Five Lieutenants, James Carl Nelson
Five Lieutenants, James Carl Nelson
List: $22.95 | Sale: $16.07
Club: $11.47

Five Lieutenants
The Heartbreaking Story of Five Harvard Men Who Led America to Victory in World War I

Author: James Carl Nelson

Narrator: Geoffrey Blaisdell

Unabridged: 9 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/13/2012


Synopsis

The dramatic true story offive brilliant young soldiers from Harvard, this is a thrilling tale of combat and heroism. Five Lieutenantstells the story of five young Harvard men who took up the call to arms in the spring of 1917 and met differing fates in the maelstrom of battle on the western front in 1918. Delving deep into the motivations, horrific experiences, and ultimate fates of this Harvard-educated quintetand by extension, of the brilliant young officer class that left its collegiate and postcollegiate pursuits to enlist in the army and lead Americas rough-and-ready doughboysFive Lieutenantspresents a unique, timeless, and fascinating account of citizen soldiers at war and of the price these extraordinary men paid while earnestly giving all they had in an effort to end the war to end all wars. Drawing on the subjects intimate, eloquent, and uncensored letters and memoirs, this is a fascinating microcosm of the American experience in the First World War and of the horrific experiences and hardships faced by the educated class of young men who were relied upon to lead doughboys in the trenches and, ultimately, in open battle.

About James Carl Nelson

James Carl Nelson received the 2017 Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s Colonel Joseph Alexander Award for Biography. He is the author of three acclaimed histories of the American experience in World War I: I Will Hold: The Story of USMC Legend Clifton B. Cates, from Belleau Wood to Victory in the Great War; Five Lieutenants: The Heartbreaking Story of Five Harvard Men Who Led America to Victory in World War I; and The Remains of Company D: A Story of the Great War. A former staff writer for the Miami Herald, he lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Fred on December 10, 2013

I enjoyed this book a lot, but I think to be fair, it is a better concept than it is a narrative. The author weaves together the story of five young men, all Harvard men in one way or another and all Lieutenants in the American army in World War 1. They do not all know each other though several meet......more

Goodreads review by Lane on May 23, 2014

I’m quite grateful to Andrew, who a little over a year ago, challenged the review I wrote for Five Lieutenants: The Heartbreaking Story of Five Harvard Men who Led America to Victory in World War I, by James Carl Nelson. It wasn’t really a review, but rather a rant about stereotyping of the south an......more

Goodreads review by Poppy || Monster Lover on June 18, 2024

I enjoyed the perspective of this book from the wealthy graduates of Harvard becoming officers leading their men into battle. It was depressing AF, which is hardly surprising. However, it didn’t do justice to a lot of the class disparity issues that impacted their trajectory in the war. It did detai......more