Customer Reviews

Comrades: Brothers, Fathers, Heroes, Sons, Pals

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As a HUGE fan of Ambrose, I feel a little guilty of criticizingthe work. But I paid for it, so here goes.

It was a wonderfulbook in concept, but like the Kirkus review said, a tad "shallow", and in my estimation, priced more than it was worth -- this is a seven dollar book, not a seventeen dollar book (my price). I kind of felt cheated, as Ambrose recycled a tad too much information from previous efforts, without seemingly doing enough new, groundbreaking, or original exposition on the complexities of male friendships. It feels like our favorite historian "mailed this one in", leaving the hard writing for some other work.

I also felt that Ambrose was a little condescending at times about his own experiences. Can't recall specific details now, but I remember feeling oddly disconnected from some of the male bonding experiences he touts from his own youth, not the least of which was this business about joining this frat over that. (Big deal.) But I suppose judging our own nostalgic memories with superlatives is a right we all reserve for ourselves, and I'm no different.

Nevertheless, devoted fans of Ambrose will enjoy the book...or maybe not. Perhaps the parts Ambrose writes about his friends, his brothers, and his father are a bit too confessional -- more than we're interested in knowing.

If you're a first time Ambrose reader, start with a different book, say Citizen Soldiers, and then check this one out from the library before you head out of town for a weekend of easy reading.

I picked up this book in the airport as I headed off for a 4 hour flight. I knew that given its author it would be an interesting "quick read". I had enjoyed many other books by Ambrose and looked forward to another.

In this short compilation Ambrose explores the relationships between men as "brothers, fathers, heroes, sons and pals". Similar to his other works, this book examines its topics through the lives of specific people -- Ambrose himself, his father and brothers, and others he has met or researched. What emerges is a theme of loyalty, fealty and connection that is unique and binding.

True to my estimation this book was enjoyable and easy to read. Ambrose draws few conclusions but rather allows the reader to discover the simultaneous complexity and simplicity of these disparate relationships.

In an age where pop psychologists diagnose and prescribe broad generalisms about gender and relationships it is nice to find someone who appreciates men for who and what they are. I look forward to Ambrose's next work.

Author Stephen E. Ambrose has made quite a career out of his historical writings. Viewed to be one of the most, if the most, pre-eminent World War II historians, Ambrose has written many captivating accounts of the brave men who have taken up arms in defense of this country and freedom. He has also chronicled some of lesser-detailed, though quite famous, events in U.S. history, such as the building of the transcontinental railroad, the journey of Lewis and Clark, and the parallel lives of General Custer and Crazy Horse until their fateful meeting at Little Big Horn. What is common in Ambrose' writing, and what makes the stories so compelling and accessible to average reader, is that he understands the importance of the human emotions and common bonds produced by the strong friendships of the men whose lives are immortalized in history. His seminal work, "Band of Brothers" is THE classic example of this.

Ambrose has chronicled these male friendships in many of his books, but has felt the need to extract some of these stories and have them stand alone in a separate volume on the strength and importance of male friendships. The result is "Comrades", a sometimes slow, but mostly compelling anthology of the power of male friendships that took place in form of fathers, sons, brothers, and colleagues for famous historical figures. "Comrades" is a relatively short book, with each chapter dedicating just a brief synopsis of these friendships. However, they serve as a primer that makes the reader want to dive deeper in the stories behind these men. One can read the short about the relationship between General Dwight Eisenhower and his brother Milton, an academic man who was his closest confidante, advisor, champion, and friend and be compelled to flesh out the relationship further by reading the Eisenhower biography. The stories about the Custer Brothers and of Crazy Horse and He Dog merely whet the appetite for the stories that permeate "Crazy Horse and Custer". The same can be said for Meriweather Clark and William Clark and "Undaunted Courage".

It could be argued that a book like "Comrades" is nothing more than a marketing gimmick to get people to buy other Stephen Ambrose books. That is a shortsighted and cynical interpretation. "Comrades" is a wonderful primer that makes these stories accessible to the common reader and if it spurs them to seek out other books about these same subjects, then that is just a testament to the power of these stories and skill of Ambrose' writing.

I have read most of the author's works and have enjoyed all of them. I found this audiotape particularly compelling because it captures the author's genuine emotions, especially when he talks about his father. The audiotape had a powerful impact on me that I don't think would have been as compelling had I just read the hardcopy. I have read many books in my life, but this is the very first time I ever wanted to immediately repeat a book that I had just finished reading. Thank you Mr. Ambrose.

Head the taped version of COMRADES: BROTHERS,
FATHERS, HEROES, SONS, PALS, a tender book by
the late historian Stephen E. Ambrose that examines the bond
formed between men as a result of both family and
circumstances . . . he looks at the lasting friendships of
various men, from Sioux Indians to his own brothers, and
analyzes the special relationship between Meriwether Lewis
and William Clark . . . in addition, he pays special tribute
to brothers, including such famous pairs as Dwight and
Milton Eisenhower, and George and Tom Customer . . . Richard
Nixon rates a special chapter and in listening to it, you begin
to understand why he was impeached (in large part because
he had very few friends).

I was particularly moved by the author's last chapter,
describing his own friendship with his father--with whom he
only got close toward the end of the latter's life . . . "He was my first and always most important friend," Ambrose writes. "I didn't learn that until the end, when he taught me the most important thing,that the love of father-son-father-son is a continuum, just as love and friendship are expansive."

Many authors have picked up on the fact that men need coaching on how to converse with and relate to women. Stephen Ambrose has done a fine service in opening up the need for men to pay more attention to how they relate to other men. Using a combination of historical and personal examples, men will find this book a beacon to guide them towards new kinds of fulfillment. Women will learn to appreciate more of the benefits of encouraging fathers, husbands, and sons to have closer ties with other males.

One of the benefits that I got from this book was that it filled me in on relationships that I have never had and won't have. For example, I don't have a brother. I could tell from seeing how my father related to his brothers that this was something special, but could never quite get inside of it. Now I understand the relationship much better from hearing what Professor Ambrose has to say about his brothers. I also never served in the military (4F was my draft status), and did not have that experience. From my father's faithful attendance at military reunions with his World War II unit mates over the years, I could also tell that this was special for him. I also understand this relationship a little better now. I appreciate both of those gifts.

Professor Ambrose also points out the potential downsides of these relationships. Custer's unbridled ambition and ego led his two brothers to their deaths at an untimely age. Professor Ambrose's father was stern and strict until late in his life, making his sons feel downtrodden. Milton Eisenhower tried to talk his brother Dwight out of running for a second term, thinking it might kill him.

Three other stories were especially rewarding for me. The first was how Professor Ambrose's father developed an interest in American history and helped Professor Ambrose become a fine historian, after having insisted he become a medical doctor earlier. This encouraged me to want to learn more about my sons' professions, both of which I know relatively little about now.

The second was the very close connection that some World War II foes on D-Day developed in the post-war period. It made me think that I should seek out people with whom I may have once felt competitive, and become better acquainted.

The third related to close ties with students. This made me want to do more teaching than I do now, so that I can develop more cross-generational male friendships. That was something that had never occurred to me.

Comrades is not a history book in the classic sense. It is also not a how-to book. Instead, it reflects a sort of oral tradition that will spark emotions and desires in you that you didn't know you had. That's a great benefit to receive from a book.

By the way, I suspect that students of management could learn a lot from the example of Lewis and Clark that is described here.

After you finish this book, do take a little time to think about which variations on these themes you would like to weave more strongly into your life. Then get going!

May you enjoy all the brotherhood that you share!

When I began listening to this on tape (unabridged) I fully expected a series of war stories emphasizing the bonding which takes place under combat conditions. Instead I found a riveting description of how important it is to value the friendship of those you love. In a world when close friendships are questioned because they are consdidered old fashioned, Ambrose examines personal friendships from his own experiences, including his relationship with his father, as well as historical friendships which he researched. These included famous military men, explorers, and most meaningfully friendships he developed himself in his various lives. The description of friendship found at the end of the chapter on Lewis and Clark is one of the best I have ever read. In a helter-skelter world appreciation for friendship and the close bonds contained therein is a glaring need which we all feel. It is far more than just a series of vignettes about "the guys" but more importantly a fascinating look into the need to be a friend and to enjoy the friendship of those who mean the most to you.

I so wanted to like this book. I had the right expectation. I knew it wasn't one of Ambrose's usual war stories. I didn't expect a lot of psychological jargon either. I knew that Ambrose was a man's man writing about fathers, brothers, comrades in arms and other fundamentally male relationships. But I was disappointed. There was no lesson. There was little inspiration. I met several men, great (Eisenhower) and small (Ambrose's brothers), but I really didn't get to know them or learn much from them. I didn't expect sentimentality, but I expected some meaning, some synthesis, some higher purpose. But this is just a nice little book about men and with a portrait of the friendships of several famous people interspersed with a few Ambrose family stories. I like the stories, but I didn't learn much. What was the father's life lesson he wanted to pass on? We aren't told. What is the great secret of male friendships? There are some hints, but not much. What can I teach my son about what it means to be a man or how to earn the respect of men? We have a few tentative conclusions and little that's new. The reader will enjoy meeting the men in this book, but its all about male bonding. The deepest lessons are left unsaid.

Ambrose's stories of male friendship would be good in any format, but why read what Ambrose wrote when you can hear him read it to you? There is the added benefit of hearing Ambrose's emphasis on a phrase, his light-hearted tone in some areas and, even more important to the emotional punch of some of the stories, hearing his voice break at particularly touching moments (perhaps the most touching was a comment that is highlighted in HBO's 'Band of Brothers'. A veteran of Easy Company is asked by his grandson, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" "No. I served in a company of heroes.")

Ambrose focuused on the friendship he and his brothers share, his friends from college, from work, the friendships of Lewis and Clark, Dwight Eisenhower and his brother Milton, Lewis and Clark, the men of Easy Comapny in 'Band of Brothers', the friendship of men who fought against one another in war but meet again as old men and the friendship between Ambrose and his father. I was surprised that he did not mention the friendship that he shares with his sons since he did the friendship between he shared with his father.

Ambrose comments on the beauty of friendship between old men - no rivalry, nothing but support and love. He notes that he can't wait until he is old and can enjoy such friendships. Sadly, Ambrose died of cancer in 2002 at the age of 66.

I give this one a grade of A-

This is a very short book, more a collection of short essays than a cohesive treatise on male friendships. The book praises male friendships, using the friendships between Eisenhower and Patton, Custer and his brothers, and Crazy Horse and He Dog as examples. But most of the book deals with the author, his friendships, and his relationships with his father and brothers. These parts of the book are somewhat self-congratulatory yet sad at the same time, because it seems that Ambrose 's relationship with his father was ultimately unsatisfying, though he claims otherwise. For example, the only conversation that the author had with his father about God or faith, apparently, was a brief conversation during a car ride in which they both agreed that there must be a heaven, since Abraham Lincoln would surely have gone to heaven. The author also alludes to, but ultimately skims over, his own alcohol abuse. (If his friendships were so great, as he claims, why did he need to drink so much?) Overall, though, the book was enjoyable and thought provoking.