Beyond Valor: World War Ii's Rangers and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat (Thorndike Press Large Print Americana Series) - Hardcover

O'Donnell, Patrick K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786234334 ISBN 13: 9780786234332

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2001

Synopsis

From the first parachute drops in North Africa to the final battles in Germany, U.S. Ranger and Airborne troops saw the worst action of World War II. In Beyond Valor, Patrick O'Donnell, a pioneer of Internet-based "oral history" who has collected the first-person stories of hundreds of veterans on his online oral history project, re-creates the frontline experience in stunning detail, weaving together more than 650 "e-histories" and interviews into a seamless narrative. In recollections filled with pain, poignancy, and pride, veterans chronicle the destruction of entire battalions, speak of their own personal scars, and pay tribute to their fallen colleagues. Beyond Valor brings to light the hidden horrors and uncelebrated heroics of a war fought by a now-vanishing generation and preserves them for all future generations.

About this title

Review

General Henry H. Shelton

former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

An extraordinary book. The unselfish actions of these incredible men will serve to inspire future generations of Americans whenever our nation's security is threatened. Their sacrifices and accomplishments will live through the ages.

"USA Today"

Captures what the average soldier went through during combat.

Carlo d'Este

author of "Patton: A Genius for War"

What Steven Spielberg accomplished visually for the cinema in "Saving Private Ryan," Patrick O'Donnell has accomplished through the printed word.

Douglas Brinkley

director of the Eisenhower Center and professor of history at the University of New Orleans

The pioneering oral historian Patrick K. O'Donnell has done a wonderful job of making the experiences of America's elite troops come alive again.

W. E. B. Griffin author of "The Corps" and the "Men at War" Series Told by the GIs of WWII in their own words, the extraordinary personal histories collected here prove that real war ultimately can only be explained by those who fought it, and that the true heroes too often go uncelebrated. "Beyond Valor" is a fitting memorial to these men.

John S. D. Eisenhower author of "Agent of Destiny: The Life and Times of General Winfield Scott""Beyond Valor" is a great war book. It has pathos, excitement, and sometimes suspense. Above all it reminds us that wars are fought by men on the ground, not in the war rooms of higher headquarters.

Larry K. Bond author of "The Enemy Within" and "Day of Wrath" My own father served in WWII, and I always wanted him to share his experiences, but we only got bits and pieces. The memories were just too painful. Time is running out for this "vanishing generation," and unless someone like Mr. O'Donnell takes the time to gather these stories, a part of the Second World War will be lost forever. No simple narrative of a battle can give you the viewpoint of these now-aged warriors.

Gerald F. Linderman author of "The World Within War: America's Combat Experience in World War II" These paratroopers and Rangers speak for themselves in phrases simple, forceful, and extraordinarily poignant. What is so striking and saddening is the persistency of pain fifty-five years later. "Beyond Valor" teaches realities of World War II combat that I have encountered in no other book.

Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) As one of the many soldiers who participated in D-Day, I can attest to the importance of documenting the personal accounts of those who fought in the Second World War."Beyond Valor" offers a realistic portrayal of life at war told by the men who know what really happened -- those who were there.

Carlo D'Este author of "Patton: A Genius for War" Patrick O'Donnell's "Beyond Valor" is a dramatic and poignant oral history account of combat as seen from the sharp end by those who fought it. More than yet another tribute to the World War II generation of American soldiers, "Beyond Valor" captures war as it was fought: in all its ugliness, heroism, pathos, and incompetence. What Steven Spielberg accomplished visually for the cinema in "Saving Private Ryan, " Patrick O'Donnell has accomplished through the printed word.

Stanley Weintraub author of "MacArthur's War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero" These narratives are highly charged, emotional, dramatic, intense. The horrific underside of war has seldom been exposed so graphically. What is shown here, often very powerfully, is the "Bad War," which we prefer not to know too much about.

Carlo d'Este author of "Patton: A Genius for War" What Steven Spielberg accomplished visually for the cinema in "Saving Private Ryan, " Patrick O'Donnell has accomplished through the printed word.

General Henry H. Shelton former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff An extraordinary book. The unselfish actions of these incredible men will serve to inspire future generations of Americans whenever our nation's security is threatened. Their sacrifices and accomplishments will live through the ages.

Douglas Brinkley director of the Eisenhower Center and professor of history at the University of New Orleans The pioneering oral historian Patrick K. O'Donnell has done a wonderful job of making the experiences of America's elite troops come alive again.

"USA Today" Captures what the average soldier went through during combat.

Carlo d'Este author of Patton: A Genius for War What Steven Spielberg accomplished visually for the cinema in Saving Private Ryan, Patrick O'Donnell has accomplished through the printed word.

USA Today Captures what the average soldier went through during combat.

About the Author

Patrick K.The project has won praise from newspapers around the country, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. O'Donnell lives in Fairfax Station, Virginia.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786234334
• ISBN 13: 9780786234332
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 699