This is the finest biography of the life of Jumpin' Jim Gavin, a legendary World War II leader. The other biography is written by Bradley Biggs and lacks the thorough research of Booth & Spencer's work. Read Biggs if you need a summary (and somewhat biased rendition) of Gavin's heroic life of service to the nation. Read this book if you want the details of Gavin's life in an impartial account - from his days as an orphan, then adopted growing up in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania to his WWII exploits, service as Ambassador to France under President Kennedy and his time as CEO of Arthur D. Little & Company. This biography presents the uncut version of the life of James M. Gavin.

Many former and current paratroopers still pay homage to the memory of this great man. Gavin is buried in the cemetery at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Each year on 6 June, his wife Jean, other family members, and members of the 82nd Airborne Division Association, both officers and enlisted, gather for a D-Day memorial to honor one of the greatest leaders of the war. Gavin led the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment on airborne drops into Sicily and Salerno, and later he led the entire 82nd Airborne Division on the Normandy and Market Garden jumps. It is a fitting tribute that the impact of his legacy still lives on in the hearts of the men and women who knew him and went to war with him. If you want to understand why his memory still inspires many of us in uniform, read this book. (You can also get more insight into the man by reading the several books that Gavin wrote himself, like Crisis Now, Airborne Warfare, and On To Berlin.)

Highly recommended for all paratroopers and anyone who interacts with military professionals.

I was not too sure of the book when I picked it up, but once I started reading I found it very interesting. The details of the relationship (or lack there of) between Patton and Montgomery are very interesting. How the Allies kept it together with these two ego's leading is a credit to Eisenhower. I also enjoyed the details of the Italy campaign, one part of the war that is not covered much. The descriptions of the battles in Berlin prompted me to get a few books on the topic. Overall this is a good book, it does not have the "Black Hawk Down" battle descriptions, but it does deliver a very well written history of the experiences of the Airborne. The author did a solid job.

The autor , James M Gavin takes you all the way from Sicilli to Berlin. He let's you see the enormous problems where the American Airborne divisions have to deal with. He also gives you an idea of the struggles to keep the aliance together and he tell's you the problems between Patton and Montgommery

Gavin, I love the man, but the book is a biased (albeit the author acknowledges his bias) and under-researched account of a complex leader. Gavin was an orphan raised in Pennsylvania who earned an appointment to West Point after enlisting in the Army. He rose to become the Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division (the youngest Brigadier General since Custer)during WWII and amassed an incredible war record. Following the war, he rose to the rank of 3 stars before retiring amid a controversy over his testimony before the senate. As the division commander, he fully integrated black airborne soldiers into the 82nd. He would later become JFK's ambassador to France. He protested the war in Vietnam and wrote several books.

If you want a more thorough account of this truly exceptional and interesting leader, read Paratrooper: the Life of James M. Gavin by T. Michael Booth, Duncan Spencer. It is well researched and gives a more thorough representation of Gavin's life, although Mrs. Gavin claims the book gives short shrift to Gavin's time at Arthur D. Little as the CEO.

If you are more interested in a cursory review of Gavin's life, then Bigg's rendition is for you. You can read it in an evening.

Airborne!