Men of Bastogne

by Fred MacKenzie

World War 2 at the BATTLE OF THE BULGE.

Genres: World War II, History

Paperback

First published December 28, 1977

Reviews

[Tionne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I found it, small and tattered, and shoved in a shelf at the local library. It looked forlorn and forgotten, and it hadn't been checked out in a while based on the stamped envelope in the back. What a find! Fred was the only newspaper correspondent in the siege of Bastogne, and he writes about the experience. No mention is made of himself(well, not directly), it is merely an account of the participants and the battles that ensued. Lots of detail and names, divisions etc. A historian's dream! The book really takes off in the Fifth Chapter, which is when things start to get serious for the men in the Ardennes. Chapter Six had me choked up, he describes a shell hit on a particular building that five men shared. Four of them were killed instantly. The fifth one was busy typing in the CP when the shell hit. Turns out, this was Fred himself. He never mentions it, General McAuliffe of the "Nuts!" fame mentions in the intro that the man who survived due to this chance of fate was actually Fred. The description of the German demand for surrender and the reply "Nuts!" was hilarious. This is a great book, and I bought a copy off of Amazon after I finished it. I hope someone reprints it, it is too great to let the book simply fall apart.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many names squeezed into too small a space to differentiate between the participants and making the book not only a little confusing, but a real chore to read. The map at the front is helpful, however. All in all, other books about the Battle of the Bulge exist which are much more interesting to read.

[Garrett Nemitz]

Eh