Stephen Ambrose was a great writer but he also made for great television as well as this clip shows. I loved his deep husky manly voice, so rare among men nowadays but then I heard that this might have partly been due to his chain smoking habit.
Stephen Ambrose was a great writer but he also made for great television as well as this clip shows. I loved his deep husky manly voice, so rare among men nowadays but then I heard that this might have partly been due to his chain smoking habit.
Off the subject, I recently finished 'D-Day' and 'Citizen Soldiers' and, as a major WW2 history fanatic, I gotta say that Ambrose is the best writer I have ever read on the subject.
On this video, I agree with everything he says. It is sad how society has become so desensitized to all the sex and sleaziness that makes up so much of the media these days. Now I'm no prude, but there is a time and place for it and in the public eye is not the place.
I was impressed with Stephen Ambrose's knowledge and comments from the World at War series, his best being
"The most important single result (from WWII)is that the nazis were crushed, the militarists in Japan were crushed, the fascists in Italy were crushed, and surely justice has never been better served"
His best line from any of his books is where he talks about the 101st Airborne and the Battle of the Bulge. I'm going to paraphrase but basically at the onset of the battle when a lot of other Americans were fleeing in terror from the resurgent "supermen" of the Wermacht the men of the 101st surged forward knowing they had beaten the so-called supermen before and they would beat them again. And they did.
@ShaBiCaoNiMa Really? Because he playgarized several authors in several of his books, at least six. He lied about his relationship with Eisenhower and said he spent hundreds of hours talking to him when it was really five. he made up quotations in some of his books. He has a history of this going back years. Read "Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian if you really want a good history of world war 2, or John Keegan's "The Second World War". From what I have read Ambrose is not the best source.
@Joker3797 Haha. I wrote that over 2 years ago now. I still think Ambrose is a great writer, though hearing about the plagiarism claims was a little disappointing. At the end of the day, I still find his books to be a lot more approachable to the every day man than some of the textbook like works, such as the Penguin History Of The Second World War, which are chockablock full of facts, but incorporated little to no first hand accounts, which is what makes Band Of Brothers et al so good...
@Joker3797 I own both of the first two books you referred to, though I've yet to read them. Like I stated in my original post, I am a WWII history fanatic, so it would be a little sad if I didn't know who Heinz Guderian was. Right now, I am reading David Stevenson's '1914-1918', but will make a point of reading 'Achtung Panzer' next. '1914-1918' is shaping up to be a bit of a slog, though, being that it is another Penguin History! Have you read 'Beyond Band Of Brothers'?! The real deal, man!
@ShaBiCaoNiMa lol im sorry dude i did not see the date of your post. No I have not read Band of Brothers, I should though, lol. My favorite part of the war is the Eastern front though, but I will still check it out. How is the Stevenson book, cuz I have John Keegan's "The First World War" and wanted to know if I should get the Stevenson book as well. Just a side note, but am i the only one that goes out and buys books all the time but does not read them until months after i have gotten them?
@Joker3797 Ha! You should see MY collection. So many books, so little time!!! I had wanted the 2 part Hitler biography, by Ian Kershaw (which is supposed to be the best one) for ages, then bought it 6 months ago, and STILL haven't read it. I also want to get my hands on Churchill's six-volume history of WWII, which is also supposed to be awesome. I have only just started '1914-1918'. It's very factual, so far. I also have Keegan's one on my shopping list. His Second World War is on my shelf.
@ShaBiCaoNiMa I know man, i figure you should get them while you can. One that is on my shopping list is Rommel's memoirs, Manstein's memoirs, and William L. Shirer's( I might have misspelled that) history of Nazi Germany. I am reading Guderian's memoirs right now and i have to say it is amazing the detailed first hand accounts of the war that he gives, especially the war in the Soviet Union. lol it is funny you mention Churchill's books on WW2, in Guderian's memoirs when he is talking about
@ShaBiCaoNiMa the Anschluss with Austria, he calls out churchill on a statement he makes in his book. He says that Churchill was wrong in describing the Austrian reaction to the occupation as negative when it was positive. Anyways, it is a good book , Panzer Leader.
@Joker3797 That's why one must read as much and from as many sources as one can, in order to get a broader understanding of the thing. Not just referring to WWII history, but ALL things! :)
@Joker3797 Man, I remembered our conversation below from so many months back. Just finished David Stevenson's '1914-1918'. Great book, but hard going. So much detail, hard to stay focused (I read 8 books in-between XD). I recommend it, if you haven't already got it, but put some time aside to read it, as it's heavy reading! I've just started 'Achtung! Panzer' today. Will probably finish that by next week, or so. Will let you know my thoughts.
@ShaBiCaoNiMa lol im been meaning to get Achtung! Panzer ever since i finished Panzer Leader. I just got done with 60 alternate scenarios of WW2, so now i have finally gotten to Keegan's WW1, bout 100 pages in. I may check out "1914-1918" after reading Keegan's WW1, which i could use as an "introductory book", lol, a 400 page introductory book.
@Joker3797 I finished 'Achtung! Panzer' a couple of days ago. Not bad. Fairly technical, though light reading, compared with '1914-1918'! I have finally started the Ian Kershaw 'Hitler' biography. About 60 pages in. Am hooked. Can already tell that this is going to be the book of the year for me. Spellbinding!
What is this "60 alternate scenarios of WW2" you speak of? Sounds interesting.
@ShaBiCaoNiMa I saw the hitler biography at Barnes and Noble, it was long ,lol. The "60 alternate scenarios" is a large collection of essays written by professional historians on "what if" scenarios. Its on amazon.com and is also called "If the allies had fallen".
this guy made up alot of shit, plagiarized....
he's not a credible historian by today's standards
HandzarMitraljezac 1 year ago
Stephen Ambrose is my fourth cousin, no joke. I just recently found out he is related to me.
bauren123 3 years ago
Stephen Ambrose was a great writer but he also made for great television as well as this clip shows. I loved his deep husky manly voice, so rare among men nowadays but then I heard that this might have partly been due to his chain smoking habit.
OutOnBailNow 3 years ago
Stephen Ambrose was a great writer but he also made for great television as well as this clip shows. I loved his deep husky manly voice, so rare among men nowadays but then I heard that this might have partly been due to his chain smoking habit.
OutOnBailNow 3 years ago
Off the subject, I recently finished 'D-Day' and 'Citizen Soldiers' and, as a major WW2 history fanatic, I gotta say that Ambrose is the best writer I have ever read on the subject.
On this video, I agree with everything he says. It is sad how society has become so desensitized to all the sex and sleaziness that makes up so much of the media these days. Now I'm no prude, but there is a time and place for it and in the public eye is not the place.
ShaBiCaoNiMa 4 years ago
i totally agree, u have read band of brothers also i assume to.. such a good book
Sheeut 4 years ago 2
I was impressed with Stephen Ambrose's knowledge and comments from the World at War series, his best being
"The most important single result (from WWII)is that the nazis were crushed, the militarists in Japan were crushed, the fascists in Italy were crushed, and surely justice has never been better served"
RICKD790 3 years ago
yeah i agree...he was very straight talking in the World@war interview...a very good communicator
spartak95 3 years ago 2
His best line from any of his books is where he talks about the 101st Airborne and the Battle of the Bulge. I'm going to paraphrase but basically at the onset of the battle when a lot of other Americans were fleeing in terror from the resurgent "supermen" of the Wermacht the men of the 101st surged forward knowing they had beaten the so-called supermen before and they would beat them again. And they did.
olivemike81 3 years ago 5
Nice one Mike! I must get round to reading some of his books!
RICKD790 3 years ago
Read Undaunted Courage about Lewis and Clarke.
olivemike81 3 years ago 3
@ShaBiCaoNiMa Really? Because he playgarized several authors in several of his books, at least six. He lied about his relationship with Eisenhower and said he spent hundreds of hours talking to him when it was really five. he made up quotations in some of his books. He has a history of this going back years. Read "Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian if you really want a good history of world war 2, or John Keegan's "The Second World War". From what I have read Ambrose is not the best source.
Joker3797 1 year ago
@Joker3797 Haha. I wrote that over 2 years ago now. I still think Ambrose is a great writer, though hearing about the plagiarism claims was a little disappointing. At the end of the day, I still find his books to be a lot more approachable to the every day man than some of the textbook like works, such as the Penguin History Of The Second World War, which are chockablock full of facts, but incorporated little to no first hand accounts, which is what makes Band Of Brothers et al so good...
ShaBiCaoNiMa 1 year ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa also read "Barbarossa: The Russian German conflict 1941-1945" by Alan Clark for a well written history of the Eastern Front.
Joker3797 1 year ago
@Joker3797 I own both of the first two books you referred to, though I've yet to read them. Like I stated in my original post, I am a WWII history fanatic, so it would be a little sad if I didn't know who Heinz Guderian was. Right now, I am reading David Stevenson's '1914-1918', but will make a point of reading 'Achtung Panzer' next. '1914-1918' is shaping up to be a bit of a slog, though, being that it is another Penguin History! Have you read 'Beyond Band Of Brothers'?! The real deal, man!
ShaBiCaoNiMa 1 year ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa lol im sorry dude i did not see the date of your post. No I have not read Band of Brothers, I should though, lol. My favorite part of the war is the Eastern front though, but I will still check it out. How is the Stevenson book, cuz I have John Keegan's "The First World War" and wanted to know if I should get the Stevenson book as well. Just a side note, but am i the only one that goes out and buys books all the time but does not read them until months after i have gotten them?
Joker3797 1 year ago
@Joker3797 Ha! You should see MY collection. So many books, so little time!!! I had wanted the 2 part Hitler biography, by Ian Kershaw (which is supposed to be the best one) for ages, then bought it 6 months ago, and STILL haven't read it. I also want to get my hands on Churchill's six-volume history of WWII, which is also supposed to be awesome. I have only just started '1914-1918'. It's very factual, so far. I also have Keegan's one on my shopping list. His Second World War is on my shelf.
ShaBiCaoNiMa 1 year ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa I know man, i figure you should get them while you can. One that is on my shopping list is Rommel's memoirs, Manstein's memoirs, and William L. Shirer's( I might have misspelled that) history of Nazi Germany. I am reading Guderian's memoirs right now and i have to say it is amazing the detailed first hand accounts of the war that he gives, especially the war in the Soviet Union. lol it is funny you mention Churchill's books on WW2, in Guderian's memoirs when he is talking about
Joker3797 1 year ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa the Anschluss with Austria, he calls out churchill on a statement he makes in his book. He says that Churchill was wrong in describing the Austrian reaction to the occupation as negative when it was positive. Anyways, it is a good book , Panzer Leader.
Joker3797 1 year ago
@Joker3797 That's why one must read as much and from as many sources as one can, in order to get a broader understanding of the thing. Not just referring to WWII history, but ALL things! :)
ShaBiCaoNiMa 1 year ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa Very true.
Joker3797 1 year ago
@Joker3797 Man, I remembered our conversation below from so many months back. Just finished David Stevenson's '1914-1918'. Great book, but hard going. So much detail, hard to stay focused (I read 8 books in-between XD). I recommend it, if you haven't already got it, but put some time aside to read it, as it's heavy reading! I've just started 'Achtung! Panzer' today. Will probably finish that by next week, or so. Will let you know my thoughts.
ShaBiCaoNiMa 9 months ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa lol im been meaning to get Achtung! Panzer ever since i finished Panzer Leader. I just got done with 60 alternate scenarios of WW2, so now i have finally gotten to Keegan's WW1, bout 100 pages in. I may check out "1914-1918" after reading Keegan's WW1, which i could use as an "introductory book", lol, a 400 page introductory book.
Joker3797 9 months ago
@Joker3797 I finished 'Achtung! Panzer' a couple of days ago. Not bad. Fairly technical, though light reading, compared with '1914-1918'! I have finally started the Ian Kershaw 'Hitler' biography. About 60 pages in. Am hooked. Can already tell that this is going to be the book of the year for me. Spellbinding!
What is this "60 alternate scenarios of WW2" you speak of? Sounds interesting.
ShaBiCaoNiMa 8 months ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa I saw the hitler biography at Barnes and Noble, it was long ,lol. The "60 alternate scenarios" is a large collection of essays written by professional historians on "what if" scenarios. Its on amazon.com and is also called "If the allies had fallen".
Joker3797 8 months ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa lol i have to put them on my list and make my way to them.
Joker3797 1 year ago
@ShaBiCaoNiMa just as a side note, you do know who Heinz Guderian was right?
Joker3797 1 year ago
@Joker3797 Stalingrad, by Antony Beevor is kick-ass, also, and Erik Durschmied's 'Hinge' series is out of this world!
ShaBiCaoNiMa 1 year ago
Great writer! Wish I could have met him before he passed away.
larma7 4 years ago
Date, please?
stevevandien 4 years ago