Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II

Book Description

MacDonald's first combat was war at its most hellish--the Battle of the Bulge.

Customer Reviews:

An ex-marine's review.......2007-01-09

An excellent book about the leadership of an army officer during the
crucial battles that ended WWII in Europe. As an untested officer thrown
into the Battle of the Bulge he performed magnificently. His mettle was sorly tested,and his humanity shone through. A very,very good read

Charles B. MacDonald.......2005-11-07

Charles B. MacDonald wrote what it was like for a 21year old to command two infantry companies in WW2. He took notes along the way (I have a page of his notes that survived). They cover the capture of Hombressen in Germany. I also have the original typewriter on which he typed the manuscript of his book. I have trvelled the route he took in 1944/45 and found his descriptions of the various lovcations to be exceedingly accurate in every detail.

Will Cavanagh

A first-rate historians war memoir .......2005-02-17

This book is probably the finest memoir of any junior officer in WW2. Unlike so many war memoirs, MacDonald keeps his focus firmly on his own experiences, and doesn't waste his readers time by speculating on `the big picture' or describing incidents which he didn't personally take part in. He sticks to what life was like for a junior officer in command of an infantry company - disorientating, stressful and very dangerous.

On the strength of this book MacDonald was selected to work on the famous Official History of the US Army in World War Two, and produced two of the best regarded volumes in that definitive series.

An excellent study in leadership.......2004-11-05

Charles MacDonald, an official Army Historian who also wrote one of the definitive histories of the Battle of the Bulge, sets the bar for the reader trying to understand the structure, direction, and (lack of) cohesion in tactical warfare. Extremely readable, much of this autobiographical text was written during his service as an infantry captain in the European Theater of Operations. MacDonald does an excellent job at capturing the fear, confusion, boredom, anger, and fatigue of the American footsoldier in this war without seeking to draw the reader into debates of strategy or politics.

Pretty good, but lacking something..........2004-02-14

Mr. MacDonald's book is a good and quick, easy read. It tells the tale fairly well, but for some reason just didn't engage me as much as many other first person accounts of WWII. It is an honest feeling account with out bravado, but for some reason it doesn't convey emotional sensation very well.
Mr. MacDonald was certainly a qualified commander, especially based on the accounts of his relatively few casualties compared to those inflicted by his men. He led from near the front and was wounded by gunfire on one occasion.
This book is certainly worth the effort to read, but it isn't the best of its type.

Company Commander : The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II

Average customer rating:

Company Commander : The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II

Manufacturer: Doubleday Direct
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H2VFIW

Strategy of an Empire in Decline: Cold War II (Studies in Marxism, Vol 20)
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Strategy of an Empire in Decline: Cold War II (Studies in Marxism, Vol 20)
Harry R. Targ
Manufacturer: Mep Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Russia | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0930656474

Woodswoman: Young Ecologist Meets Challenge Living Alone Adirondack Wilderness
Average customer rating:

Engrossing story, don't miss it.

Captivating!

On the Road with the WOODSWOMAN

A sensitive, intelligent, and compelling book

Enthralling!

Woodswoman: Young Ecologist Meets Challenge Living Alone Adirondack Wilderness
Anne LaBastille
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Woodswoman II: Beyond Black Bear Lake

Woodswoman III: Book Three of the Woodswoman's Adventures

Women and Wilderness (Sierra Club Paperback Library)

A Place in the Woods

We Took to the Woods, 2nd Edition

ASIN: 0140153349

Customer Reviews:

Engrossing story, don't miss it........2005-04-23

I read this book when it was first published and I have carried it around in my head ever since. My copy has "gone missing" and now intend to repurchase and read it again. I will always recall Anne's adventures warmly. Her statement about using the wind as a dryer has stuck with me. She is a remarkble woman.

Captivating!.......2005-04-22

Her first - WOODSWOMAN - just captivated me from the first page to the last. Then, every other book in the series - WOODSWOMAN II, WOODSWOMAN III - was like watching a movie. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. WOODSWOMAN IV is the most exciting yet - her walk across Black Bear Lake in February through three inches of ice water over one foot of snow is riveting. The chapters about her German shepherd, Chekika, who was quadriplegic for two years, show the deep love the author has for her dogs. When James Herriot published his books, I didn't think anyone could come close to his writing. But, Anne has. I love her books as much as his!

On the Road with the WOODSWOMAN.......2005-02-18

WOODSWOMAN IV - Book Four of the Woodswoman's Adventures.
Anne LaBastille ISBN 0-9632846-3-0

Strong and independent, Anne LaBastille has chosen to live very simply as an ecologist and an Adirondack wilderness guide. She loves the solitude of the mountain lakes and woodlands. Fortunately for us she shares her vision once again in this fourth book of the WOODSWOMAN series. She seeks solitude and revels in everyday miracles of nature. She lives a contemplative, traditional life in an increasingly technological world. In this book she shares vignettes of life in her log cabin next to the Adirondack wilderness; a frugal, yankee approach to publishing; a "Deliverance-like" adventure in Appalachia and much more. Her style is conversational and easy. Delve into a chapter and into the book's 50 photos and you are there, alongside her. It is a fast and delightful read.
I really didn't want this book to end.

Ellie Horwitz
Concord, MA

A sensitive, intelligent, and compelling book.......2003-10-02

I have to admit up front: I'm an Anne LaBastille fan. Ever since I read her gripping book, Woodswoman, I've been hooked. As an avid conservationist and author, I've even had the privelege of meeting her and having dinner with her at her cabin on her beloved Black Bear Lake. Sitting around a crackling fire, drinking wine, we talked about book publishing, writing, and the acid rain that has devastated lakes like hers in the northeastern United States.

This book, while tamer than Woodswoman is a sensitive, intelligent, and compelling tale of five years in Anne's life in the Adirondacks. Those who, like me, read her books will be rewarded many times over. Those who haven't yet had the opportunity to explore her world will likely find this book a delight. No matter what the topic -- her self-publishing ventures, a hummingbird that landed on her hand to seek refuge from an overzealous suitor, the death of her beloved dog Chekika or her wild adventures in America's South -- Anne's skilled story telling will keep you entranced. You'll smile, you'll laugh, you'll shiver in fear, and you'll cry as you read this wonderful book. You'll no doubt want to go back to the beginning to pick up a copy of Woodswoman.

Enthralling!.......2003-06-21

Anne LaBastille has penned another riveting read recounting her adventures as an independent woman residing in the wilderness and as a wildlife biologist striving to protect the natural world. She shares her forays in the complex world of self-publishing which adds a new dimension to this already accomplished visionary. Quite frankly, LaBastille is my favorite writer - her life is fascinating and I marvel at her commitment and ability to convey the emotional pain of losing her beloved pet-companions. Her talented writing style allows the reader to experience the fear of death she faced when confronted by out-of-control, gun-wielding thugs while camping in a public wilderness park. WOODSWOMAN IV is a page-turner that chronicles the changes in "Woodswoman's" life - and society.

...

Woodswoman III: Book Three of the Woodswoman's Adventures
Average customer rating:

The Third Of A Trilogy And A Masterpiece!

Five stars for the truth of her life and "right on" analysis

An exciting look at a life many of us would dream of having

A tale of courage told in a moving and unsentimental way

A captivating and inspiring account of wilderness life.

Woodswoman III: Book Three of the Woodswoman's Adventures
Anne LaBastille
Manufacturer: West of the Wind Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
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Woodswoman II: Beyond Black Bear Lake

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The Years of the Forest (The Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series)

ASIN: 0963284614

Customer Reviews:

The Third Of A Trilogy And A Masterpiece!.......2001-06-14

Mind you, I am a great fan of Dr. LaBastille and have nearly all of her books; most of them signed. However, this third installment of her career as a "woodswoman" seems achingly final. All three books are adventures in the North Woods, however, this one clearly shows how her writing has matured with her own experiences. With harsher stories of vandals, environmental scoundrels and the personal tragedies, she seems to counter it all with great stories of bravery, incredible freindships and profound people. She still endears the reader with magical stories of the woods, lakes and mountains. Marking her third decade living in the Adirondack wilderness, Dr. LaBastille's writing is more realistic, world-wary and sometimes achingly mature. Facing ageing, near helplessness at the pollution and noise on wilderness lakes, she still keeps her sense of humor with great dignity. A gracious gift or a book for your collection; she shares her life of passion.

Five stars for the truth of her life and "right on" analysis.......1999-11-10

Reading this book summarizes not only one woman's experience but my own more limited experience in the world of humans and the world of wilderness and animals. Hopefully one or some will be raised to a greater awareness/conscience. Anne has made a GREAT difference with her honesty, love, strength, initiative... I mark all of her books with hopes that those reading after me will learn that I, too, agree with her insights and assertively support her work! Anne's books are 'must reads' for EVERYWOMAN, not just 'wilderness types.'

An exciting look at a life many of us would dream of having.......1998-11-05

This book is simply a continuation of one woman's life in the Adirondacks, in a house she built by herself. But if we look deeper it really is another look into the life of a fascinationg woman who chose to leave civilization and do what she truely wants. Each chapter is a different adventure and you follow her life with her dogs and her friends and especially the land on which she lives. The writing is beautifully descriptive and you can't help but wish you were her.

A tale of courage told in a moving and unsentimental way.......1998-09-05

An interesting account of a woman living alone in the wilderness with tales of courage, bravery, and tenderness in her love for her dogs and the Adirondacks. I have read all of Ms. LaBastille's books and have enjoyed them all.

A captivating and inspiring account of wilderness life........1998-08-04

I couldn't put this book down! Anne has a way of sharing her experiences with the reader that made me want to consider a major lifestyle change, and has made me much more sensitive to environmental concerns. Her descriptions of the land and people are reminiscent of Thoreau and Hardy...truly inspirational!

Average customer rating:

The Woods in Anne's Eyes
The Honeymoon Is Over; The Love Deepens
Recommended for city folk yearning for wilderness living.

Woodswoman II: Beyond Black Bear Lake
Anne Labastille
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Canadian | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393320596

Book Description

Anne LaBastille wrote her best-selling book Woodswoman about the peace and solitude she found in the log cabin she built at Black Bear Lake. Eventually, however, the outside world intruded. Woodswoman II is the equally engrossing story of the author's decision to build a tiny cabin retreat fashioned after Thoreau's Walden, of her life with two German shepherds as companions, and of her renewed bond with nature. Originally published under the title Beyond Black Bear Lake. Over 200,000 copies of the Woodswoman series have been sold.

Customer Reviews:

The Woods in Anne's Eyes.......2001-07-09

With the Adirondack setting, Woodswoman II, by Anne Labastille, captures a way of life most people will never know about. The way Anne talks about her life as a woodswoman pulls the reader into her world and life. There are also many good details. While building her second house, Anne faces many difficulties including temporary blindness when she gets cement dust in her eyes, and dropping a large spruce on her leg, injuring herself so she cannot walk for two months. As she chooses her dog, the decision becomes the reader's and the excitement is on them. Around Anne her beautiful world is disappearing to acid rain and people. As the reader progresses through this story he or she will find the true meaning of the woods. The setting and unusual way of writing brings this book together to make a fabulous story of Anne's life. Her unique way of writing shows who she is. She talks about smaller details in great detail, talking about the general one a small mystery. When Anne was building her house, she talks about when her boat flipped when carrying supplies to her cabin. She also talks about her feelings a lot in her autobiography. She explains how she likes her doctor more then why she was temporarily blind when she gets some cement dust in her eyes. Another reason I give this book five stars is the way she decries her surroundings and her land. When Anne is on a walk she Comes upon a cliff and transfer you there in to the fog and wet green moss. She plants a photograph in the reader's mind so that the reader can find every thing in Anne's cabin. As you see there are reasons to like this book. There is one and only one reason why I would not recommend this book is that it skips from one topic to another for example, she talks about building her house, she suddenly starts the next chapter talking about acid rain and polluting. This also happened when she got hurt and talked that in the middle of a chapter about her house. This reason is not bad enough to make this book a book I would not recommend. This book is a wonderful Adironacks story about a young woman and her dogs.

The Honeymoon Is Over; The Love Deepens.......2001-06-14

This second installment of the 'Woodswoman' trilogy is a step up in maturity for Dr. LaBastille. "Woodswoman" (one), dealt largely with the purchase of land and the building of a dream cabin on a remote lake. This books becomes more real, as Dr. LaBastille begins to have to worry about trespassing intruders, acid rain and the real threat that the government can pose in this unique environment. Determined not to let these new problems destroy her outlook or her life, Dr. LaBastille begins to build a second cabin - further into the wilderness. Encompassing both the new thrill of building a more isloated respite along with some freinds, brings another insight into Anne LaBastille's life ten years later. Numerous elderly Adirondack guides become great friends, sharing their own stories of the wilderness. A new romance evolves and the author has to deal with the reality of having to deal with both worlds. This book speaks not only of the wilderness, but the grand people that make and keep it unique. Of course, Dr. LaBastille's dogs are always given star treatment and her love of these animals is heartfelt. More refined and a little less naive, this second 'woodswoman' book will break and warm your heart at the same time.

Recommended for city folk yearning for wilderness living........2000-09-07

Woodswoman II is the continuing biography of author Anne LaBastille, who found peace and solitude in the log cabin she built for herself at Black Bear Lake, in the Adirondack Park of upstate New York. This is the engaging, compelling, sometimes inspiring story of how Anne decided to retreat a half-mile father into the wilderness behind her main cabin and build a second, tiny cabin (fashioned after the one in Thoreau's "Walden") in which she could write and contemplate. Woodswoman II focuses on her renewed bond with nature, her companionship with two German shepherd dogs; and her sustained and sustaining relationship with a man fully as independent as herself. Highly recommended reading for anyone who has ever contemplating leaving the stress of urban life behind for the contemplative isolation of the wilderness.

Jaguar Totem : The Woodswoman Explores New Wildlands & Wildlife

Average customer rating:

AZ Reader from NY Comments on Dr. Anne LaBastille
Don't Miss this One!
Another Success For Anne LaBastille
A Great Read!
Superb tale of the travels and studies of an ecologist

Jaguar Totem : The Woodswoman Explores New Wildlands & Wildlife
Anne LaBastille
Manufacturer: West of the Wind Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0963284622

Customer Reviews:

AZ Reader from NY Comments on Dr. Anne LaBastille.......2001-03-31

I have been privileged to participate in Dr. LaBASTILLE'S Writer's Workshops for the past ten years. Her works from Woodswoman to Jaguar Totem have brought our family much reading pleasure. As an Ecologist, Dr. LaBastille takes you on several journeys that enlighten the reader to what it means to spend time alone in her cabin in the wilds of the Adirondacks, where she relates to her enviornment. She is an intellectual with indepth perception about the woods she knows so well and all the ingredients that make up Mother Nature. She travels nationally and internationally and is well known in her field of endeavor. And, in addition possesses much skill in photography and lectures about her works. Jaguar Totem is an excellent read and I was proud to add this book to my collection of Dr. LaBASTILLE'S LITERARY accomplishments. Her work is important to the present generation and generations to come.

Don't Miss this One!.......2000-12-16

If you've never read one of Anne LaBastille's books Treat Yourself! From Woodswoman to Jaguar Totem you will experience hours of entertainment as you follow the much-awarded wildlife ecologist on her many adventures.

Another Success For Anne LaBastille.......2000-12-16

Anne LaBastille has done it again. Whether you're searching for Quetzals in Guatemala, helping to develope a new National Park, or just listening to the surf pound the shores of the Dominican Republic you'll love following Anne on her newest adventure.

A Great Read!.......2000-09-27

Anne LaBastille's ninth book, Jaguar Totem, was intended to convert readers into caring and compassionate conservationists. She succeeds admirably through clear, descriptive and fascinating prose that instantly transports readers to exotic, rare locales such as Guatemala, Anegada, and Brazil. Her stories bring readers into strange new worlds full of drama, tragedy, heroism, and suspense.

Many readers know Anne LaBastille's Woodswoman, which details her Walden-like existence in the Adirondack Mountains. Jaguar Totem is a very different world, full of peoples with divergent agendas, with different animals, and with stunning new experiences. An example of the latter is the "miracle of horizontal precipitation" or sideways-blown water at Volcan Baru in Panama which adds as much as 20 inches to the annual moisture to downstream humans and animals who rely on it. An equally surprising example was found in the Dominican Republic. There, while tracking manatees, she was shown how manatees drink fresh water from underwater "boils." Fresh water bubbles up from the sea floor some 20 to 40 feet from shore. Anne swam down and filled an empty bottle with fresh water from one of these "boils."

Her writings are informative, as when she notes that most of Amazonia is "literally a desert covered with trees." Unlike soil in the U.S. midwest corn belt, nutrients in the tropical rain forest reside in the vegetation itself. It's the foliage that is fertile!

Firsthand, LaBastille learns from the native peoples themselves that the overarching problem is population. As hard as LaBastille works to save parks, she was told, "Saving a park like Manu (in Peru) is like trying to cure cancer with an aspirin. As long as the world population increases, we'll have more and more trouble protecting bits of rain forest from people who need farmland or rangeland for food and fiber."

Updates to her stories tell readers what happened after LaBastille returned to the Adirondacks. The updates add the perspective of time and context, informing readers what they came to care about.

The final page of "Afterthoughts" tells readers what they can do to save the natural resources and beauty of our earth. Most are unlikely to have the courage or capability to try to duplicate what she did, but can console themselves that they can do something, such as donating to conservation groups or putting up bluebird boxes. They should read LaBastille's books to learn what they missed!

Superb tale of the travels and studies of an ecologist.......2000-08-29

I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone. I found myself savoring each sentence like a fine wine or a juicy steak out on a stump in front of one of my favorite author's cabins in the Adirondacks. This is one of Anne's best works! Finely written, passionate, insightful, and full of interesting stories. The photographs were superb. I'm so glad she wrote it. I've even referenced it in a couple of my environmental science texts as a great book to read to learn more about the plight of tropics and the world's wildlife.

Lumber Queen: The Life of Woodswoman, Ruth Ayer Park

Average customer rating:

Lumber Queen: The Life of Woodswoman, Ruth Ayer Park
Ellen C. Anderson
Manufacturer: Moose Country Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Woodswoman [Unabridged] [Audiobook]

Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0788704257

Product Description

Whats it like to build your own log cabin, adopt a pet silver fox, and survive a frosty winter alone in the woods? Find out in this fascinating true story of an ecologist who headed into the Adirondack Mountains to forge a life in the wilderness. The details of Anne LaBastilles struggle against the elements, combined with her vision of the changing seasons and the breathtaking wildlife, will make you cheer for her triumphant adventures.

Average customer rating:

Lumber Queen: The Life of Woodswoman, Ruth Ayer Park

Manufacturer: Moose Country Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GV0Y1I

Average customer rating:

Am Amazing Story Of Solitude!

Woodswoman
Anne LaBastille
Manufacturer: E.P. Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Woodswoman II: Beyond Black Bear Lake
Woodswoman III: Book Three of the Woodswoman's Adventures
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ASIN: B000GU2VQK

Customer Reviews:

Am Amazing Story Of Solitude!.......2006-10-15

"Woodswoman" is the first of a trilogy and the reader can see the talent and enthusiasm of Dr. LaBastille's grow with each book. The reader can also detect the maturity and 'lessons-learned' from this and the following books. Truth is stranger (and more interesting) than fiction and Anne LaBastille lets her feelings and emotional experience permeate every chapter. One can actually feel the authors' growth, love and anxiety of her life experiences in every chapter. This is just the first of many wonderful stories that Dr. LaBastille gives the world. You will read it again and again, just to experience what it is like to do what you REALLY want to do when you put your mind to it. The start of an inspirational writing career, "Woodswoman" is a collector's item.

Average customer rating:

Woodswoman
Anne Labastille
Manufacturer: E P Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSFJPO

Average customer rating:

Woodswoman
Anne LaBastille
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000LB8N1G

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