Week 1 Post B

For post B I thought I would talk about the author Donald R. Burgett. First off I just have to say that I’m really enjoying the book because of his attention to detail and I quote, “I wrote this account shortly after World War II while it was still fresh in my mind. Then I set it aside in a cardboard box, where it remained until just recently. It is not the time-fogged memories of an old paratrooper, but rather the recollections of a young man just home from the war transferred to crisp, clean paper from the time yellowed pages in which he first wrote them” (xi). So like I was saying because of this the book is very detailed from the setting to the men in his platoon and even the vehicles and other things.

Now into the actual book, Donald writes the book not like this is a old, old event but as if it just happened yesterday so there’s a unique feeling to it as you read it. Also he makes it interesting because it isn’t just a book with a timeline per se but it has his reactions and even his emotions to certain things like when they are getting reinforcements for their wounded he talks about this guy Speer who joins his group and he comments, “I didn’t like him when I first saw him. He was too short, too friendly, and he was homely” (10). He later goes on to explain how Speer was too willing to do the tasks assigned to him and how he never complained and it’s things like these little details that Donald puts thoroughly throughout that really catches the readers attention and keeps them hooked. He is an excellent writer with not only historical events and facts but also a personal and emotional side to the book as well which makes it a stupendous read.