Uncover the larger-than-life story of World War I's "Lost Battalion" and the men who survived the ordeal, triumphed in battle, and fought the demons that lingered.
In the first week of October, 1918, six hundred men attacked into Europe's forbidding Argonne Forest. Against all odds, they surged through enemy lines—alone. They were soon surrounded and besieged. As they ran out of ammunition, water, and food, the doughboys withstood constant bombardment and relentless enemy assaults. Seven days later, only 194 soldiers from the original unit walked out of the forest. The stand of the US Army's "Lost Battalion" remains an unprecedented display of heroism under fire.Download and start listening now!
"The Great War remade our world and continues to cast its shadow more then one hundred years later. Edward G. Lengel, one of the great chroniclers of that conflict, has revealed a hidden war within that war and masterfully tells one of WWI's paramount stories. By carefully building the backstory of the main characters of the Lost Battalion, Sergeant York, and the intrepid war correspondent who initially captured this story, Lengel's powerful prose transports the reader back in time in a gripping, searing narrative of the men who transcended the bounds of human endurance and courage."
— Patrick K. O'Donnell, bestselling author of The Unknowns: The Untold Story of America's Unknown Soldier and WWI's Most Decorated Heroes Who Brought Him Home
An exceptionally vivid tale of men at war. Unsparing and dramatic, Never in Finer Company illuminates the sacrifice, courage, and leadership of American doughboys in combat, as well as the toll wrung from them after the shooting stopped. Edward G. Lengel has written a rich and compelling story.
— Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Liberation TrilogyA powerful and timely reminder of American sacrifice and heroism a century ago in the war to end all wars. Lengel tells a deeply human and unforgettable story.
— Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Bedford Boys and The Longest WinterEdward G. Lengel body-slams us into the muddy trenches of the Argonne Forest alongside the besieged doughboys of the Lost Battalion to confront the very nature of courage, cowardice, and heroism. Through the eyes of four men whose lives intersected in those awful woods, Never in Finer Company reveals how World War I not only changed them fundamentally but how it transformed America as well.
— John F. Ross, author of Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawning of the Age of SpeedBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Edward G. Lengel is associate professor of history at the University of Virginia and associate editor of The Papers of George Washington. A specialist in military history, he is the author of World War I Memories and The Irish Through British Eyes.
James Lurie, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has worked for the biggest companies in the news, entertainment, and advertising businesses. He has an eclectic background; he has been a musician, a writer, and a doctoral candidate in Chinese history. He has been an audiobook narrator and even been the voice of a talking gasoline pump. As an actor he has had recurring roles on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Law & Order, Picket Fences, and As the World Turns, to name but a few, and he won a Dramalogue Award in Los Angeles for his stage work.