Reviews for We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers

The average rating for We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-06-15 00:00:00 Marco Deyasi This is a great book about the "rest" of Easy Company 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 2nd Battalion, 101st Airborne division. Everyone who knows about the "Band of Brothers" HBO mini-series or the Steven Ambrose books knows about individuals like Major Richard Winters, Don Malarkey, Captain Lewis Nixon, "Wild Bill" Guarnere, Lt. Carwood Lipton and many others. However there were many other members of the company who received little or no mention in the Ambrose books (or some of the follow-on books such as Biggest Brother or Beyond the Band of Brothers - the biographies of Major Richard Winters, Call of Duty - the biography of Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton, Easy Company Soldier - the biography of Sgt. Don Malarkey, Parachute Infantry - the recollections of David Kenyon Webster, or Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends - the biographies of "Wild Bill" Guarnere and "Babe" Heffron). That's not meant as a slight on the books -- not by a long shot. Each of them provided insights into the experiences and the lives of these men before, during and after the war. But Easy Company was more than just that small core group of men. There were many others like Rod Bain, Herb Suerth Jr., "Shifty" Powers, Earl "One Lung" McClung, Frank Perconte, Joe Lesniewski, Ed Tipper, Frank Sobolieski - who we are introduced to in a very minor way in the main book but who had big roles in the overall story and this book helps capture their stories. Several things I liked that helped clear things up: 1. In the Battle of Carentan in the Band of Brothers series a soldier is walking out of the a French house when a mortar shell lands right in front of him. He makes it out and is helped to sit down by Joe Liebgott. It wasn't until I read this book that I finally knew that soldier's name -- Ed Tipper. I also learned what became of his life after the war. 2. Earl "One Lung" McClung - I finally had an answer as to how he got the nickname "One Lung" 3. The group that discovered the labor camp near Landsburg Germany in the mini-series included Bull Randleman, George Luz, and Frank Perconte (from the episode "Why We Fight") but in real life included completely different soldiers. My final remark is that Brotherton included the stories of some of the Easy company members who have since died. The one that struck me the most was the story by Micheal Sobel - the son of Easy's first commanding officer, Herbert Sobel. As I read the book there were several of the Easy company Taccoa men who had a completely different perspective of Captain Sobel. Whereas Ambrose's book and the mini-series portray him as a mean-spirited, somewhat sadistic, and bungling commander the stories brought to light in this book show him considerably different. At the end what helped convince me that Captain Sobel got the raw end of the story deal from Ambrose and HBO was Michael Sobel's memories of his father. I'm sure that Captain Sobel had his flaws (as we all do) but having read this book and Michael Sobel's recollections of his father I've come to realize that he played an pivotal role in making Easy company into a "Band of Brothers" I highly recommend this book to anyone who has already read the original Band of Brothers. If you haven't, you'll be lost.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-31 00:00:00 Erika Hardacre Icing on the Band of Brothers collection of books, December 16, 2009 Upon finishing this book, I have read the entire lot of books written by or about the individual members of Easy Company (including Ambrose's "Band of Brothers"). Looking back, I am glad I read this book last because it essentially ties the individual memoirs and the television series together by detailing the lesser-known members of the unit. More importantly, it is the only book available that provides insight to the life of Capt. Herbert Sobel ... arguably, one of the more important members of Easy Company's legendary history. Fortunately, there is still enough interest in the "Band of Brothers" to allow the men of Easy Company who weren't highlighted in the television series to tell their stories. "We Who Are Alive and Remain" introduces the reader to approximately 20 men of E Company 506 ... in their own words. The book is organized chronologically from the men's pre-war lives to present day with each chapter representing a pivotal moment in the unit's history. There is no superfluous text to connect the stories, just straight-forward, raw commentary from the men themselves. Some provide elaborate details of events while others need only a few words to express their experience. Their stories provide both supportive and alternative views to many of the events featured in the television series. We are also introduced to a wide-range of new personal experiences and opinions that provide a clearer picture of Easy Company. But, what really separates this book from others is that it acknowledges Capt. Herbert Sobel as a member of the company and finally sheds positive light on the man savaged by the HBO series. An entire chapter, written by Sobel's son, is dedicated to detailing this enigmatic man's life before, during and after the war. If "Band of Brothers" opened the door to the world of Easy Company, then "We Who Are Alive and Remain" can be viewed as a poignant closing of that door. It is a sad fact that this amazing generation of people is leaving us at such a rapid rate. I am grateful for any opportunity that allow these men and women to tell their stories ... we need to enjoy it while it lasts.