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Company Commander

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Company Commander

Written by: Charles B. MacDonald
Narrated by: Tristan Morris
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About this listen

As a newly commissioned captain of a veteran US Army regiment, MacDonald's first combat experience was war at its most hellish - the Battle of the Bulge.

In this plainspoken but eloquent narrative, we live each minute at MacDonald's side, sharing in all of combat's misery, terror, and drama. How this green commander gains his men's loyalty in the snows of war-torn Europe is one of the most unforgettable war stories of all time.

©1947 Charles B. MacDonald (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Military War US Army
All stars
Most relevant  
Official US Army Documentarian/Historian Charles B. MacDonald writes capably and with an unmatched sense of pacing. As a newly-appointed Captain leading Companies "I" and "G" of 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment - his recollections of frontline life at the Battle Of The Bulge and beyond paint a jawdropping picture where even lulls in action are engrossing. The moment-by-moment descriptions of fighting while under unrelenting attack & artillery bombardment are legitimately pulse-pounding and the emotions (anxious exhaustion, overwhelming despair, abject terror, driving fury) are palpable.
That said,
• MacDonald completely ignores strategy & goals (the battles are tactically intuitive but lack context),
• the writing is occasionally far too artistic (describing the sun-glint highlites in a  soldier's hair as the breeze ruffles his dead locks is unnecessarily "flowery"), and
• for some reason MacDonald censors expletives from the dialogue ("Panicked, the sergeant screamed at me: 'They blew up the f'n latrine building, Sir!!'"). The loss of realism is striking.. just say "fuck", Charles.

The narration from Tristan Morris is likewise "adequate". The reading is definitely professional - with great diction, timbre, cadence, and tone.. supported by exemplary production standards - but the overall experience is unspectacular. Morris actually repeats sentences a couple of times.

Taken in toto, I rate 'Company Commander' worthy of 7 stars out of 10 (it would be fair to consider it a PG-13 version of 'Band Of Brothers' with weaker character development). If you can get it as part of the 'Plus' catalogue (as I did) - definitely give it a listen..
If they were to ask for a Credit, however, you should consider other options.

'Passable' WWII Memoir

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