Conversations with Major Dick Winters by Colonel Cole C. Kingseed, U.S. Army (Retired)

Part of the process for submitting a non-fiction book proposal to agents and publishers is understanding other titles within the same genre. Given that, I took the opportunity to read/listen to one of titles I identified during my nonfiction proposal research: Conversations with Major Dick Winters by Colonel Cole C. Kingseed, U.S. Army (Retired).

Dick Winters was the commander of Easy Company made famous by Steven Ambrose’s book Band of Brothers and the HBO miniseries by the same title. Conversations with Major Dick Winters fills in details about Dick’s character and leadership the earlier portrayals didn’t explore to the same degree. In short, Dick Winters is the epitome of what a small unit commander on the battlefield should be. He was fearless, he led by example, he had impeccable integrity, and he was singularly focused on doing whatever it took to accomplish his mission and bring his soldiers home alive. He was a true American hero in every sense of the word.

The book is just what it says–conversations with Dick Winters. Much of what you read in the book are Dick’s own words, which gave me a slightly different impression of him than I had after watching the miniseries. He is much more confident in his abilities and by-the-book Army than I envisioned. It’s also clear he took his leadership responsibilities very seriously, and given his lead-from-the-front mentality, it is a wonder he survived the war. Once the conversations end, Colonel Kingseed discusses Dick Winter’s waning days and pays tribute to him and his legacy. 

I really enjoyed this book but my recommendation comes with two caveats. First, you must be familiar with either the Band of Brothers book or the HBO miniseries. Otherwise, you will be lost in the discussion. Second, I found the book to be a valuable exposition of what it takes to be a military leader, especially at the tactical level. Accordingly, the ideal target market for this book would be people who enjoy reading about leadership or young officers and noncommissioned officers learning how to lead soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines into harm’s way.
 
Since I had a long trip in the car planned, I listened to Conversations with Major Dick Winters rather than read it. If I were to do it again, I think I would read it so I could highlight some of Dick Winter’s key insights and read back over them again. Either way, you can purchase Conversations with Major Dick Winters on Amazon by clicking here.