Never in Finer Company

The Men of the Great War's Lost Battalion

By: Edward G. Lengel

Narrated by: James Lurie

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.

Never in Finer Company tells the stories of four men whose lives were forever changed by the ordeal: Major Charles Whittlesey, a lawyer dedicated to serving his men at any cost; Captain George McMurtry, a New York stockbroker who becomes a tower of strength under fire; Corporal Alvin York, a country farmer whose famous exploits help rescue his beleaguered comrades; and Damon Runyon, an intrepid newspaper man who interviews the survivors and weaves their experiences into the American epic. Emerging from the patriotic frenzy that sent young men "over there," each of these four men trod a unique path to the October days that engulfed them—and continued to haunt them as they struggled to find peace.

Uplifting and compelling, Never in Finer Company is a deeply moving and dramatic story on an epic scale.

Critic reviews

"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 Trilogy

"A 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 Winter

"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

"Edward 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 Speed

Terrific story, Great Book...

...and a wonderful reminder of heroes- not that long gone to many of us - whose courage, patriotism, sacrifice and RESILIENCE oftentimes seems so lacking. Where do we find such men?

What a story

The American experience in WWI is so often overlooked because of how short of a period of time the USA was in the war. But even though the AEF wasn’t in it for long, their contribution led directly to the armistice. And in the Argonne Forrest, they fought with astonishing bravery legends were born in Alvin York and others. What an astonishing story.

Excellent!!!

This book was amazing from start to finish! The narrator was SPOT ON and the subject was well researched and presented. This is one of those books where I’m sorry it’s done because now I have to find something else to read and it likely won’t measure up. Well done all the way around!!

An Amazing story

A great book very personable and broad in terms of both telling a story and presenting a historical narrative.we forget as Americans the heroes of world war I. who were just as brave and faithful as their children some 20 plus years later

Wow

...just wow. This was simply incredible! I've always been interested in WWI, but have never read much about the American involvement. I'm so glad this was my first exposure to it! Well researched, well written, and skillfully read (which is difficult with nonfiction), this is one nonfiction audiobook I'd listen to again!

A Must for All Americans 👍

An inspiring, yet sobering story of the strengths, weaknesses, and sacrifices of so many to provide for the “melting pot” that is the United States 🇺🇸

Captivating

Defiantly well read. Reader puts feeling into the stories so that character is heard and felt.

Never in Finer Company - The Lost Battalion , WWI

Never in Finer Company follows a handful of "doughboys" - infantry soldiers of World War I . Author Edward Lengel introduces the readers to each of these in a series of individual biographies, which gradually coalesce in the infamous and infernal hell of a battle in the forest in northeast France. This, The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, was one of the last and greatest battles the Americans fought in The Great War. As one Battalion was ordered to keep going "at any cost," the cost was horrific, and the battalion became cut off, surrounded by German forces - out of food, water, ammunition, and even out of carrier pigeons. The desperate struggle welded the mens' hearts and commitment to each other, to courage, to refusing to give up, forging bonds that would survive until the last man's final breath.

This book has a calm tempo - factual, and not emotionally manipulative - but still the story itself made me cry tears of grief, tears of gratitude, tears of honor and compassion. It made me cheer, yell at the General when no one was around to think I'm crazy, and it made me swell up inside with, as the kids say, "all the feels."

A FINE BOOK ABOUT THE FINDEST OF SOLDIERS...

Outstanding and sad tale of Major Charles W. Whittlesey, SGT Alvin C. York, and their fellow WW1 Heroes, brought from various parts of the USA, and formed into American fighting men who helped their Allied Forces win the Great War. Excellent recount of their battles during and after WW1, and great narration, too - Should be required reading for every Military History buff and US Soldiers serving today!

GRADE: A+