Currahee!

A Screaming Eagle at Normandy

By: Donald R. Burgett

Narrated by: David Guion

Seven days in hell

In June 1944, the Allies launched a massive amphibious invasion against Nazi-held France. But under the cover of darkness, a new breed of fighting man leapt from airplanes through a bullet-stitched, tracer-lit sky to go behind German lines. These were the Screaming Eagles of the newly formed 101st Airborne Division. Their job was to strike terror into the Nazi defenders, delay reinforcements, and kill any enemy soldiers they met. In the next seven days, the men of the 101st fought some of the most ferocious close-quarter combat in all of World War II.

Now Donald R. Burgett looks back at the nonstop, nightmarish fighting across body-strewn fields, over enemy-held hedgerows, through blown-out towns and devastated forests. This harrowing you-are-there chronicle captures a baptism by fire of a young Private Burgett, his comrades, and a new air-mobile fighting force that would become a legend of war.©1999 Donald R. Burgett; (P)2001 Random House Inc., Bantam Doubelday Dell Audio Publishing, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"A fascinating tale of personal combat...portrays the courage, endurance, initiative and fighting qualities of an American soldier on a European battlefield of World War II."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"I have read a lot of books on the experience of combat from both World Wars, and this is by a longshot the best. Without qualification."
-- Stephen E. Ambrose (from the Foreword)

A Military Book Club Selection

"Without false heroics, everything is here, man's cruelty and kindness under stress, fear and courage, hope and despair."
-- Life

Also By
Donald R.Burgett Seven Roads To Hell
A screaming eagle at Bastogne "A marvelous book."
-- Stephen E. Ambrose

"A stirring combat memoir."
-- Kirkus Reviews

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WWII Ground-Level D-Day 101st Airborne Account

I could not fathom the topic based on the title, which was intriguing enough by itself (I was expecting an Indian story).
So it was a book of the accounts of an enlisted paratrooper's journey through initial boot camp, airborne school, D-Day, the skirmishes thereafter, and the ending philosophical furlough in England. There were many colorful (and graphic) accounts of encounters with the enemy. Most intriguing for me were the author's personal reactions and opinions (which I assumed were general representations the popular mindsets back then, though with some interesting idiosyncrasies of the author). The book was well written and narrated.

awesome story

needed an audio book to kill some time. read this book a few years ago and noticed parts of the story were deleted from the audio book. would have rated this 5 stars if the story were complete.

excellent book

This is one of the best accounts of WW2 combat. It is written by someone who did it, I saw some of what he saw and heard and felt, fortunately for us words could not describe the full terror.

Best thing I've listened to on Audible

Donald Burgett describes his para training and Normandy fighting in a clear engaging way that makes for an excellent audio book.

Story is abridged

This is from the mass media paper back. Donald Burgett deserves better. Currahee by Donald R Burgett and With the Old Breed by Eugene B Sledge are two of the most legendary, well written, & descriptive books written about World War Two. To chop up Donald Burgett’s account like this is sacrilegious. The unabridged version is as heart pounding and emotional and as close to getting the real horror and comradeship of war as a book could ever get. Just such a shame that audible decided on the butchered version. What’s left here is good but the full version is a priceless version of the turning point of the 2nd world war for the allies and the beginning of the end for the axis. Do better Audible.