Can't get enough.

I can't get enough of the stories of these brave men. It amazes me to think of what they did for America, Europe and the free world. As usual another good narration by Scott Brick. I enjoyed this book almost as much as Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. If you enjoy stories of unbelievable courage and sacrifice you will like Beyond Valor.

8 people found this helpful

The Closet Accounts are the Soldiers...

...but as described by one of the Soldiers, (paraphrase) "I can't describe it for you, I can't describe the carnage, the death, the fear, the horror. One can only be there... it can't be described"

This book is everything that so many other books claim to be (i.e., the closest boots on the ground telling). I think this book is right there with Band of Brothers; although Beyond Valor focuses on the Soldiers' experiences and therefore lacks the overall scope of the European Theater of War. The author does attempt to put the oral histories in chronological order. But, this shouldn't be the basis of one's understanding of WWII, rather it should be supplemental to understand the true cost of battle and the aftermath from the survivors' perspectives.

Scott Brick is a fine narrator and I take nothing away from him, but I would've have preferred this audio book be narrated by multiple readers to be more associative with the many different oral histories presented. The narrator attempts to distinguish the voice of the author from that of the Soldiers, but after about two, all the Soldiers' voices merge to one. I had no problem listening to this book at 3x speed.

Seriously this book will now be required reading for my Soldiers. Anyone who claims to love the military and military members, must read this and hear from those Soldiers rather than just the historians discussing the strategic and tactical operations, the Soldiers are the ones who lived it.

Airborne!

3 people found this helpful

Tremendous men, but an author with his own agenda

This is an odd book. There was a project several decades ago to capture the stories of our WW2 participants before they were all gone. Thousands of interviews were conducted. O'Donnell apparently tapped into that body of work and collected the interviews from Rangers and Paratroopers. But he didn't just pick the stories of significant events, or significant incidents of hardship or valor, he picked stories that described social issues that he wanted on the skyline.

There's many dozen vignettes in the book. To my very great surprise most of them have some reference to an American committing, what in today's world would be considered, a war crime. I've read an awful lot of WW2 non-fiction first person accounts, and talked to many participants. My grandfathers, their brothers and male cousins were all in the war. I'm a former Marine and former Army Ranger and I've been involved in shooting matches in several continents. I have a decent feel for war in general and WW2 in particular. O'Donnell, by making sure that American war crimes were mentioned again and again, far out of proportion with how often they actually occurred, wanted very much for everyone to know that Americans were responsible for reprehensible acts.

O'Donnell also spent a lot of time on the one black Airborne Bn, the 555th, I think they were. Not because the 555th participants had stories that were a logical fit with the book's purported subject matter, but because he wanted to highlight American's miserable treatment of blacks. Sure, this was a transitional time and we were getting our collective head's out of our asses re. tolerating blacks, jews, etc. unlike much of the world that still hasn't, but the inclusion of the 555th stories were not about valor on the battlefields of WW2. The stories of the mistreatment of the 555th belong in a different book.

2 people found this helpful

You can listen to this one repeatedly

What did you love best about Beyond Valor?

The tie in of an historical narrative of an event,then followed by the oral history of one particular participant or several participants really made this a fascinating listen. You get the overview and whether the event was successful or not and then get the story from the ground level blow by blow instead of the a General's overview.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Scott Brick never fails to bring the book and story and the characters to life

Any additional comments?

I keep this book on my iphone or ipod and listen to it frequently in my car while driving; and have listened to the same passages and vignettes over and over. Each time the story seems new because more details come out

6 people found this helpful

No War Can Compares

If you ask a history buff on what they have on World War I and II, it may shock you on the list of books that they have in their library regarding these events. There is a subculture among us that seek out every books that has been written on the World Wars. It's more than a genre or a hobby for many of us. Our fascination on these wars are almost like an addiction that we can't stop. We are always looking for next read to please our minds with infinite information.

For example, many of us wished that we can time travel back during that era on what it was like to live through the war.

"Beyond Valor" is another book that has been cataloged in my library for future reference on U.S. Army Ranger Battalions and Airborne. Personal stories from the men who fought in the air and the ground is some of the most excellent interviews that has been documented. Some might say that their stories lack in details. This is true for many of our Veterans that have fought in all wars. They only gives us snippets of their past on what it was like to be on the battlegrounds. This is my favorite part of this genre because we will never know the full scope in depth on what it is like to go to war, unless we are on the front lines.

No matter how much I read on this subject, there is always a personal mystery left behind at every last page. That is why I keep reading on the World Wars. Modern wars bores me because we are all connected and the information is available during the actual combat. There is no style of writing when reading about any modern wars. It's reproduction from news outlets and social media.

No war can compares to these World Wars because each novels, books, interviews and articles that I have read has compassion for their comrades.

1 person found this helpful

Astounding.

Until you've heard these experiences by the men that were there you really don't have any concept. let's hope that this book at least helps bring them peace and help bring peace to the world

1 person found this helpful

Beyond Valor.

Excellent Book.A great Book about the Korean War and the hardships these Vets endured. I would recommend this book to anyone thats interested in American history or War.

2 people found this helpful

Great read

This was an excellent audio book. The history overview was wonderful. The things these men went through. They truly gave so much for our freedom and the history is disappearing as we lose more of these vets every year.

3 people found this helpful

War is hell

In WWII, it was required to defend Democracy from the evil conquest of hitler's third Reich.

Amazing stories<br />

We don't think of it enough or properly appreciate the terrible sacrifices made for our freedom. This should be required reading for all high school students.