Seven Roads to Hell A Screaming Eagle at Bastogne

Burgett is a veteran of the 101st Airborne and the author of Currahee!, a memoir of the Normandy invasion written shortly after World War II. This is a memoir of Burgetts experiences during the momentous Battle of the Bulge. His narrative flows from one experience to the next with compelling momentum, and his harrowing accounts of battle will leave readers in awe of the courage of soldiers. Burgett provides enough background and description to set the stage for each part of the battle that swirled around him, and numerous maps and photographs detail the action. Burgetts story is not one that he lived through some distance from the lineshis division was right in the thick of battle. He provides a complete picture of the brutality of war and an excellent account of one of the wars most pivotal battles. Recommended for both public and academic libraries.Mark E. Ellis, Albany State Univ., GA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Seven roads to a great read
This is a “pick it up, and cant put it down” book. Bold and honest in it’s writing and also pays respect to the other units involved in the bastonge battle. This rates as one of the better books I have read with regard to the Bastonge battles. The freshness and clarity of the accounts shine through, having been written shortly after the battle and make this book a good read. The hand drawn maps showing company movement supports the written work well. A must read. 5 stars. I will be reading more of Don’s work

5 Stars Best of Burgett’s 4 books
This is the best of the 4 books that Burgett wrote (and all are excellent). This book does a fantastic job of summarizing just how outnumbered, outgunned, under-supplied, and exhausted the 101st was at Bastogne. After reading this book, I’ve got a new interest in the Bulge and will be buying more books on the subject.

This is an excellent book, the kind you can devour in an night or a few days. I agree with the other reviewer that this book would be worth of 6 stars.

5 Stars seven roads to hell
all four of his books are great first person accounts of his military service as a WW2 paratrooper.a very easy read.

5 Stars A Very Personal Account of Hell
This third of Burgett’s four books about his experiences in the 101st Airborne during World War II reveals a young man (19 at the time) at what could be easily seen as his finest (or worst) hours. The author gives this book an intense personal touch that is missing in many accounts of this unit during its defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Burgett takes the reader into the hell he lived through, vividly describing the shortages of basic military necessities such as weapons and ammunition, the incredible struggle for Noville in the early days of the battle and the withdrawal back to the main lines, and the difficulties of being ready to fight after coping with the harsh winter of the Ardennes and the lack of sleep, food, and water.

But what really comes through most clearly in this account is death. Burgett sees much of it in just a few weeks. He sees close friends (the “old men” of his company) and replacements die in what seems to be a random pattern. He takes the lives of German troops without a shred of remorse, yet almost shoots a fellow paratrooper who shot a prisoner of war.

Burgett does not portray himself as a hero–only as a man doing his job. He was very good (and I would also say lucky) at what he did. His story is not the nice neat narrative found in many accounts of the Bulge. It is dark, chilling, and brutal. It makes one wonder what men like him endured–both during the war and the many years since. I highly recommend it and the others volumes about his time in the 101st.

5 Stars Great book, buy the series of 4
Donald Burgett gives a great view of WWII through the eyes of a 101st airborne paratrooper.

Buy/More Info