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Stephen E. Ambrose

スティーブン・イー・アンブローズ

Stephen E. Ambrose

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1936-01-10 （Lovington, Illinois, U.S.）
Died
2002-10-13 （Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.） age 66
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Whitewater, Wisconsin (raised) → Helena, Montana (post-retirement) → Bay St. Louis, Mississippi (final residence)

Career

Occupations
Historian, Author, University professor, Oral historian/collector
Active Years
1960-2002
Affiliations
University of New Orleans (Boyd Professor), Johns Hopkins University (associate professor), Louisiana State University (assistant professor), Kansas State University (visiting chair), Naval War College (Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History)
Influenced By
William B. Hesseltine, Forrest Pogue, T. Harry Williams
Influenced
Ken Burns, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Michael Beschloss

Education

University of Wisconsin–Madison
History
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1953–1957
Year of Graduation: 1957
Country: United States
Originally planned pre-medicine, switched major to history
Louisiana State University
History
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1957–1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: United States
Completed master's under T. Harry Williams
University of Wisconsin–Madison
History
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1958–1963
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: United States
PhD dissertation based on biographies such as Emory Upton

Awards

St. Louis Literary Award
1997
Organization: Saint Louis University Library Associates
Result: 受賞
National Humanities Medal
1998
Organization: National Endowment for the Humanities / U.S. Presidential honor
Result: 受賞
Samuel Eliot Morison Prize (lifetime achievement)
1998
Category: 功労賞
Organization: Society for Military History
Result: 受賞
Golden Plate Award
1998
Organization: American Academy of Achievement
Result: 受賞
Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
2000
Organization: United States Department of Defense
Result: 受賞
Theodore Roosevelt Medal for Distinguished Service
2001
Organization: Theodore Roosevelt Association
Result: 受賞
Emmy Award (as producer)
2002
Work: Band of Brothers (HBO miniseries)
Organization: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Result: 受賞
George Marshall Award
Result: 受賞
Abraham Lincoln Literary Award
Organization: Congressional Medal of Honor Society (affiliate)
Result: 受賞
Bob Hope Award
Organization: Congressional Medal of Honor Society (affiliate)
Result: 受賞
Will Rogers Memorial Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Band of Brothers

1992 Non-fiction (military history)

Oral-history based account of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, from Normandy to the end of the European war.

Individual soldiers' experiencesCamaraderie and brotherhoodBrutality of combat
Adaptations
  • [TV miniseries] Band of Brothers (HBO) / 複数（HBOミニシリーズ、製作総指揮: トム・ハンクス、スティーブン・スピルバーグ等） (2001)

D-Day, June 6, 1944

1994 Non-fiction (military history)

Comprehensive account of the sea, air, and land operations of D-Day told through soldiers' perspectives.

Combined operations on D-DayCitizen-soldier perspectivesTurning points in war

Undaunted Courage

1996 Non-fiction (exploration/biography)

A narrative of Meriwether Lewis, the Corps of Discovery, and the opening of the American West.

Exploration and discoveryIndividual and national interplayNature and frontier

Citizen Soldiers

1997 Non-fiction (military history)

Covers the U.S. Army's campaigns from June 7, 1944, to VE-Day through the eyes of ordinary soldiers.

Soldiers' daily livesUnit cohesion and battlefield decision-making

Nothing Like It in the World

2000 Non-fiction (industrial/transcontinental railroad history)

History of the building of the transcontinental railroad and the people who built it.

IndustrializationLabor historyTechnology and society

The Wild Blue

2001 Non-fiction (air force history)

Accounts of B-24 crews flying over Germany and an examination of aerial warfare.

Aircrew experiencesSacrifice and courage

Bibliography

  • Halleck: Lincoln's Chief of Staff
  • Upton and the Army
  • The Supreme Commander
  • Band of Brothers
  • Undaunted Courage
  • D-Day, June 6, 1944
  • Citizen Soldiers
  • Nothing Like It in the World
  • The Wild Blue
  • To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian

Adaptations

  • Band of Brothers (HBO miniseries, 2001)
  • Historical consultation for Saving Private Ryan and other documentary projects

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Accessible narrative popular historyHeavy use of oral-history and anecdotal storytelling
Recurring Motifs
Focus on citizen-soldiers/individual experiencesHeroism and communityWar and moral decision-making

Health

  • Lung cancer
    2002年4月 - 2002年10月
    Rapid deterioration after diagnosis; died in October 2002.

Legacy

Ambrose reached a broad popular readership for WWII and exploration histories and co-founded the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Posthumously and late in life he faced allegations of plagiarism and fabricated interviews, complicating his scholarly legacy.

Museums

  • The National WWII Museum (New Orleans) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Opened in 2000

Academic Societies

  • Society for Military History (affiliate)

Archives

  • University of New Orleans Eisenhower Center (oral history collection)
  • The National WWII Museum archives

In Popular Culture

  • Renewed popular interest in WWII via HBO's Band of Brothers
  • Consultation contributions to Saving Private Ryan and related media

Quotes

  • I tell stories. I don't discuss my documents. I discuss the story. I wish I had put the quotation marks in, but I didn't. I am not out there stealing other people's writings.
    Source: Quoted defense in media interviews (reported) (2002)

Trivia

  • Authored 27 self-authored books in his lifetime.
  • Major donor and co-founder of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.
  • Faced allegations of plagiarism and fabricated interviews late in life and posthumously.