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Summary: Reality of Life on the Front
Review: A great read for anybody interested in wanting to know what it was like to fight the Germans at the tactical level. Good details, no dull moments in this book. The strength of this book, is the realistic honest, non-hollywood anecdotes, by Lt. Wilson, ie, men falling off tanks, life in a foxhole, the mistakes that cost the lives of fellow soldiers and plenty other details you've never heard or read about unless you were there. You won't want to put this book down, because each page brings new dangers to Lt. Wilson and his men.
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Summary: Great Book
Review: A must read for all WW2 freaks. I read this book in a week and i am normally not an active reader, be prepaired to feel like you are there, would make a great movie. I have read the Band Of Brothers book which i would give a 4 but this gets 5 BIG stars
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Summary: A very gripping tale of small unit combat in WWII.
Review: A very well-written and exciting story. It tries very hard to give a good account of the way it was in the last year of the war, especially 'The Battle of the Bulge. The only thing that I did not like was that Mr. Wilson seems to gloss over some of the details, most probably in an effort to save the reader from some of the horror he faced.
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Summary: First class account of an infantryman in the ETO.
Review: Author George Wilson was a replacement assigned to F Company of the 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division on 7/12/44. Joining the only 5 men left of the original 40 of the 2nd platoon, he was soon caught up in the breakout at St. Lo. The action quickly moves beyond Paris to the heartbreak of the Hurtgen Forest. This is the finest telling of that engagement this reviewer has read. No winter wear, nearly constant and merciless artillery and mortar fire, murderous tree bursts and epidemic trench foot were only part of their suffering. On the morning of 11/30, his company started out with 140 riflemen, two medics, 3 noncoms, and 5 officers. At day's end, they had lost the medics, all noncoms, 4 officers and 90 riflemen. By the next day, there were only a total of 12 men left to the company after reaching their objective, the Cologne Plains. Thoroughly decimated and only partially reinforced, and in a near final irony, they were relieved and given R and R in the Ardennes only days before the start of the Bulge. Unbelievably, the battle weary men of the 4th Div. stopped the Germans cold in their section and managed to set the southern boundary to the 75-mile breakthrough. George Wilson was never given the decorations or the field promotion he had been promised.
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Summary: In the boots of an infantryman from Normandy to Berlin
Review: George Wilson landed at Normandy on D-Day, fought his way inland through France, crossed the Siegfried Line, and saw the fall of Berlin. Of his company, he was the only one who was there from the invasion to the surrender. All of the others were either killed or wounded. Mr. Wilson's book places you under his helmet, witnessing tree-bursts from German artillery, midnight patrols in pitch-black darkness where every sound is a gun being aimed at you, and the bombing of an Allied tank convoy by American P-47s. You are the one who nearly steps on a land mine in a pasture in France. At the end of the book, Mr. Wilson does a gives a bit of his philosophy of combat which I believe is pretty darn good. I won't spoil it for you - you'll have to read it for yourself - but its the reason why our boys are sent overseas to fight. Overall, a good read that you may have trouble setting down.
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Summary: I felt I was there!
Review: George Wilson tells a tale that many of us have wondered what it was like to have fought in the 2nd world war. He is vivid in every detail. He gives chilling accounts of front line life, the battles, the men who gave up their lives, the men who cracked under pressure. He also gave the Germans a look of humanity at times. The battle scarred Germans gave up pretty easy in some cases, and most of the times, they fought with such vigor and violence it blew me away. I cried at some points in the book. I felt sick in others. I could have sworn I hear mortar shells flying over my head, and men crying for help. He gave accounts of men doing the right thing and the wrong thing, and the wrong thing in war usually leads up to death ... and a lot of wrong stuff that was done caused some men their lives. George Wilson did a wonderful job as a solider, Lt., in the second world war, and a brilliant way of bringing the war to us. Thank you George for the book and the fighting you did.
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Summary: Another Well Written ETO Memoir
Review: George Wilson was a replacement office assigned to the 4th infantry division who fought in Normandy, Northern France, the Hurtgen Forest and the Bulge before being wounded in the spring of '45. This book is highly descriptive of front line soldiering in the ETO with vivid battle scenes. There is a good balance of analysis with action. It is not as breezily written as Burgett's books but doesn't feel "literary" ala' Brothers Karamazov as Roll me Over by Ganttner tends to feel. I enjoyed every page and was sad to finish it. If you love reading 1st person narratives of combat in World War Two then buy this book.
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Summary: From Normandy to Berlin in the boots of an infantryman
Review: George Wilson was one of the fellows that waded ashore at Normandy and fought his way up the slopes into France. Of his company, he was the only survivor that made it all the way to Berlin. As he fights his way across Europe, you'll witness heroism, cowardice, stupidity, and brilliance in the face of battle. This is singularly THE best infantry-level book I've ever read, and I don't normally read this subject area (I prefer air combat). Overall, a good book for reading on vacation, at home, or anytime when you have a moment to spare. But be warned - once you start you won't want to put it down.
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Summary: This story needs to be told on the big screen!
Review: Great story and one Hollywood should tell. The book is basically a screen play. Excellent account of WWII and a must read by anyone interested in the war. One of my favorite books.
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Summary: Made me feel I was there!
Review: He must have seen more terror and emotional stress than he said he had. Overall a good book with a good first person acount of what GI's in Europe took first hand and head on. I think that Lt.Wilson should have gotton more praise than he did.
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