Robert Bowen found himself unexpectedly assigned to the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment, shortly after joining the US Army. His service with the 101st begins with intensive training in North Carolina, where he forges friendships with fellow company members and prepares for combat in Europe. Transported to Britain, Bowen witnesses first-hand the devastation in the cities and is bemused by the wartime strictures of his new environment. As training continues, he division sense that something important awaits them, and that - as prophesied by one of the men - ?Uncle Sam needs something for his money'. Shortly after, they receive their brief on Operation Overlord. Written shortly after the war - but never before published - Bowen's narrative is immediate, direct and compelling. His account, one of the few by a member of the glider regiment, is a brutal insight into the battlefields of World War II and a vivid recreation of just what life was like in an elite unit. From the horror of D-Day and the despair of captivity, to personal recollections of ordinary men in an extraordinary conflict, this memoir tells the story of one man's total war. 5.5? x 8.5?, 256 pages, hardcover.