Book Recommendation

I have a confession to make. I'm really bad at buying books. Really bad. One might say that I have to keep myself in check when I wonder into the local used book store...For I am notorious in coming out with a receipt and book in hand that I thought looked interesting or that some one told me about at some point in time and had suggested I read it. The truth of the matter is, as bad as I have become in recent years at buying books, I feel I have become worse at starting many and finishing few. All the more reason I am happy to report, that while on my trip to DC a few weeks back, I was able to finish one that I started back in November (it had digressed to an on again off again read until the summer when I really had found time to sit down and truck through it while dealing with all my other responsibilities) and which I would definitely recommend.

"Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose is a must read for any fan of historical or military literature. I fully admit that my interest in finding this book was spurred on by the HBO mini-series which I had put off finding the time to completely watch until this past fall, when Spike TV ran all 10 episodes back to back labor day weekend (They've done this at least 2 or 3 other times that I know of since then, and I continue to make room on my DVR to record them again).

While I don't mean to go into a great deal of detail about the book here, I will say that I greatly enjoyed being able to enrich myself in the biographies of the various soldiers which were featured in the mini-series to a much greater detail than the show had allowed for. And being able to find out what happened to many of the soldiers who survived through the length of the war and went on to lead semi normal lives, also brought a greater amount of resolution to me of what happened to the men of Easy Company.

Being the Grandson of two men who proudly served in the Navy during WWII, this book provided a vivid reminder to me of what many of our grandparents did during that time and that they deserve the title they have been given as "The Greatest Generation." I would definitely agree with Tom Brokaw's assessment of their efforts in saying that they stopped at nothing short of saving the world. And while I would not dare to argue that each generation since which has dealt with wars abroad, have sacrificed any less for the sake of freedom than that of the men and women who served in WWII, I cannot help but see something astonishing in what they accomplished.

A favorite fictional character of mine is known by the motto, which seems apt here. "Freedom is the right of all" (paraphrased). The men of Easy Company and the soldiers of WWII sacrificed so much, in order that freedom might flourish for all mankind, and that given a choice how to live, men and women would be free from tyrannical dictators and governments, that would seek to take away any number of those personal freedoms and inalienable rights which we hold to be given to all by the Creator, to pursue those things which we cherish and greatly value.

So. Go. Buy the book. Read about the hardships and heroes of Easy Company. And to those who paid the highest price in order to create a better life for the generations to follow (especially my own)...in fewer words than the rest of this post: Thank you for your service and sacrifice. You undoubtedly helped to make the world a better place.