Dick Winters - Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters

I picked this up after reading Band of Brothers, and I don't have much to say about it other than that it was one of the best first-hand accounts of World War Two that I have ever read. Part of that undoubtedly comes from having watched and read Band of Brothers and therefore identifying with the people that Winters mentions in his book, but a large part also comes from the fact that he tells a riveting story. He does not bog down the account with the minute details of military operations, but instead tells the stories of the men that he served with.


Probably because Winters wrote Beyond Band of Brothers after and in response to Band of Brothers, he often focuses on different people and events than the other book and tv series did. Some of the events that were of significant importance in the mini-series, like the last German artillery barrage at Bastogne or Easy Company's discovery of the Buchloe concentration camp received only brief mention in Beyond Band of Brothers. Instead, he focuses on his own personal reactions to and reflections on events that were not central to the series. He also tends to discuss the actions of the more senior officers he was involved with, which the series rarely focused on.

Beyond Band of Brothers is an excellent book and I highly recommend it, especially if you have seen Band of Brothers and want to know more about the men of Easy Company.