Customer Reviews

101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy

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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the mixture of photography, facts and quotes, 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles At Normandy, can serve as a great historical document.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.

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.

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.

Eminent 101st Airborne Division historian/author Mark Bando has done it again with his fourth book "101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy," his third on the legendary 101st Airborne Division in World War II, and his second covering the Screaming Eagles' parachute and glider assault into Normandy as they spearheaded D-Day. Bando has packed 10 exciting chapters full of new and previously unpublished material (painstakingly gathered over 30 years of research and interviews with hundreds of 101st veterans) into this glossy, all-new, 156-page hardcover volume. Along with dozens of never-before seen black and white photos of Screaming Eagles in the invasion, the book also contains rarities that must be considered a historical "Holy Grail" for WWII Airborne enthusiasts, and alone are worth the price of the book: more than a dozen beautiful color Kodachromes of 101st paratroopers in Normandy. There is a feast of photos for those knowledgeable of the U.S. Airborne at Normandy, and for those who wish to learn more. Readers familiar with Donald Burgett's classic book "Currahee!" will recognize photos of many of the places Burgett fought and many of the sights Burgett saw in Normandy. The tank knocked out at "Dead Man's Corner" above Carentan? It's there. The German supply wagons Burgett took a pistol and thousands in French francs from? They're there. A wartime color picture of the Carentan Causeway? It's there, as are many others. "101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy" is both a great companion work to Bando's previously published "The 101st Airborne at Normandy" and a unique addition to WWII Airborne history. Like the epic feats of the 101st Airborne itself, it stands tall among the glut of WWII books on store shelves, and is a must-have for anyone interested in U.S. Airborne or WWII history.

I really enjoyed this book. If not for anything else, buy it for the photos! The author used personal photos taken clandestinely by various 101st AB veterans during the campaign, many in color. I also liked the mix of contemporaneous as well as current day photos to put the events in their proper perspective. I recommend this book to all Screamin' Eagle followers, as well as others such as re-enactors and WWII history buffs.

Quite simply as my review title indicates, every Division or unit that served in the Normandy campaign, deserves an author of Mark's calibre. I am a working tour guide of the D-Day battlefields, and I wish that every unit was covered in the same incredible detail as Mark Bando covers the 101st Airborne in his books. If you want to really get "under the skin" of a WWII combat division and hear true and verified stories of young men in combat, then this book is a must have. The only danger is that after reading this author's books, works by other authors on other units will seem dull and lifeless in comparison.

If you have gained an interest in the 101st because of computer games or a TV series, then BUY THIS BOOK. There is nothing to compare for personal stories of the men who jumped into the area behind Utah beach on D-Day. Unlike other books, these are not re-hashed anecdotes relayed third-hand from other works, these are fresh, exciting, gripping and moving accounts from the author's 35 year hobby of interviewing and more importantly befriending the veteran Screaming Eagles.

Mark Bando has done it again! He has given us another book just full of the kind of in depth detail that puts military history buffs right on the battlefield (but without the need for a medic standing by). The thing that I appreciate most about Mr. Bando's books are the wonderful photographs which accompany the text. I'm so sick of seeing the same pictures appearing in book after book, often having nothing to do with the events being discussed. I'm already looking forward to his next work. I recommend his "Breakout at Normandy" for the same reasons.

Once again, the relationships that Mark Bando has developed over 4 decades with literally hundreds of 101st. Airborne Division veterans have enabled him to present a book that brings the reader closer to understanding the contributions and sacrifice of the Screaming Eagles in the opening months of the Great Crusade. "101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy" is an excellent companion book to Bando's previous 101st. books. The book contains almost all new anecdotes, and many, many new images that have never before been published. Especially compelling are the many color photos developed from Kodachrome slides which give a new, much appreciated perspective to a war most often documented in black and white. As in his previous work, especially "Breakout," Bando's detective work and his strict attention to detail trumps the efforts of more well-known author/historians. Bando leaves no stone unturned in his quest to get the details right. I came away from the book with a renewed appreciation for the temporary nature of life in battle. Many of the soldiers depicted are simply here one moment, and gone the next. One just begins to have an insight into the personality and character of an individual soldier only to read a few sentences later "...was later killed in action." The book closes with a final chapter that puts the facts and fiction of "Private Ryan" into proper perspective. A must-have for those interested in WWII Airborne history.

Absolutely fantastic book! I have read many of the personal accounts of WWII, and this one was one of the best accounts of the 101st Airborne's contributions.

This 10 ½ by 10 ½ inch book is more than just another coffee table book. This book is organized into 10 chapters detailing the training, preparation and jump into Normandy by the 101st Airborne Division.

Bando, through his unique relationship with over 900 World War II airborne veterans spanning 30 years, has unearthed a treasure-trove of photographs (some in full color) never before seen by the public. He has liberated them from footlockers and shoeboxes left in attics all over America by the old veterans who never spoke of their service. Each chapter contains well-written commentary accompanied by first person accounts by the veterans. Their memories and recollections provide a stark realism to every chapter. Bando even dedicates one the chapters to the 82nd Airborne Division, showing while favoring the Screaming Eagles, he's not about to ignore the great contributions of the "other" American airborne division on D-Day.

The book contains a glossary of terms and an abbreviated index. But it's the human connection that makes this a great book in its own right. It was an important research tool in writing my historical novel, The Last Jump and I'm sure it will enlighten and entertain any World War II buff who reads it. It is being republished in a softcover version shortly and it is worth buying regardless of price!

John E. Nevola
Author of The Last Jump - A Novel of World War II