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| The Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich | 
 enlarge | Author: David Kenyon Webster
Creator: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Category: Book
List Price: £25.95
Buy Used: £12.40
You Save: £13.55 (52%)
New (12) from £12.80
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 420148
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 0807119016
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.542142
EAN: 9780807119013
ASIN: 0807119016
Publication Date: June 1994
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Ships via fast, Global Priority Air Mail from the US - Should arrive within 7-10 days - Crisp, clean, unread hardcover with medium shelfwear to the dustjacket and a remainder mark to one edge. may have very minor tear to edges of dustjacket. NICE!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 David Webster October 7, 2008
I have read several of the books related to Band of Brothers (not all) and have found this one the best so far because it was written in a way unaffected by the fame that the Ambrose book & series brought. It talks & tells about soldiers never mentioned in the series and gives a differant view and angle to several of the stories within the series. I don't think David Webester ever claimed to be a hero and some of the book hardly leaves him in a great light, but its honest at least! I just wish he had served at Bastogne (he missed it due to a wound in Holland) to relay his angle on those events. Must read if your a B of B fan.
 Good book, leaves a bad taste. September 23, 2008
While I agree with many of the other reviewers here that this is a good first hand account of a young soldier's experience of WW2. I cannot, however, agree with their sentiments that this book changes the portrayal of Webster in the Ambrose book and subsequent mini series or portrays him as a soldier of any distinction.
The writing here is that of a young man who wanted to be a writer and so viewed events through that prism. He appears to be very descriptive, honest and have very detailed recollections based on his letters and journals.
However in describing himself so honestly he reveals a flawed protagonist; he describes his wound (when shot) in terms of causing minimal damage but providing maximum escape from combat, he lets a fellow soldier who cant swim go on a water-bourne patrol in his stead and generally avoids putting himself out at all. He appears to look down on most of his fellow paratroopers and relates with glee deliberately holding up the rest of the company because a superior officer told him to hurry up.
Having read several other accounts by E company soldiers this seems at odds with the 'band of brothers' attitudes that prevailed in that company.
If you read the excellent "Easy Company Soldier" by Don Malarkey (who saw more front line combat than any other man in E) you begin to see how the other men felt about Webster and how they regard him in hind-sight.
So here we have a well written book by a man who portrays himself in a fairly damning light, I appreciated the writing but came away not thinking much of the subject, and that is at odds with my other experiences reading books of this type.
 Very good, but flags a bit towards the end January 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I generally agree with the other reviews as the book's easy to read and flows very much like a novel (I wonder a little how accurate it is - There's a lot of detail in there that seem like they must have been 'dramatic reconstruction', especially in terms of dialogue, which to be fair is what helps the flow - but I'm nit picking here).
That said, it gets slow and repetitive towards the end and could be a good 50-100 pages shorter in my view.
That said, a very good counterpoint to BoB and better, in my view, than Dick Winter's Beyond Band of Brothers which simply seemed to retread to Band of Brothers.
Better than Band of Brothers December 6, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The day I read Band of Brothers, my life changed forever. My newfound obsession with WW2 led me to many other detailed accounts of the war- None of which begin to compare with the blunt realism and honesty of David Webster's emotionally charged memoirs. Parachute Infantry spares the reader the usual, patriotic, Hollywood image war, and presents the true account of the average soldiers life. An absolute MUST HAVE for the casual ww2 reader, and for the hardcore enthusiast, especially if you have read Band of Brothers.
war from the soldiers point of view October 24, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
After Band of Brothers, reading this book gave me a greater insight into the life of a solder during world war two. Webster writes immediately after the war, and so has yet to comprehend the 'bigger picture' of what he had achieved. There are no reflections on the nature of war, nor how the conflict shaped the future of Europe. What you get is an honest account of life on the front line. After this book I went back and read Band of Brothers. Both should be required reading for any one interested in the history of war, and how history is 're-written' by the passage of time
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