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245 of 247 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fills In the Blanks, April 26, 2005
This review is from: Biggest Brother : The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers (Hardcover)
This is the right book for those of us who want to know more about the most famous infantry officer of World War II. While covering a lot of the same territory that was told in "Band of Brothers," "The Biggest Brother" goes further and illuminates what Dick Winters was thinking and experiencing as a teetotalling, Bible reading, conscientious company and battalion commander during some of the worst combat in the European Theater. The author has obtained a treasure trove of a resource in that he got hold of a pile of letters that Winters wrote to a girlfriend/pen pal during his Army career. His thoughts and reactions to events of more than sixty years ago were recorded for this woman and it provides the backbone for this well-written work, along with interviews and solid research.
While Easy Company's story is told in more detail, I was particularly interested in what happened to Dick Winters after the war. Too often we're left hanging as to how the catalysts of these stories coped with what they went through. "The Biggest Brother" shows that, like many, many veterans, Winters struggled at first, wound tight as a drum and having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. His stint with his friend Nixon's company didn't help matters. Nixon and his father, both raging alcoholics, more or less left Winters on his own at their company headquarters. Basically he had to learn about the business world through intense study, trial and error and strength of will, much like his rise through the ranks in the Army. His eventual success as an animal feed salesman was accomplished through years and years of hard work. We later generations sometimes forget (or never knew) that the "Greatest Generation" built modern America with their own blood, sweat, tears and a very tough work ethic.
In addition, assuming what Alexander has written is true, many of the episodes of the HBO mini-series had major inaccuries in them. Hopefully this book will set the record straight once and for all. For example, Private Blithe, the trooper who suffered from "hysterical blindess" was indeed wounded in the neck but survived, stayed in the Army and served in Korea in the 1950s. The movie stated that he died several years after his Normandy wound, lying paralyzed in an Army hospital.
Another inaccuracy is the HBO portrayal of "Wild Bill" Guarnere going berserk and shooting up a German horse-drawn column. Evidently it was another group of paratroopers who did this as Guarnere, like Winters, had lost his weapon during the jump. There are numerous examples like this, of Hollywood forsaking accuracy, as told by the men who were actually there, in favor of dramatism and blowing things out of proportion in order to make a more profitable production. I was particularly interested in the segments where Winters attempted to impress Tom Hanks and the HBO writers with the need to be accurate and not exaggerate. The overuse of the "F word" was particularly disturbing to Winters and a lot of the other Easy Company men. Usually his advice was ignored as those of us who have seen the movie know.
At 87 Dick Winters still comes across as a tough, no nonsense kind of guy. He doesn't suffer fools and likes to tell it like he sees it. I ended the book convinced he had to be one of the top, if not the absolute best, infantry officers in World War II. His concern for his men, obsession with perfecting his skill and knowledge and lack of interest in whooping it up on furlough made him an almost flawless leader. What a guy!
I would have given the book five stars (I'd like to have made it 4.5) except for a few minor complaints about grammar, missing words and, albeit it petty on my part, technical inaccuracies. The author repeatedly uses the word "insure" when he means "ensure." There's one case where the text reads "Winters and opened fire." In addition, German tank nomenclature is a bit confused. The Mark V (popularly known as the Panther) had a 75mm gun, not an 88mm. I think he means the Jagdpanzer V (dubbed the Jagdpanther) when he refers to the Jagdpanzer IV. If not he should note that the JgdPz V had an 88, the JgdPz IV a 75. He also repeatedly refers to German artillery fire as coming in from 88s. Maybe he got that from the vets who seemed to call all enemy guns "88s." In fact, German artillery covered the gamut, from 75mm to 88mm, 105mm, 150mm and 170mm.
As I said, these are minor complaints. Overall this is an excellent work telling the story of a man many are very interested in. While there must be thousands of WWII vets still out there with stories to tell, I don't think many would be as fascinating as the life of Dick Winters. "The Biggest Brother" satisfies the curiosity a lot of us had after reading Ambrose's original work and watching HBO's mini-series.
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112 of 114 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Winters of our content; a man for all seasons, June 12, 2005
This review is from: Biggest Brother : The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers (Hardcover)
This is a fascinating story about a man who may have become to the World War II generation what Joshua Chamberlain was to the Civil War: A quiet, competent, personable, spiritual and serious man who shows uncommon leadership under unforgiving circumstances. And what makes Dick Winters so special is how ordinary his life has been, before and after the war.
Most of the book covers the time period, story, and even the dialogue from Stephen Ambrose's and HBO's "Band of brothers". The first twelve chapters draw heavily from the written and video record produced by Ambrose and Tom Hanks, respectively. Ambrose did the important job of making this long, dangerous journey accessible to the American public. A storyteller, Ambrose had the intuition to find the elements of a story he needed to tell, and he made Dick Winters the focal character. Hanks, riding the success of "Saving Private Ryan," saw the substance in Ambrose's book. Ambrose feared for a brief time that Hanks wanted to play Winters in the HBO miniseries; Ambrose thought Hanks would be a better Herbert Sobel, the "chickens**t" officer who drove the men of Easy Company through much of their training. Fortunately, Hanks played neither. While Ambrose wrote the story and Hanks made the miniseries, Winters made it all possible. And "Biggest brother" provides the focus and intimacy that neither of these preceding works could.
There are some additional elements worth noting. Winters' 117 letters to Annie DeEtta Almon provide some detailed, contemporaneous memories. Also, we learn that Sobel tried to commit suicide in 1971; his family thinks he was mistreated in the book and miniseries. Winters continued to show disdain for Sobel years later. The ubiquitous, alcoholic Lewis Nixon fades away after offering Winters a start in business after the war, based on their deep if inexplicable friendship during the war. Winters admires - however reluctantly -- Ronald Spiers and Bill Guarnere for their soldierly skills and leadership, while acknowledging that they killed prisoners. Winters himself admits to his deceit when he declines to send out a useless patrol, highlighted in an episode in the miniseries.
The book mentions but gives short shrift to Winters' leadership style. A three-page Appendix offers some insights, but it includes a section on how living with a family in England gave him time for reflection and self-analysis. There is much more about his leadership embedded in his book.
Winters entered the army, in part, to beat the draft in the run up to the war in August 1941. In less than four years he worked - really worked - his way from private to major. Read carefully and you'll see how. First, he had a college education and real work experience before he went into the army. He worked hard at learning the tradecraft of techniques and leadership. Reading a map, choosing a strategy, selecting cover, preparing his weapons, are reading the field manual helped make him an `expert'. He offers observations about foolhardy actions taken by men that led to their deaths, like a British tank commander who ignored Winters warning about a German tank lurking ahead. Realize that Easy Company spent twenty-three months training for eleven months of combat; they made five jumps to qualify as paratroopers and most made only two combat jumps, D-Day and Market Garden. Thorough preparation made Winters and his men combat-ready and earned Winters the respect of his men. And his personality made him a leader. Winters also knew it was critical to be seen with and to live and work with his men, without getting too close, too personal. They were his brothers in arms, close-knit colleagues, but he worked hard to not simply be one of the men. He maintained a minimal but critical separation from the men. And now, in his golden years, Winters has outlived almost all of his men, giving life to an American hero, one we can celebrate for years to come.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent biography of a true hero., June 5, 2005
This review is from: Biggest Brother : The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers (Hardcover)
I hope this book doesn't get pigeonholed into a "Band of Brothers" also ran. It's not that kind of book at all. It was never meant to be. I don't know what book the previous reviewer read, but it seems pretty obvious to me, this book is about the life of Richard Winters, before, during, and after his service in WWII and not just a recap of his WWII service.
This man has lead a meaningful, and deep life, caring about not just HIS men, but his fellow humans. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty in following his own personal sense of duty and honor, time after time. I also don't fault him with the callousness of his treatment of german civilians during WWII, simply because they deserved it. It was also interesting, that Major Winters clarified that Pvt Blithe did not die in 1948 as portrayed by the mini-series, but instead made a career of the Army and died in 1967.
How Major Winters' life progressed after WWII was also a very interesting. He had been faced with limtied options after leaving Nixon Nitric Works, but he had prevailed over time, and learned enough to start a small yet prosperous business of his own after a short time in the animal feed industry.
His response to the public in the aftermath of "Band of Brothers" has been better than most people would handle such fame, and he has also gone out of his way time and again to reply to fan mail and uninvited visitors regarding himself and his friend's time in WWII. However, it seems very obvious, that this hero is near his end. He is very tired, and he wants to spend what little time he has left, in peace, with his family and diminishing circle of close friends without all the excess attention. I hope everyone that reads this book, respects those wishes.
Finally, I wish Major Winters the best, and an "Easy" Final Jump when he sees that green light one last time.
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