Abundance of Valor: Resistance, Survival, and Liberation: 1944-45

by Will Irwin

The operation known as “Market-Garden”—made famous in the book and film A Bridge Too Far —was the largest airborne assault in history up to that time, a high-risk Allied invasion of enemy territory that has become a legend of World War II even as it still invites criticism. Abundance of Valor re-creates for the first time the full adventures of the bold “Jedburgh” paratroopers, whose exploits were equally risky and heroic.


Kicked off on September 17, 1944, Market-Garden was intended to secure crucial bridges in Nazi-occupied Holland by a parachute assault conducted by three Allied airborne divisions. Jedburgh teams—Allied Special Forces—were dropped into the Netherlands to train and use the Dutch resistance in support of the larger operation. Based on new firsthand testimony of survivors and declassified documents, Abundance of Valor concentrates on the three teams that operated farthest behind enemy lines, the nine men whose treacherous missions resulted in deaths, captures, and hairbreadth escapes.


With piercing criticism of the mission’s failure through faulty use of intelligence, Abundance of Valor is a brutally honest and truly inspiring account of fighting men in a noble cause who did their jobs with extraordinary honor and courage.

Genres: History, World War II, Military Fiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Will Irwin retired from the United States Army in January 2000 after a career of more than twenty-eight years, half of that in Special Forces. At his retirement, he was a Lt. Colonel. He now works as a defense contractor.

Reviews

[T. Fowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will Irwin has done an excellent job of tracking down and writing about the experiences of the SOE Jedburgh teams that parachuted into the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden in 1944. He shows how all those involved showed exceptional courage and dedication to duty, perhaps especially Lt Harvey Todd who participated in the fighting at the bridge in Arnhem and later suffered through the long march across Germany as a prisoner of war. I have to pull down the rating somewhat to 3 stars because the book covers too much ground over too many disparate experiences and so loses some impact. The author also at times includes some irrelevant material and stretches out the events of the battle for Arnhem in too much detail, which again takes away from the main focus. It is unfortunate that this minor criticism holds back what is otherwise a very good book about a little-known SOE operation.

[Davina · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story overall. Author made factual errors in larger chronology, especially exactly when Gen. Urquhart went missing. That one glaring error left a bad taste and had me question the accuracy of the remaining narrative. It ads a little to the over researched Arnhem narrative. The Arnhem story is already so well plowed that I wondered if the author needed to provide as much background as he chose to give was really necessary.

[Guy Lancour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading a portion of Operation Market-Garden I didn't know about beforehand. I am continually amazed at the tenacity of men in accomplishing their mission.

[Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't read