If you have been reading my book reviews, you already know that I have been reading about the various men who served in Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. They are better known as the Band of Brothers. Each book shares new insights into their lives and the conditions in which they fought. The book, We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers, written by Marcus Brotherton, takes a look at a new set of members of Easy Company. These are men who were not emphasized in other books. Read more ( )

As a huge fan of the HBO television series, I couldn't pass this book up when I saw it. It's a great companion to that series. The book consists of interviews of soldiers that were in the 101st Airborne Division, Easy Company, some profiled in the series and others who weren't but were still part of it all.
I found the way the author presented the book very interesting. He lets the soldiers tell the stories of their lives before, during and after the war. It gives an honest look at how America reacted to the war and the great duty they felt to defend the country. Some of the stories are happy and some are sad, some are humorous, others are tragic. Especially touching are the stories in the epilogue written by family members of three soldiers who were there, Herbert Sobel (whom I have a new-found respect for), Robert Burr Smith and George Luz Sr.
Also included in this book are wonderfully comprehensive and informative appendices featuring Easy Company's Campaigns, their placement, lists of members and those killed in action, and especially helpful while reading this book was the summary of contributors' involvement in campaigns chart. The many photos in the book helped to give the stories of these men and what they faced a deep realism, that this wasn't just a part of history but was actually something that real, regular guys went through. The horrors they must have dealt with during and after the war, and what they carry with them now must be tremendous. Although many of the soldiers say in their own words that they are not heroes, in my eyes they are. ( )