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Beyond Valor: World War II Ranger and Airborne Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat | 
 enlarge | Author: Patrick K. O'donnell
Creators: Ron Mclarty, Full Cast
Publisher: Random House Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $1.61
You Save: $24.34 (94%)
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Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 1727563
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 055352805X
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5421
EAN: 9780553528053
ASIN: 055352805X
Publication Date: February 27, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
The success of Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation has sparked a renewed interest in books about World War II and the people who fought in it. Patrick K. O'Donnell maintains, however, that behind those official histories and carefully crafted memoirs lies a "hidden war"--"a bottled up, buried version shielded even from family members because many of the memories are too painful to discuss." In Beyond Valor, O'Donnell brings this hidden war to the surface, allowing men from the elite forces to tell their own stories, thus creating a fascinating combat history of WWII. O'Donnell introduces readers to some of the greatest of the greatest generation--men such as Robert Kinney of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, wounded by a mortar at Anzio ("it tore my fanny open, took a big chunk of meat out of there--I could afford that"). While in the hospital, wounded members of the regiment were asked by one of their officers to return to the front: We all went down, about forty of us in casts, bandages, arms in slings and everything. He said, "Your buddies up there are catching hell and we've got to go back if we can. You don't have to, we're not going to order you, but we're looking for volunteers." We said, "Hell, we'll go." We had just the best-spirited bunch of scrappers you ever saw. There are also stories about compassion in the midst of carnage. Albert Hassenzahl of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was seriously injured on a drop during the Normandy invasion. While waiting to be rescued, the wind blew his blanket off him. A man on an adjacent stretcher reached over and carefully tucked the blanket in around Hassenzahl. The other man was a German POW. "I didn't say a word to him, but I was able to move my head a little and looked over at him ... neither of us said a word, but mentally I might have said 'thank you' with my eyes and he might have said 'you're welcome' with his." Though it will certainly appeal to them, O'Donnell insists that Beyond Valor is not aimed at war buffs--it's for the soldiers themselves. "My work has been one of preservation, done in gratitude for a generation that sacrificed so much." By sharing these stories, O'Donnell has helped to preserve and honor their memory. --Sunny Delaney
Product Description
Four cassettes, 6 hrs.
performances by Ron McLarty and cast
Historian Patrick K. O'Donnell, the founder of the award-winning Web site The Drop Zone (www.thedropzone.org) draws from over 600 interviews with veterans to weave together the full personal account of WWII's elite troops and tell the combat history of the war in the men's own words.
The book covers the entire European theatre, from North Africa to Normandy to Germany. Through these eyewitness accounts, listeners experience the infamous fighting on Omaha Beach, in the Hurtgen Forest, and at the Battle of the Bulge.
These intensely personal stories are often horrific tales of best friends killed, of whole units decimated, and of the madness of wartime atrocities. Given a rare chance to speak out soldiers have unburdened themselves of fifty years' pent-up emotion. The result is both shocking and moving.
"BEYOND VALOR is a great war book...It reminds us that wars are fought by men on the ground, not in the war rooms of highest headquarters."
—John S. D. Eisenhower, author of The Bitter Woods: The Battle of the Bulge
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
 Beyond Valor August 10, 2008
Leslie E. Todd (Holiday, Fl. USA)
What a great book! It was wonderful to see my Uncle in this book, and all the brave men that served with him. Uncle Ray never talked about his experience, so it was great to see what he,and all the men went thru. Very heartfelt and touching. Thanks to the author for openening my eyes, to the horrors of war!
Beyond Valor September 15, 2007
Louis Gregory Urbas (Cleveland , Ohio)
I have read all four of Patrick O'Donnell's books. Each and everyone of them will touch your heart, especially if you have had a loved one who fought in WW2 or in Iraq.
Beyond Valor should be required reading for all Americans. We need to know the sacrifices that many have made for Freedom in order to truly appreciate all that we have in the United States.
 Heartfelt Emotions February 9, 2007
Arvie McDaniel (Italy)
This book is a novel idea and a good break from the regular "play-by-play" recounting of WWII action that seems to have become the norm. Here you will find the scene set by the author (for example, Mr. O'Donnell describes the lead up to the Normandy invasion) and then the veterans tell their tales. What really struck me was the multiple stories of dealing with what we now know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Some of these men dealt with their personal problems from the war for more than fifty years with little or no help. What price for freedom?
 detailed, but fractured August 25, 2005
WWIIreview (USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
One of the best features of this book is the campaign map and summary at the start of each chapter. The soldier's position on the battle map is provided. I enjoyed reading the detailed war stories, some not told elsewhere.
However, I found the book read a bit like a web site. Instead of clicking on a link, you turn the page and some items are rehashed for you. I feel the editor could have done a bit better putting some flow to the stories. Some of the stories skip around a lot in time order, which can be confusing. I only need to see "CP [Command Post]" edited once, just the first time it appears, not in every story. I would read a story, then half way through I would find out the speaker was actually the unit's commanding officer! Would have been better to identify each person's rank / role clearly up front before getting into the details.
Despite these editing / structural annoyances, I learned a lot and enjoyed the veteran's candor.
[...]
beyond valor July 22, 2005
Bruce K. Bangerter (Layton, UT USA)
From the horses mouth is how we define a direct source. These stories, from those that experienced first hand, continually remind us how thankful we need to be for those who have fought for us, and those who are fighting for us, as well as those who will yet fight for us and our freedom.
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