Comrades: Brothers, Fathers, Heroes, Sons, Pals

Stephen Ambrose, a well published historian, writes about friendship between men in this short book entitles, "Comrades." In a dozen brief essays, he describes a series of relationships he has either personally experienced, or has researched that he feels are noble. I have often felt that a strong, same-sex friendship is something rare and beautiful that enriches one's life so I rather looked forward to reading this book. I was disappointed.

I found his own story about his youth to be uninteresting. Many of the essays about friendships bound by combat were interesting, but nothing unique as the same information can be found in any decent memoir. I thought the essays, and the resulting comparison between Eisenhower and Nixon were show more fascinating and I personally had never read anyone's attempt at delving into personal friendships among Native Americans. Consequently, although I am sure every reader of this has heard of Crazy Horse, to find out that his life-long friend was a man named He Dog was most fascinating, especially since their personalities were so different.

Friendships are deep. These essays are superficial. But when each essay averages only about 10 pages in length, I suppose they cover about all they can cover. show less

From the man behind "Band of Brothers" comes a reflection on the relationships that bind men together. There are short pieces about the Eisenhower brothers, Nixon, Lewis and Clark and more. I enjoy his writing style and this one is short and packed with interesting info.

This is a collection of historical essays on friendship. Some of the subjects are historical figures that Ambrose has written about at length previously (Lewis and Clark, Eisenhower, Nixon, Crazy Horse, Custer, Easy Company) and some are personal (his brothers, his father, his college friends). This is easy reading for history, more character sketches and anecdotes than anything else, and through it Ambrose does make some interesting points about friendship and character. Some of the chapters are not well focused – the Easy Company in “Band of Brothers” is dealt with rather confusingly and reads more like a postscript to the book. This is worthwhile, but not compelling, reading.

Stephen E. Ambrose, one of the most acclaimed and popular history writers of the 20th century, composes a moving book that examines the bonds formed between men as a result of both family and circumstance. A New York Times best-seller, Comrades looks at the lasting friendships of various men, from Sioux Indians to Ambroses own father and brothers. Reaching back through history, Ambrose describes the special relationship between Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, whose faith and trust in one another helped them survive their famous expedition. He pays homage to brothers, including such famous pairs as Dwight and Milton Eisenhower, and George and Tom Custer.
Comrades will fascinate both history lovers and those interested in the different show more ways men learn to love and trust in shared friendships. show less

This book was about male friendships. The book looked at friendships from the Eisenhower brothers to the author's father and him. It explain how the friendships began. Comrades also explained what they did together. The friendships usually had a big backstory to them, and began in a unusual way. Many of they stories involved more than two people usually three to four.
I gave this book a four start rating. I gave this book a four star rating because it was very interesting, and always had me at a point where i wanted to not stop. A lot of the friendships involved adventure and that drew me in. The book was always having something interesting to talk about. This book was very good and that's why i gave it four stars.

DEN