Mark A. Bando (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2001

This unprecedented look at the 101st Airborne contains photographs so rare, you won't believe your eyes! Mark Bando made an incredible find when he unearthed 50 color images of the Screaming Eagles taken at Normandy. These photographs, together with firsthand accounts and day-to-day, minute-by-minute history of the 101st Airborne, tell the story of this elite fighting group. These extremely rare images, together with more than 200 previously unpublished archival photographs from the author's own collection, provide a dynamic look at these daring World War II paratroopers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Publishers Weekly, August 20, 2007

“The famous Airborne Division immortalized in Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers gets a full picture-book treatment. The exploits of the storied group are documented, from training and maneuvers through D-Day and on to Berchtesgaden and the end of the war.”

From the Inside Flap

For many months, the men of the 101st Airborne Division prepared for the great Allied landings in France. From their first day of training, the volunteers for this hazardous duty were subjected to severe physical and mental tests. Those who were unable to adapt were promptly eliminated from parachute units. By the time the Screaming Eagles landed in Normandy, they were tough and disciplined, their morale high. The soldiers of the 101st Airborne were imbued with the will to win, regardless of any obstacles they might confront.

 

These young men didn’t represent any particular section of the Unites States; they came from all states of the union and all walks of life. The farmer, the artisan, the laborer, the doctor, the priest, the professor, all were found among their ranks. They were unrelenting in their determination to bring complete defeat to the enemy but generous in their feelings for the friendly people whose homeland was occupied by Nazi troops.

 

The 101st Airborne troopers of World War II had a high degree of esprit de corps. They wore their distinctive uniforms and insignia with pride and confidence. Trained to go for long periods with little food or sleep, they were especially fitted to carry out difficult missions. Descending from the skies by parachute and glider, they exemplified the spirit and daring of American youth. With their comrades in the U.S. Air Force, they were ready and eager to take the fighting to the enemy. 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy celebrates their accomplishments from their point of view and with hundreds of rare photographs.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760308551
• ISBN-13: 978-0760308554
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Historical Document, January 17, 2003

By 

Bill Reese (Norcross, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy (Hardcover)

Using the mixture of photography, facts and quotes, 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles At Normandy, can serve as a great historical document. Within the pages of this great book, eye-catching photographs bring to light those events from World War II and the Normandy Invasion. The actions and reactions of the soldiers that fought in that war are caught forever through the historical eye of a camera, through famous and infamous quotes and accounts of the heroes from World War II.

The pages show the heightened moral and anticipation of the men prior to the invasion. Then the reader is brought into the middle of the battle with stories and quotes not just eye-opening photographs. This technique brings you side by side with the people of the villages and into the ranks of the soldiers marching off to fight another battle. I believe one of the best chapters is the true story of the movie Saving Private Ryan. This chapter, Saving Sergeant Niland, shows the true-life drama of a man that Hollywood has made famous.

The book brings to light some of the things that are never seen in movies and footage of events of the war. I am sure that this book, as well as its predecessor The 101st Airborne at Normandy, will bring back memories of the way it was behind the lines during that part of the war to those who served. Even though there is a predecessor to this book both stand independent of each other.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Retired Detroit Cop Writes WWII Tour de Force, December 1, 2004

By 

Charles W. Newsome (Riverview, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy (Hardcover)

Mark Bando, the author of this exposition of the bigger-than-life adventures of the fabled 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles" at Normandy, is an old acquaintance and comrade from the Detroit Police Department. We spent time together years ago as writers for our police patrolmen's union newspaper, the Tuebor. We have happily renewed our acquaintance of late, and while I remember Mark as an astute and accomplished writer, my less-than-passionate interest in military affairs had, until recently, kept me from reading this fine book. Now that I have finally done so, I deeply regret that I waited so long.

"101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles At Normandy" is a marvelous work on several fronts:

It is beautifully bound and presented; the layout and format are perfect for the subject matter; the photographs (many of them rare and quite beautiful) are heartwarming or bone chilling, as the case may be; the narrative is painstakingly researched from personal interviews of old soldiers and authentic military records; and, most importantly, the writing is masterful...accurate and careful as from a shrewd reporter's practiced and skeptical eye...loving and lyrical as from the pen of a writer of first rate fiction. I suspect Mark's experiences in "combat" on the dangerous streets of Detroit over the years have engendered in him a unique capacity to understand the special sensibilities of the combat veterans depicted in his book. Quite simply, "101st Airborne" is an astonishing accomplishment, worth reading more than once, and worth buying as gifts for the whole family, whether students of military history or not.

Mark has been very kind in his assessment of my own work elsewhere on this website. I am only sorry that I took so long to offer my heartiest endorsement of this first rate book. Get it. Read it. You'll be very happy you did.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Uncle Manny Gesulga, February 21, 2005

By 

James A. Shutz "gambler4" (Reno, Nv) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy (Hardcover)

When my uncle past away last year, my aunt showed me the 101st Airborne in Normandy, a book by Mark Bando. In the section on combat experiences, the first soldier profiled was my uncle Manny Gesulga. Manny was part of the 101st paratroop drop behind enemy lines at Normandy and his combat exploits read like something out of a GI Joe comic book. After living his harrowing experiences in Normandy, he went to fight in Operation Market Garden (wounded by sharpnel) and the Battle of the Bulge (wounded by sniper fire) and came out to live a full, productive life. He never mentioned his role in WWII but I am glad Mr. Bando gave credence to him and other heroes of the 101st. This book is a must read for all history buffs and really brings home the sense of duty and committment to freedom that is the legacy of the young men of America.