US Army

  (out of 5 stars)

The story of Darby's Rangers, an elite group of specially-trained US Army soldiers which took part in Operation Torch in Africa, Operation Husky in Sicily, and the invasion of Italy during WWII, is one well-deserving of a comprehensive retelling. This version of that story is largely the result of a first-draft style set of notes and interviews conducted with Bill Darby, the leader of these Rangers, just before his death in combat in Italy.

The experiences of these rangers, from going ashore in North Africa and driving the invasion of Sicily, and on to the difficult and oftej disastrous days in mainland Italy, are fascinating military history, and show how an elite unit can take on and accomplish important missions. However, this version, which features a brief introduction to each chapter by its coauthors providing background and context to Darby's text, remains very raw and does not offer a robust, colorful treatment of the subject.

To be fair, Darby's text was never expected to go to print in this format, and given that it would usually have gone through many revisions and improvements before publication under normal circumstances, the cohesion is reasonable and readable. Still, compared to most popular military history memoirs on the market, it falls flat in many ways. It is a decent read and an important history to take in, but don't expect to be blown away by the pace or narrative. Three stars.

  (out of 5 stars)

Major Dick Winters, now infamously-known thanks to the character portrayal of his experiences in World War II with the 506th Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as depicted in the Stephen Ambrose book and HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers", has collected his thoughts and memories of those experience and written his own book about his role in winning the war in Europe.

For readers familiar with the Band of Brothers tales, Winters' stories will echo many of those same events, with the unique views that are belong to Winters himself. A relatively unassuming but sharp man, Winters portrays his role with humility and explains the war as it looked through his eyes and the eyes of his men.

From Toccoa to Normandy, and Holland to Belgium to Germany, Winters' role in the war was important and inspiring, especially to those who served under him. His frank descriptions of events provide a very nice compliment to the Ambrose versions of Easy Company, much of which relied heavily on Winters himself. Solid writing, engaging storytelling, and crucial events in a major war, Beyond is a strong but breezy read for any military reader. Four stars.