|
Brothers In Arms: The Epic Story of the 761St Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes
All orders are processed securely through Amazon.com
This item is currently not available.
Alternative Suppliers
New From $6.98, Used From $1.95
See Alternative Suppliers New & Used
Authors/Performers
------------------
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar;
Anthony Walton;
|
While I like the subject and generally liked the book, I found several items that should have been caught by a good editor: Factual errors (see other reviews), Should have had much more about the design, development and manufacture of the Sherman tank (a co-star of the book), Bastogne is barely covered, and the narration.
I would never have purchased this book if I had known the narrator was so clueless. The reader's errors were distracting and painful to hear so many mispronounced words and not just obscure city names, but common words and names common to World War II: Pate-on for Patton (only one time), straff (rhymed with raft) for straf, personal mines for personnel mines, Ver-DUNE (rhymed with maroon) for Ver-done (Verdun), ambu-LANCE for ambulance, Ar-DEAN (rhymed with Marine) for Ar-den (Ardennes), Ba-vah-ria instead Ba-VARE-ia, GORE-ing (rhymed with snoring) instead Goering, Elbee (rhymed with sleepy) for Elbe, and for anyone with with the slightest experience with the History Channel the following is absolutely ludicrous looftwaff (no idea what this would rhyme with) for Luftwaffe.
As for the people who say that we are nitpickers when we point out errors, just imagine if there was a book about Rev. King and they said that he was killed when shot at close range at a gas station in Chicago. HUH?? you would say. That's just crazy!! that would make me wonder about the rest of the book.
I finally requested a refund and got it from Audible.;
[Rating: 3 Stars]
In "Brothers in Arms", Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Walton try to bring to life the personal accounts of the soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion.
The book begins by documenting the memories of the soldiers who faced their own battles with racism here in the United States. The flow of the book follows the natural progression of the soldiers from their days as recruits, armored school, and then through their combat exploits in France and Germany.
Having previously read "Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II", this book didn't contribute any new information about armored warfare. Despite numerous factual errors, the book does highlight the ugliness of racism that was prevalent in the nation at the time. All in all, this is a collection of stories that needed to be told. ;
[Rating: 3 Stars]
There are all types of history books. Some are textbooks other historical fiction some autobiographies. This book is not of these and something else altogether. Not since I read "Manchild in the Promised Land" by Claude Brown at the age of 13 years, have I been moved as I have by Mr. Jabbar's effort. Brothers In Arms now ranks with my very favorite books. It is engaging and informative. It makes me want to buy a ticket and go to France and Belgium and retrace the footsteps of these heroic men. What more could you ask from a book. Yes there are inaccuracies, inconsistancies and errors in the book. But not where it counts. Obviously, Kareem sat down with some of these men and got their stories. First hand experiences. Those are the things that draw you in and make you want to know more. Those are the things that make you cry when one of them dies, even though it happened over 60 years ago. Yet you weep for them still. And in the end, when the book is done, there is a heaviness in your heart but an overwhelming pride fills your chest.
This book should be required reading for all High school students along with Killer Angels, Catcher in the Rye and 1984. I could go on but you should simply read the book instead.;
[Rating: 4 Stars]
|